4 weeks ago today...

Today Alex is 4 weeks old! It is hard to believe that it was only 4 weeks ago that she arrived in our family. We are starting to have more awake times where she is alert and interested in the world around her. I enjoy playing with and singing other during these times while we are home during the day. Steve enjoys showing her the world (well, around the house!) and talking with her during these times. The bottle seems to be going over well now, so Steve is able to give her a bottle each night, so I can get a shower, clean up around the house, and just have a little "me" time. She is also now giving us one good 4 hour stretch and one 3 hour stretch at night, so I am usually only getting up once in the middle of the night to feed her.



I am very lucky the nursing is going so well and that I can pump enough to not only allow Steve to give her a bottle each day, but also to freeze a fair amount so Steve and I can think about going out to dinner one night, just the two of us, and not needing to worry about timing it perfectly between feedings, or rushing because she may need to eat sooner than we planned. But it is hard to leave her at times, especially for Steve during the week, as he gets limited time with her in the evenings. But we have many willing babysitters waiting in the wings!

Today I had a retainer check with my orthodontist. She is happy with how things are going (though I really only wear the retainers at night, not 24/7 like I was told to). Apparently the retainer I got before was not the "permanent" retainer, as she made a new mold today and I will get the "permanent" retainer next Tuesday. I am not sure what the difference will be between the two, but hey...she is the expert, I just go and do what they say!

It is COLD here now...our high today is 0 (yes zero!) with wind chills WELL below zero. Tomorrow our high is expected to be -2 with deep wind chills. Needless to say, we are staying home where it is warm and wind free! That added to the 3 inches of snow we got last night, the streets are a nice skating rink with a layer of ice. It is just too cold for the salt to work, and sand only does so much. BRR....why do I live in WI again? Oh yeah, Steve can't stand the warmer climates on a regular basis.

Well, I hope everyone is staying warm!