The Frueh Family: October 2009

I can't believe our little Molly is now TWO MONTHS OLD!!! The time just seems to be flying by. She now weighs 11 lbs. and is 21.75 inches long. You can definitely see the weight gain in her chubby little cheeks and her breastfed-baby thunder thighs :-) She has also learned many new skills in the last few weeks, our favorite of which is her ultra-charming smile. She used to save up all her smiles for her time on the changing table (something about nakedness just makes her happy), but she's been sharing her smiles more liberally this week, even flashing a few smiles at strangers and melting their hearts on the spot!

Another new skill Molly's impressing us with is her ability to carry on a "conversation". We always talk to her about everything that's going on around her and then we pause to give her a chance to respond. Well, lately, she's taken full advantage of her turn in the conversation to delight us with a symphony of oohs, ahhs, and gurgles. The funny thing is that she always matches her "words" with a dramatic series of hand gestures and facial expressions. She reminds me of an Italian grandmother who uses her whole body to speak expressively. The following is a series of pictures I took over the course of 5-minute conversation with Molly. Next time, I'll have to catch it on video so you can hear all the adorable sounds that go along with the faces. I'd love to know what she's really trying to say!!!

Another new skill Molly is just beginning to master is finger-sucking. She used to try to suck her fist, but was never quite satisfied because she couldn't manage to fit the whole thing into her tiny little mouth. Well, she's recently discovered how to separate and suck individual fingers. It usually ends up being her pointer finger and thumb together, but occasionally she gets just her thumb in there. It looks like pure heaven for a few moments until it pops out and she can't manage to get it back in there. She visited her cousins, Corbin and Isaiah, last week. Isaiah tried to

teach her his own favorite finger-sucking technique but she's not quite as talented as he is yet. Someday, she'll get the hang of it.

Molly is also learning how to become a master bottle-feeder. We try to give her a bottle of expressed breastmilk at least once a week to keep her acclimated to the experience. That way, when I go back to work in 3 WEEKS (!), it won't be a totally foreign experience. I can't believe that my maternity leave is almost over. It seems like Molly was born just a few weeks ago. Part of me is really looking forward to getting back into the job that I love. But the other part of me just

can't imagine being away from my baby for 8 hours out of every day. I'm just trying to savor every moment of the next 3 weeks and not worrying about crossing that bridge until it's right in front of me. At least Molly will be spending her days with her Daddy and not with strangers.

The three of us had a unique opportunity this week to be invited back to our Bradley childbirth class as "alumni guest speakers". We got to share our birth story, as well as tips for breastfeeding and newborn care, with the new couples in the class. It's amazing to think that, just 2 months ago, we were in the same exact position they're in right now...very pregnant, scared, excited, and completely in the dark about what it's like to care for a newborn. At this point, we're certainly no experts, but it's amazing how much you learn about your baby in just 2 short months. Parenthood is the ultimate on-the-job training. We are the experts on Molly Joy Frueh. We know her better than any other human beings on the face of the earth and it's a pretty sweet place to be.

Here we are at our Bradley class speaking engagement :-) Eric and I got to share all the details of our birth story and the adventures of the last 8 weeks. Molly got to be the sample baby passed around for all the couples to practice holding.

Here are a few other pictures taken in the last 2 weeks: