Slow Down

This week has seen a lot of changes for Layla.  Mike put together her highchair and I started feeding her in there instead of her bouncy seat.  She looks like such a big girl in there.  I set some toys up on the tray and she was content to play there while I steamed and pureed her food for the week.  She outgrew her infant tub, so we put her in a floaty ring in the big tub.  Again, she looked like such a big girl sitting in the tub playing with her bath toys.  She is also no longer content to lay in her Pack N Play.  We have to sit her up and let her play with her toys.  She started a sippy cup with water in it for the first time.  She hasn't quite mastered it, but we are working on it.

Finally, she will no longer sleep on her back.  I will lay her down on her back and by the time I get downstairs and look at the monitor (we have a video monitor) she is on her tummy.  Mike and I will go up and flip her on her back, and shes back on her tummy. So, she's sleeping on her stomach now.

Of course I am so proud of her for how well she is developing and how quickly she is mastering new skills, but I find myself begging life to slow down.  Each day she changes a little more, grows a little taller, needs me a little less.  She is racing towards crawling and with that some independence.  As much as I have dreamed about not being her sole source of comfort, it is bittersweet for me to see her soothe herself at night without me.  I want to remember these moments forever.  To always know the size of her tiny hands and the weight of her body on my chest.  I try memorize the warmth of her breath on my neck and her squeals of delight when I come into her room in the morning.  I wish I could capture the way she is right now; her sweet smell, the sound of her coos, the dimple in her left cheek and store them in my memory forever.  Of course some days are tough and seem like they will never end, but I constantly find myself amazed that another day, week, month has passed us by.  I know there is no slowing her down, and I don't think I would really want to even if I could.  So for now I'm trying live in each moment and embrace each new way that Layla grows and changes.

The big girl in her highchair covered in sweet potato

 

I put her down for a nap on her back with her head under the mobile.  This is how I found her. 

Sippy Cup time.

She still loves her tubby!