On this past Thursday, we reached Grace's one month birthday! And tomorrow is Grace's due date. It's incredibly difficult for me to imagine what it would have been like to still have her in my tummy right now, but if everything had gone the way I thought it would, she would have most likely still been in there. I'm so grateful that she is already here. we know that she is healthy--a bit on the small side, but strong and full of life. Sometimes there is a bigger plan for us that may seem scary and difficult at the time, but things work out the way they are meant to.
On her one month birthday, Corey brought a carrot cake cupcake home from work and we had a little celebration. We also took some cute pictures of her with a stuffed bunny in her chair. I know it's just one month, but we think it is a big deal that she is doing so great at this point. She isn't even really supposed to be here yet, so to have her in our lives and being such a great "grown up" baby is such a blessing. You have to celebrate the little things in life!
Grace has enriched our lives in so many ways. She is so beautiful that Corey and I often just sit and stare at her, then look at each other and ask how we got so lucky. Her skin is like silk and her fingers are long and delicate. Her hair is dark, but we are noticing more and more golden tones there. She has tiny little ears and a perfect nose and mouth. The shape of her eyes is just like her daddy and she looks like a little lamb when she sleeps.
She makes the cutest noises--sometimes she chortles and it sounds like Beavis or Butthead. She makes these little sighing noises when she is eating sometimes. She also does a panting thing when she is eating which is super cute but was a little alarming at first (talked to the Pediatrician, totally normal). It makes her sound like a puppy.
She's really funny about her getting her diaper changed. Most of the time, if she has a poopy diaper, she will cry like someone is pinching her until someone changes it. But she cries a lot more when we change a wet diaper than a dirty one--most of the time during a poopy diaper, she just looks around with her eyes wide open, happy as a clam. She has had a few horrifying poopy diapers--last night we literally cut her onesie off because it was already ruined by the poop coming up out of her diaper and we didn't want to have to pull it over her head. Oh, the things you will do and talk about when you are a parent.
She is slowly growing out of her preemie clothes. Some of her nicer preemie outfits still fit, but she has grown out of most of her preemie Carters outfits. She is in newborn diapers (although they are a bit big on her).
She eats about 3 ounces at a time, sometimes more. At night, she will usually sleep a good 3-4 hour stretch now, which is wonderful.
On Wednesday the 14th, I had an appointment for a check up with my OB, and Grace's pediatrician wanted me to drop by and get her weighed. She weighed 5 pounds and 9 ounces! She has been consistently gaining an ounce a day. Last night my mom and Corey used a tape measurer and found that she is now 19 inches long! She is growing so fast and that makes me so happy--I'm so grateful that she likes to eat!
Grace loves her swing. She loves to be swaddled. She loves to be held and she loves to be held while we walk around the house--apparently she is a fan of changing scenery.
Over the last week, we've been taking Grace to do more and more things out and about. On Thursday, we went on a stroll in her awesome stroller over to the mailbox.
I know that is not a big deal for most, but it has been such a crazy month that I hadn't done that at all. Between her being in the hospital for the first 5 days of life, then bringing her home and getting used to the new routine with a newborn and sleep deprivation, all while recovering from a c-section, it took me awhile to get to that place. But going out to do that instantly made me feel better and Gracie seemed to like it, too. Walks (or even jogs!) are going to be one of our daily activities (on good weather days!).
On Friday, my mom and sister and I all hung out and we took Gracie to her first restaurant--Olive Garden. It was a little intimidating, but we got through it. We sat in a booth and I just put her in her carseat next to me. There were two sets of children at nearby tables, and one of the tables of children were little hellions. They screamed the entire time and they were not babies (although one of them had a pacifier in at 5 years old). The moms that were there with them did nothing to correct them and didn't take them out of the restaurant. Then, when Gracie finally woke up after they screamed for a good hour, the mothers sent the little girl with the pacifier over to apologize for waking the baby up. Of course she immediately tried to touch the baby and her mom did the whole "No, don't do that" thing without moving. Grrr
On Saturday, Corey and I went and did some shopping with her and went to another restaurant for lunch. That went very smoothly and I was so happy we did it.
It feels good to go out and do things with her. She seems to like it/do well with it and it is so great for my mental health. In the last couple of weeks, I really feel like I'm getting more and more comfortable with being a mommy and I feel so much more like myself.
I'm so glad to be Gracie's mommy and to be living the life I always dreamed of. We are so lucky!
Love,
Elizabeth
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