Several firsts

These last 3 weeks have proved to be a major turning point in my further embrace of motherhood. Once Maggie hit 6 weeks her fussies peaked (which is what the experts say happen to most babies), so now her cries are more predicatable and this makes for more peace in our home. Not that we don't have off times every few days or so, we do, but overall, Maggie has become more and more 'readable,' if that makes sense. She is growing more and more alert with each passing day and we love when we come to get her and she greets us with that huge grin of hers.

Here are several firsts for us in the past 3 weeks:
*Maggie has been sleeping through the night for about 3 weeks now and is seemingly prolonging it every week. Aron feeds her at 11/11:30pm each night and we don't hear from her until about 6am. She starts to make some noises, so I go in and put back in her bink (our word for pacifier) and she drifts back into sleep for another hour or so. So most nights, she sleeps between 6-8 hours. Last night she actually got 8. Imagine that!

*We had dinner with our friends Shel and Randall last Friday night and we took Maggie with us (usually, people are coming to us). Maggie slept on their bed and did fantastic. This was a big moment for me as I realized that we can now tote her around with us for longer stretches of time.

*On Sunday, after the Chocolate Festival that I blogged about earlier, we went to our favorite local coffee shop and fed Mags there. It was a breeze and so nice not to feel like we "had" to get home to feed her. She took her bottle with ease, played with us for awhile, even gave smiles and coos to 2 other occupants sitting in chairs across from us. When she started to get fussy and was headed back down for her nap, we just put her in the carseat and left.

*I ran errands yesterday, digging my car out of 5-8 inches of snow (not sure which). This was big because I had Maggie, of course, and well, it seems cumbersome to get out in the cold and snowy weather. But, I did, and felt even more empowered in my new role as a mom.

*I hung out with a neighbor on Monday morning. Angie and her 2-year-old daughter, Tagan, came over and had coffee. Tagan is facinated with babies and immediately went looking for M. It was very cute! Our landlord gave Angie my name and number back in January and we have just now been able to hang out and you know what? I really like her and feel like we could be friends! We are going to have dinner with them on Monday night, so the hubbies can meet. A new mom friend who lives within walking distance--how great is that?!

*Lastly, at the grocery store today, Maggie ended up waking up while I was in the store, so I just talked with her as I shopped and she was wide-eyed and smiling the entire time in the store. Usually, she sleeps whenever I am out and about. I feel like she is getting so big.

Two weeks ago, when Lindsey visited, I was all but ready to leave Chicago and move back to OC. Of course, that is still an option for us, but I don't feel such an urgent need to do it at this moment and I am feeling like I'd like to stick it out here for a little while longer. I think with the aforementioned moments for me, it's helped me to realize that I can do motherhood here and do it well.