Three Weeks

Luke is three weeks old today, and I know that's kind of an odd age to commemorate, but the one week mark was depressing for me because his age would never again be counted in days and that, apparently, was a big deal. Judging by that particular (irrational) reaction, I'm guessing that the one month birthday will be more on the bitter side than the sweet. And then, by the time his two week birthday came along, I was entirely too sleepy to think of anything to say. Plus, that was smack dab in the middle of his "I like to scream all day and night" phase, so even if I could have thought of something to say, it certainly wouldn't have been anything nice.

So instead, we're celebrating today. Not literally, of course, because the kid is still a little too young for cake and ice cream, but in my head, there's a huge celebration, in part because the first six weeks with a newborn are supposed to be the most challenging, and as of today, we're halfway there. Oh, and here's hoping that Luke has also heard that the first six weeks are supposed to be the most challenging, because so far, he hasn't exactly been doing what he is "supposed" to be doing according to the self-appointed experts of all things infant related.

Of course, even this milestone is bittersweet because he will never again be this small, he will never again fit in my arms quite the way he does right now. Each day, he comes a little bit closer to outgrowing those tiny newborn outfits. But each day also brings us closer to the time when he'll be able to smile at us (on purpose), when he'll be able to laugh and coo and roll over and crawl--and hopefully, when we will all be able to sleep a solid six hours (See? I don't ask for much. I'm not asking for eight hours. Six suits me just fine for now. Is that really so unreasonable?)

And although he might only be twenty-one days old, he fits here with us. I feel like I've known him forever, like he's been in my life forever. During the first week, I was worried that he still didn't feel like a full member of our little family, but sometime in the past two weeks, between the diaper changes and the feedings and the hours we've spent in the rocking chair, he suddenly fits.