Graduating from newborn status...

It's all going too fast.

I read in a baby book that a newborn is only a newborn until they reach one month of age. After that point they are simply referred to as an infant. As I cradle my little 5 week old with one arm and type with the other, it seems innappropriate to strip Evey of her precious newborn status so soon. She's growing, yes, and she's become quite the curious and happy observer of the world around her, but she still has a distinctive and magnetic "freshness" to her that I've come to associate with a brand-new human being. So, for now, I will continue to hold Evelyn under the sweet title of Newborn, and they can shove their silly definition!

Evey has become very chatty -- we love watching her kick her legs and punch her arms while cooing and chirping to her own rhythm. She babbles all the time when she's alert, and that seems to be ocurring for longer periods. I wish I could post an audio stream - it's pretty funny to hear. I recorded a short babble session and played it back to her, and she kicked and cooed right along with herself, seemingly happy to have an echo!

Maybe I'll try playing her vocals back to her during what we've come to call "the witching hour" -- the period that starts around 10pm and can go on until 1:30am -- when Evelyn can't seem to fall into sleep and fusses, fights, and is generally "high need" untill slumber finally overcomes her. We have two plausible theories: 1) she is so interested in the goings-on of the world that she fights to stay awake so she doesnt miss out on anything, and 2) she's just so darn worn out from a busy evening of curiosity that she gets overly tired and Mom & Dad need to get better at learning when she's ready to slip into sleep and help her get there faster... Based on her excelllent napping abilities during the day, I'd say it's likly the latter of the two. We're learning. We'll get there.

She's made everything else easy so far -- including baths, which, if I have the towels warmed from the dryer, are her favorite activity. She becomes Zen Baby, especially when we wash her hair. (...need to time it better at night to help fight the witching hour...)