Henley Rae Clark was born on December 15, 2014, at 5:01 PM. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz., and was 21 inches long. How in the world was she in my belly?! I'll do another post on her birth story, so for now I just want to tell you all about Miss Henley and show you lots of pictures.
Henley has been a super easy baby so far. I have told many people that she is either going to surprise us with a growth spurt or we are going to be in big trouble with baby #2! Ben and I were both a little sleep deprived from they day we came home, December 17th, until Christmas Eve. On the night of Christmas Eve, we decided to try swaddling again - do not ask me why we thought she didn't like it, I have NO IDEA! It did the trick! She had been waking herself up throughout the night, but when we took her newborn pictures, I noticed that when she would start crying, if we held her arms down, she would go back to sleep and calm down. Swaddling has done wonders! Henley only woke up once for me to nurse that night, and she has continued to sleep like a champ ever since. I usually nurse her around 10:30 or 11:30 before we go to bed. Then, she'll wake up around 3:30 or 4:30 and again for the day around 8:30 or 9:00. It is glorious!! I'm crossing my fingers that she's like her daddy and nothing will keep her from her precious sleep...not even a growth spurt!
I am so blessed to be able to stay home with Henley until after Spring Break. I'll head back to teaching and coaching on March 16th, so until then, I am enjoying every second with Henley. The two of us have started to fall into a bit of a routine and I love it. She is usually up in the morning and we play on her mat. She talks and smiles at all of the little critters hanging above her! She stays awake until she needs to nurse again and then takes a great nap. This is when I generally get ready for the day and either do things around the house or we run errands while she sleeps. In the afternoons, I nurse her and then we head to the park or out on a run around the neighborhood. I love taking her to the park and running with her around the trail! Then, we come home and do some things around the house, make dinner and wait for daddy to get home. I love our days together!
I read that around one month, she would start "talking" and smiling on purpose and getting her own little personality. This all happened right on cue. We have started to spend a lot of time on her mat in the mornings and evenings, because Henley has started to stay awake much longer during these times. A couple of days before she turned one month, she started reacting to all of the hanging toys, their noises and the music playing. She would coo and smile at them, so I started talking to her more and have gotten lots and lots of smiles! It just keeps getting better - now that she is awake more, we get to interact with her and see her sweet personality. I could seriously talk to her all day! Her gummy grin just melts my heart!
I have always had a deep desire to be a mom and often said that I felt like God truly created me to be a mom. It is everything I hoped for and more! I could not love Henley any more and I am so thankful that she is ours! I am so not ready for her to get any bigger...how in the world is she 7 weeks already?!...but I look forward to every stage of life with my Henley Rae. I already think about the traditions we will create with her and all of the activities I can't wait to watch her be a part of. For now though, I am going to soak up every second with her and do my best to live in the moment. Have I told you that she is the best yet, because she is?! She is just so perfect!
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