8 Weeks Old

I can't believe how fast time has gone by! It's funny how fast it does seem to go by, especially considering when your in the thick of it, you feel like you'll never sleep again. As our pastor so eloquently put it, it feels like your at the bottom of a well and you'll never see the light of day again. But as everyday goes by and weeks go by you start to see glimmers of light again. That's been our experience. Having a baby is tough, it's the hardest thing we've ever done, but it gets a little easier each day for us. It also helps that she is so worth the effort and sleepless nights.

As far as sleep goes we are finally moving from the 2 - 2 1/2 hours between night feedings and she is starting to sleep for 4 - 5 hours at a time. It's amazing. The first night she did that Henry went to get her, I started feeding and then we looked at each other and looked at the clock and looked at each other again. We were in shock and it sure felt good to sleep that long again!

One thing that Henry and I both have been experiencing (less so as time goes on) are these moments of almost night terrors. One of us (usually me) will bolt up in bed and start looking for Zoey. I will have completely forgotten that she is safe and sound in her crib and I'll think I've fallen asleep while holding her and she's fallen off the bed or some horrific thing. Just awful. Like I said, it's happening less and less. I think this is just part of being a parent, she has been placed in our care and we both take that role incredibly seriously.



Something that has been amazing is her smiles. She is at that stage where she is flashing her gummy smile all the time. It is the most amazing thing. I know a lot of it is her mimicking us when we smile at her, but honestly it is the most precious thing no matter the reason. A good friend of ours got a chance to see her in full grin mode and just laughed. "Henry you're screwed" he said. He's right, Henry is already fully wrapped around her little finger. He is loving reading to her and interacting with her more. It's incredibly precious.

Zoey is such a sweet little girl and we cannot wait to see what else she has in store for us. I'm sure it's going to be quite the ride in the Duiker household!