12 Weeks on the ‘Lena’ Express – Lots of Stops Along the Way

Guest Blogger, Christine, here. Today is my last day of maternity leave 🙁 and I’m trying to check things off my to-do list. One of them was to get some recent photos (about 300 or so) downloaded to the computer and then uploaded to Smugmug. I’m happy to say I can check that off the list! I really can’t believe that Helena is 12 weeks old now. I feel like it was just yesterday I was complaining about still being pregnant and wondering if Smart Baby was ever going to come. Now I’m complaining about going back to work. While I am excited to go back to work, just thinking about leaving Helena brings tears to my eyes. I have truly enjoyed our time together and am thankful to work at a place that supports and encourages moms to take as much time as possible.

It took us a few weeks, but now we’re in a pretty fun routine: sleep for 10 or so hours, wake up with big smiles, eat, play, change diaper, sleep, repeat for the next 12 or so hours. Our accomplishments over the past few weeks are many: we’ve conquered the car seat, battled with eczema and cradle cap, can now truly enjoy her spa treatment at bath time, learned how to sleep more than 3 hours at night, then transitioned to her big girl crib, graced her parents with “make your heart melt” smiles, enjoyed her first flight, introduced her to the art of shopping both at a mall and at outlets (invaluable skills for later in life), visited the Atlantic ocean, began talking and making some of the absolutely cutest cooing sounds and noises her parents have ever heard, and most recently encountered reflux.

One last note, everyone says “Christine, she looks so much like you.” And in my head, I think, “You clearly do not know what you’re talking about.” Here’s a picture of Doug as a little guy, probably a little older than Helena right now, but you get the idea and also one of me as a little gal. Judge for yourself and if you still think she looks like me, thank you!!!

For more pictures of our cutie, Follow this link