This Week in Mommyhood

Alex has been on vacation this week so we've gotten a lot of family time. The girls have enjoyed having him around, I've enjoyed having him around without the black cloud of work, and I've especially enjoyed being able to split the girls with him. Everything is just less overwhelming when he's around and, even when he girls are at their crying worst, his presence makes me a much calmer person.

Here are the other fun developments this week:

Swaddle Changes. Elina loves her swaddle. I've tried taking it away but she won't fall asleep without it. At some point this week I remember I could slowly wean her from it by only swaddling one arm. She has no problems sleeping with one free arm and now I feel comfortable with her being able to roll while swaddled because at least she has a free arm she can use to push up against.

Sleeping Through The Night. Technically, sleeping through the night means sleeping for a 6-hour stretch. Elina has been doing this for a few weeks, but it never felt like it because I wasn't sleeping any 6-hour stretches by the time I finished pumping, cleaning, and got to bed. On May 27th, however, she started to sleep from 7:30pm to 7:30am and it has been glorious. I think part of the reason she has been sleeping that long at night is the swaddle change; now she gets to sleep on her belly and her hand is free to suck on when she needs to self-soothe. I still haven't been able to sleep though the night because I wake up to check on her, but there's something so nice about not having to get out of bed!

Graduation. Cati finished school this week and they had a little graduation event. Cati got a certificate for being tidy. Despite how messy she is at home this didn't surprise me because for as messy as she is, there is a method and particularity to her messiness. Either way, she is, after all, Alex's daughter and Alex is one of the most anal people I know when it comes to being tidy.

Language. It's so impressive to hear Cati express herself because (1) I get a peek into how her brain works and (2) she knows so many words I didn't teach her. My favorite thing she said this week was, "Mami lea este por favor. Cati no sabe las palabras" (Mami read this please. Cati doesn't know the words). When did she learn how to say this and when did she acquire the words to do so?

I am constant awe of my daughters. There's nothing else to say other than I am hopelessly in love with both girls. Here's to another week of loving and enjoying all their milestones and silliness.