How in the world is our daughter already one month old?
Just this morning I was thinking back to the day we found out we were expecting her. That morning when I woke up and just knew that I was pregnant. It’s amazing to me how she went from just a hope in our hearts, to an eight letter word on a stick, to the gorgeous little girl sleeping in the bassinet beside me right now. It has all gone by so fast.
Too fast.
How can I sum up Kate’s first month? It is nearly impossible for me to capture it all and put into words, but I will try to share with you some bits and pieces of our lives over this past month–starting with something I wrote when Kate was one week old:
I’m amazed with how much I already know about our daughter. Things like she loves to bounce, likes being wrapped up in a blanket, prefers being burped sitting up on our laps versus laying on our shoulder, and she loves to snuggle and have skin-to-skin contact on my chest. Her absolute favorite thing to do right now is suck on Daddy’s pinkie finger, and if she doesn’t turn out to be right-handed I’ll be really surprised. She’s amazed by both of her hands, but she definitely favors the right. And just like when she was in utero, she loves keeping her hands up by her face.
When Kate was two weeks old I wrote the following:
I cry every day.
I’ve heard that’s normal, so I was expecting it.
What comes as surprise, however, is that my tears are not tears of frustration, helplessness, or tiredness as I was expecting. They are tears of joy and wonder and pride. What did I ever do to deserve this beautiful baby? How in the world did we get so lucky? I hold her in my arms and stare at her beautiful strawberry blond head and the tears roll freely down my cheeks.
That pretty much sums up how it has felt over this past month to be Kate’s mom. Every day has been a joy–even the tough ones.
Kate was two weeks old before we had our first solo outing and it went really well! We both had our two-week follow up doctor appointments, with more than an hour to kill between appointments, so we went to Panera Bread for lunch. I had the Caesar salad and Kate had the undivided attention of half the people in the restaurant. We have since had several more solo outings and she’s done great! She doesn’t mind being in her car seat, does pretty good in the car, and really likes her stroller. So far I’ve taken her to Target, Gap, Baby Gap, and Starbucks–you know, all the important places.
Kate has taken an interest in a few things toward the latter part of this month. She loves her bouncy chair and the little mobile of woodland animals attached to it (we call them her friends), and she’s a huge fan of her Tiny Love activity mat. Her favorite things on her activity mat right now is a large elephant ear that crinkles when she moves it (she’ll kick her feet like crazy to get it to make the crinkle sound–here’s a video of her doing it at 3 weeks old), and the little baby mirror in the corner (apparently she’s inherited her mother’s vanity).
Kate is currently on about a 3 hour cycle throughout the day and night. She eats after she wakes up, then she gets her diaper changed, then we have activity time until she gives us signs that she’s sleepy, then we put her down for her nap, and when she wakes up (usually around 3 hours from her last feeding) we do it all over again. Right now Kate only lasts about 45 minutes to an hour for her awake time (and that includes her feeding) before she’s ready to go down for some sleep. The exception to this is at night when she wakes up, eats, and goes right back down to bed. She is really such a good baby!
I think our biggest challenge over this past month has been burping Kate. She gets fussy when she has that extra air in her tummy, yet it’s so hard to help her work it out! G put it best when he said, “Getting a burp out of Kate is like getting a blackjack in Vegas.”
Our other little nemesis is the hiccups which Kate gets ALL THE TIME! We’re told they don’t bother her, but they get so strong sometimes that it’s really hard to believe they don’t. We’re looking forward to when her little system gets more mature and we can say goodbye to those darned things.
As for me, I’m currently averaging every other day for a shower (which isn’t so bad until you factor in that I’m currently averaging every three hours for being spit up on), our house is a disaster, we’re pretty much living out of laundry baskets, I still have some pain from my c-section, it’s a miracle if I get to eat my breakfast before noon, I’m tired ALL THE TIME…and I’ve never been happier. I don’t think I’ve shared this before, but G was ready to start a family long before I was. I was the hold-out, and he patiently waited for me to be ready. Now that Kate is here I’ve been asked, “Don’t you wish you had started sooner?” As happy as I am, and as wonderful as it feels to be a mom, my answer is still no. I know I would have been a much different mother even just a few short years ago than I am today. Spit-up on the couch would have sent my blood pressure through the roof. I would have been more focused on looking forward to my next “me time” versus looking forward to the next time our daughter wakes up and I get to have her back in my arms. I’m so incredibly blessed to say that right now–in this very moment–I feel like I’m doing exactly what I was meant to be doing.
There are just some things no amount of sleep can compete with.
Additional Posts about Kate’s First Four Weeks:
Labor & Deliveryย
Meet Kate
Kate’s First Photo Shoot
Kate’s Nursery: Part 1
Kate’s Nursery: Part 2
Things Loved in January
More Kate Photos
Maybe I’m a Masochist?
I am so glad you are so happy!!!
That onesie is so cute. She is such a doll!
Oh, D……..she is beautiful! Gorgeous baby and so active @ 3 weeks too! Congrats Momma!!
This is such a great post:) And Kate’s adorable!
I was thinking the same thing as you: how could she possibly be a month old already??
She’s a little doll. I love the onsie ๐
LB
Cutie patootie! Amazing how quickly they change! I took pictures of both my girls on a monthly basis with a HUGMONGO bear and the change from just a month still stuns me! Enjoy mommyhood!!
She is so adorable! It’s such a wonderful time and it goes way too fast!
And isn’t it just amazing how happy and functional you can be on so little sleep!?! Did you ever think that was possible!?! ๐
What a beautiful post. She really is amazing. Enjoy every precious second. DO NOT worry about the housework now, as she gets older you will find the time to catch up – you will not always live out of the laundry baskets! By the way, we had the same play mat and my boys loved it – it is my favorite baby gift to give.
beautiful! Keep that shirt and someday make her a blanket. It will be a treasure.
Love that Onesie. Happy 1 month Kate!
Kate is just precious!! And I’m so happy that you are so pleased with Kate’s monthly shirts! I am honored to be able to stitch these for you. I can’t believe that one month has passed so quickly — you sound like such an amazing Mommy Keep enjoying every moment, you are blessed!!!
Beautiful post! She is absolutely precious, and I love hearing about your first month together.
When you have time for questions … I’m in the process of registering for my first baby (due the first week of June), and I would love to know which items you are finding really useful, and which items you aren’t using like you thought you would. Thanks!
That onesie is too cute! I love them! Your words were beautiful along with your daughter. I love that you’re sharing her with us!
If you have some bad days too don’t feel guilty. The first 6 months can be a huge adjustment. Especially with your first!
How sweet!
Beautiful! She’s such a cutie. I can’t wait to see what my baby looks like.
What a beautiful post, Dusty. I love that you love your new role as Mommy. Kate is lucky to have you!
What a fun update, thanks for sharing! Kate is adorable-love her name ๐
Glad to hear that you are so happy and enjoying your precious gift!
Such happiness!
Loved this update – sounds exactly like me with my first – also Cate! I’m impressed with the shower every other day thing – that’s rather impressive, especially after a c-section and only a month into this! Way to Go Girl!
Being steadfast with the sleep thing will save you time, energy and sanity – now and for the long haul!
A Baby Changes Everything!!!! So Glad you are loving it!
Blessings!
I saw the title of your post and thought “Huh? Already?”…but I look at my 14 and 16 year old and think the same thing.
As far as waiting for kids, I think it never hurts to have experience and maturity on your side.
She’s a cutie! Glad you’re enjoying her.
Your writing is so lovely. It’s evident that you are head over heels for Kate and for being a mommy. Good for you!
jbhat
Congrats D!!! Kate is just gorgeous
I am happy that she’s such a good baby!!! I think my boys are good, but then I meet other babies and realize that my boys are……LOUD! They talk all day long! (which usually ends up in screaming/crying)….and even with me getting noise in stereo, I feel just as you described…like the luckiest girl alive!!!
I wanted to comment (not sure if anyone else did because I didn’t read the comments!)…but try Gripe water for the hiccups!. My boys get hiccups all the time (just like in the belly!) and while the gripe water doesn’t work every time, I would say it works 50% of the time!. It’s all natural and you can get it by organic ingredients if you go to Whole Foods.
Good luck and enjoy her :))
She is so precious! What an adorable little bundle of love… good job
You were destined to be the world’s most wonderful mommy. Seriously D, I love you for these words. These beautiful make-Melissa-misty-eyed words. Kate is so lucky to have parents like you and Greg. Love you guys.
I remember the crying. I’ve suffered from depression in the past so my husband was really on the lookout for any signs of PPD and would get worried whenever I started to cry. All I could say was “I can’t believe I’ve gotten everything I ever wanted.”
I don’t know if you’re nursing but my son got the hiccups all the time for the first few months and the only thing that would get them to stop was nursing for a few minutes. I’m not sure why it worked but I think it just forced his breathing to regulate.
What a lovely tribute to Kate and her one month of impact on your life!
What a sweetie! Love the onesie, I hope we get to see monthly updates on Kate!
I nominated you for the Happy 101 Award! Kate is just gorgeous! Loved the video. Details can be found here: http://themistressofoxford.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-101-award.html
Beautifully put, just so beautiful! So incredibly happy for you D! Kate is just adorable!
She’s so beautiful! And she sounds like a wonderful baby and a true blessing. =)
With the hiccups, my mother has told me that I had hiccups a lot as a baby. They apparently got less frequent, but I still remember getting them a lot as a child and even now I get them more frequently than most people I know. Hopefully Kate will have better luck with them than I did. =)
Congrats on your girl!
It’s weird how you just know when you’re pg.
Thank you for sharing the video of Kate. It really put a smile on my face. She’s beautiful and I’m glad she’s made you so happy.
I love following your blog, I too can’t believe it’s been a month already!
I have to echo what someone else said – Get the Gripe Water for hiccups and gassy tummy. It’s all natural, and you can give it to her any time she gets them. It worked more than 90% of the time for my little one!
She is so adorable! Motherhood seems to agree very well with you
Thank you so much for all your sweet comments!
@Dana–I’m taking pics of Kate with her teddy bear, too. It’ll be fun to compare them as she grows!
@nanab–Aww, I love that idea. I have a T-shirt quilt my mom made me from all my HS sports T-shirts and it’s rarely far from my lap. (I even brought it to the hospital and insisted on being snuggled up with it while I labored.) We may have to do something similar for Kate!
@Amber–Thank you again for making such an adorable onesie for Kate! We’ve gotten so many compliments on it, and I’m looking forward to seeing more!
@Laptops–Great suggestion! I will try to get to that soon. In the meantime, feel free to email me if you have any questions.
@Andreina–That’s so wonderful about your boys; I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying mommyhood as well! I was just telling a friend yesterday that even on the rough days I still feel so grateful and joyful. It’s like I’m on “baby drugs” or something, lol! I don’t care; I hope I never come down from this high! Thanks for the recommendation about gripe water–I’ll have to pick some up.
@(another)Kate–Your comment made me tear up. I can totally relate. There’s a history of depression in my family, so G and I were also trying to be contentious about any post-partum signs. One day he walked in the nursery while I was rocking Kate and saw the tears rolling down my cheeks and worriedly asked, “Are you okay sweetie?” And I replied, “I’m just so happy.” It’s amazing to feel this way when I was truly expecting to feel quite the opposite given my family history. Such a blessing!
@Amy–Thank you so much for thinking of me! ๐