Our angel returns

When Lauren arrived, my boss gave me some great advice, that “no matter what is happening, just remember it won’t last and that every week is different”. There has never been a truer word spoken. After the challenging week last week, this new week brought with it another new Lauren! Not only did she return to her smiling and playful self, she also discovered the new skill of sleeping for 5-7 hours in one block at night. What an angel!

We think we've discovered that sleeping longer is linked to bathing and so now Lauren gets a long soak in the tub every night. In fact anyone would think she’s at a day spa in our house, as the recent photos will show. I learnt baby massage this week and now Lauren gets her towels heated in the tumble dryer, before we lay them on a big cushion, put her in the middle and then massage her from head to toe! I wish someone would do it for me…

Lauren is growing fast and you can really see how much bigger she is now than when she was two weeks - it's unbelievable how fast she's growing. And she continues to be more alert. She's also started kicking in the the bath and pushing against the sides with her legs.

We discovered that the screaming last week was brought on by a growth phase in Lauren's brain. Apparently the part of her brain that controls sight developed so much that instead of being able to only see 30cm in front of her, she can now see up to 5m. That must be a big change for a little girl!

We had our usual outings this week – Mothers’ Group (where she weighed in at 4.6kg this week), baby class, walking in the park and generally hanging out together at home while I talked non-stop to her. I wonder if she ever thinks “oh shut up mum” and just wishes she could say it? Mind you, I think the talking is rubbing off as she’s starting to make a lot more sounds and burbles quite contentedly to everyone in the room. 

We had some visitors this week too. Lavinia came and brought with her the most beautiful winter coat for Lauren – she is going to look adorable in it. I also think Lavinia has the magic touch as Lauren slept very calmly in her arms (note: Lavinia for babysitter). Then Jon and Amy came round on Sunday afternoon for a late lunch and some Lauren time. Lauren was very taken with Jon and was happy to sit in his lap and listen to what he had to say, which is more than can be said for Amy ;o)

We finished our lovely week together with another long bath – this time in the grown ups bath with her Daddy. She loved it! Mind you, she is truly a Daddy’s girl and would love anything as long as Daddy was holding her and she could stare dreamily into his eyes. I know I’m biased but they look so cute together. 

I wonder what this week will have in store for us – Angel or Demon?

Photos from last week can be viewed here. We will get around to putting up some more videos, just as soon as we can find the time!