6 Weeks New!!!!!!

I can't believe how quickly the time is passing -- Emily turned 6 weeks old on Thursday!

She likes:
- Looking at lights and the ceiling
- Sucking on her arm and maybe even a finger if she can get it into her mouth
- Making all kinds of super-adorable facial expressions that melt Mommy's heart
- Having her knees pushed up to her belly and having her belly rubbed (both of which help with gas)
- Sleeping with her arms up next to her head, or her hands by her mouth

She still doesn't like:
- Being swaddled (though I was able to successfully semi-swaddle just her arms for 2 naps this week)
- Any of the 3 baby carriers I own (though I did get her into the Ergo again one day this week while we were home and after a crying fit and a struggle she fell asleep for about 30 minutes)
- Pacifiers

She smiles frequently each day, and has recently started uncurling her fists a little bit and holding on to my shirt.  She's also been sticking her tongue out a little bit more in a playful/experimental manner rather than just when she's hungry.  She can lay contentedly on her activity mat or play mat for several minutes, kicking and staring at the ceiling and "talking" to herself; though she still doesn't love tummy time.  Even though she can lift her head and hold it to a 90 degree angle, she often just puts her head down on the mat or rolls herself over onto her back instead.  But when we hold her upright, she'll raise her head and turn her neck in every direction!

She is a very alert and curious little girl.  When we go for walks in her stroller, instead of sleeping she just wants to look around!  Even when she's exhausted and her eyes are drooping shut, she'll pop them open to look around if she hears any noises or sees any light.  Speaking of sleeping...

Her sleep routine is still very wonky.  Some days she'll take great naps (mostly in my arms) but some days her eyes pop open mere minutes after she falls asleep.  Since around the 4 week mark, we were doing pretty well with her sleeping and she was getting 13-14 hours of sleep per day, more days than not.... though the past couple days she's down to 10-11 per day again.  Waxes and wanes!  There is a big growth spurt that newborns grow through at about this time though, so that likely has something to do with her erratic sleep cycles.  Last night and last Friday night she slept for a 5 hour stretch overnight -- the only two times she's done that and both on a Friday.... interesting!

Here's a peak at her size now in comparison to her size at 2 weeks:

Look at her grow!  Her neck is hard to clean because of of her multiple chins, and her thighs are practically edible they have so many rolls in them!  She is gaining weight like a champ and gets cuter by the day!