Ashley is 3 weeks old today! She is laying on her tummy with me now as I’m typing this. She loves tummy time! I just lay her face down on me as I’m sitting on the couch. I hear it is good for babies to spend time on their belly to strengthen their neck muscles, which help them push up, roll over, sit up, and crawl. Her neck muscles are already strengthening as she can hold her head up briefly and turn it to the side. She likes looking around the room.
Blake is laying on the couch with us. This dog really loves Ashley! He’s laying here next to me watching her. He’s already given her several kisses! It’s so cute watching him with her. They are really good with each other. Toby is at my feet. He loves her, too; he just doesn’t show it the same way Blake does. Blake is overly affectionate. He’ll come right up to her and give her a kiss. Toby will come up and sniff her, but he doesn’t feel comfortable enough yet to give her a kiss. They’ve all now fallen asleep. So I’ve got a sleeping baby in my lap, a sleeping labrador next to me, and a sleeping labrador at my feet. I’m such a lucky mom!
Ashley’s umbilical cord finally fell off last night. They clamp it at the hospital so there is just a little piece left on, and you care for it until it eventually dries up and falls off. When it happened last night, it was a bitter sweet moment for me. I was happy that it happened because that is what it was supposed to do, but now I feel like it is a sign that she is growing up. She’s no longer a little newborn fresh from the hospital. She’s growing and developing, and now has a cute little belly button! We measured her last night and she’s grown a whole inch since she was born. She is now 21 inches long. Our precious time with her is going by way too fast!
We took some pictures of her last night and got an awesome one for a baby announcement. I really want to post it here but I’ll keep it a surpirse until the announcments go out. It is just the sweetest picture! For now, I’ll post another one of my favorite pictures. I posted it last week, but it makes me smile everytime I see it, so no harm in sharing it again. Here is my happy baby girl!
