5 weeks

Of course she had to have one shirt that says something about me on it :)  (And don't worry...there is a onesie in her dresser that says I Love Daddy too.)

I love moments like the one above when she smiles - they make all the exhaustion worth it.  I look forward to more of those as she starts to manifest her recognition of us in her facial expressions.  She's talking a lot more now too - especially when she's had her big poop of the day and is feeling free and relaxed :)

These past few days, she's in the Moby Wrap a lot with me.  As our doula reminded me, it works wonders when she is fussy.  And she's definitely fussier nowadays.

1 month, Tummy Time, and her voice

The above video is a rare "happy Tummy Time" moment.  Of course Roxie had to keep walking around me while I was trying to take it...sorry for the shakiness of the video.

Her one month check up was on Thursday.  She's doing just great...she's gained two pounds to be 10 lbs 1 oz, and has grown 1.5 inches to now be 22.5 inches.  Still above the 95th percentile.  I'm thinking she's headed towards her father's height.  That'll be fun.

The visit was fine, except Hasan decided he doesn't like the nurse who weighed her and gave her a shot.  First, the weighing:  he advised the nurse when she was going to take off the diaper that Sanaa would probably pee.  The nurse said that happens all the time.  And of course it did and pee went all the way up Sanaa's back.  (As me and my mother said, what else was she supposed to do?)  And then when she gave her the shot, of course the baby cried, and Hasan was annoyed that the nurse didn't give the baby a warning beforehand.  Fathers :D

Four weeks

One thing I have decided (in as much as I get a say so) is that there's no way I'd have a baby again in the winter or fall. The most wonderful thing when you're dealing with a newborn is sunshine and warm weather and a spring or summer breeze. Sanaa's 4 weeks day was an absolutely GORGEOUS day. Warm enough where she could be naked in the house. We just had our big windows open, lots of cross-breeze through the house, and watched TV.

This picture isn't particularly nice, except that it does remind me of just how lovely it is to watch a sleeping baby on a beautiful day. That comforter she is lying on was mine from when I was a very small child. I have memories of using it when I was 5 or 6. It's the only thing I have from when I was a child to give to my daughter, and it provided me so much comfort as I grew up. So that makes the whole picture noteworthy.

The flipbook

Three weeks...a little late :)

So now I'm understanding why Wendy's photo posts on their family blog are delayed. First of all, who has the time to go through the inordinate number of photos that are taken? Then, how do you choose which ones to post when babies are so cute?!

Anyways, this is Sanaa's best friend, Olivia the Octopus. She has many conversations with her.

Her daddy's rule is that the music on this play mat is not allowed if she's crying. Her mommy's new daily "work" is to get her 2 hours (TWO HOURS - YIKES!) of tummy time on this a day, per the doctor's orders. Her belly is rather rotund due to having no abdominal muscles. And if the whole family would like to get past this gassy stage, someone needs to work those muscles out.

Here's a link to the updated 52 Weeks of Sanaa photo flipbook.

Two weeks!

We have a bathing ritual now...we listen to reggae while we bathe on the iPhone, and then we plug the music into the nice loud booming speakers and do a dance after we're all done. I can't say she's calm throughout it, but hopefully we're going to create a positive association with reggae at some point :)

Welcome Sanaa Kiran Andrews!

Today was her due date, but our munchkin arrived just about 2 weeks early. Sanaa was born on Tuesday March 20, 2012 @ 1:42 am. 7 lbs 14 oz. 21 inches tall.

For those that would like to know what her name means...Sanaa means "sunshine" or "brilliance". Kiran means "ray of light".

It was a relatively uneventful labor - except I did scream at some point "This is not fair!" which keeps making Hasan laugh even now. In fact, the labor was everything we wanted it to be, much of which was due to the wise and active expertise of our doula, Nikki. Not sure what H and I would have done without her!

As soon as she came out, I said "that's Erwin's baby, not mine!" because she looked just like him. These days, you're starting to see a bit of an Indian girl in her. Either way, her eyes are just so lovely to me.

Anyway, baby is fine. Eating like there's no tomorrow. She's actually a really easy baby (thank God!). It's been two weeks, and I'm loving this new phase of life. As I posted the other day on Facebook, there really is nothing like picking up your daughter after a nap and looking into her face. So much sweetness and potential.

I decided to do a project where I take a picture of her every week for the first year - a "52 weeks of Sanaa" project. Here's the link on Flickr. Check it out for a virtual flip book approach to her growth. She's changed so much to me already!