Hallelujah!

Since Ayla was born, people have been asking us how she's sleeping...if she's sleeping through the night. I always say, "Ha, that's very funny." Because no, no she doesn't sleep through the night...most newborns don't...right? Everyone kept telling us that it would happen eventually. I was never convinced.

Well, we might be on our way...we're making progress, at least. Last night she slept from 10pm to 3am!!! That's FIVE hours!!! She basically dropped her midnight feeding...the night before, she also skipped her late feeding but didn't sleep as long before she woke up again (three hours) and Dean got up to feed her that night so I got my first full night's sleep since she was born! She was "supposed" to be eat around midnight last night, so starting then, I kept waking up and listening for her to wake up. I even got up a couple times to check on her. It figures that when she finally sleeps longer, I'm paranoid and awake anyways! :) I kept thinking, "well what if something's wrong and that's why she's not waking up?!" Give me a few more days and I'm sure I'll get over it. :) Both nights, after she got up to eat once, she went back to sleep til 6 or 6:30 in the morning. Not bad at all! She seems to be able to go longer between feedings all of a sudden...even during the day. We think that these longer stretches of sleep have something to do with deciding to swaddle her again...maybe it's a coincidence, but it can't hurt! Unswaddled, she'd wake herself up when her arms would fly up in the air if something startled her. Really, if I didn't know I had arms and suddenly they're all over the place, I'd be freaked out and wake up too. We also used my nature sound machine...we made it rain in her pack n play. :) So the combination of the swaddling and sound machine may have been the ticket...plus she IS getting to the point where she's able to sleep longer. I'll quit analyzing it now and just enjoy it...

She has started smiling more...it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. There's nothing better than that open-mouthed, gummy grin that's topped off with a nose-wrinkle and a sparkle in her eye. I LOVE it! When we talk to her, you can tell she's listening...she'll smile and coo in response. :) SO adorable. I keep trying to get a picture of her smiling, but I'm just not quick enough!

Right now, I'm in the process of [trying] to pack for our Thanksgiving trip to Ohio (Dean's grandparents live there.) We (Dean, Ayla, Dean's parents, sister, and I) are loading up my parents' conversion van and leaving early this Saturday morning and we'll be gone for nine days! I honestly think I'm bringing nearly everything Ayla owns. Hopefully I can cram it all into one suitcase! :) I'm looking forward to being away from my living room (its contents have permanently been etched into my mind because I've spent soo many hours/days/weeks sitting here with Miss Ayla) and I'm also really looking forward to spending time with family. It's been three years since Dean and I have been out there for Thanksgiving.

I have my post-partum check-up this Friday...I don't know that I'll have time to post anything about it before we leave...if not, I'll be back with plenty of new pictures and stories when we get home from our trip (wish us luck!)

Wishing you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :)

Here are some random pictures: