In A State of Complete Shock

We've been doing tummy time with Abby. It's her favorite time of the day.

Poor baby! But we have to practice, right? At least she's highly motivated to learn how to roll over. Maybe she's a little too highly motivated. Last Saturday I had her on her tummy and then...

One...

Two... 

Three!

My five week old baby rolled onto her back! I was totally shocked.

Jacob and I cheered so loudly that we startled her and she cried inconsolably for about half an hour [Parents of the Year Award]. I think we scarred her for life. Probably won't be seeing that trick again for a while...

I Can't Believe A Month Ago...

I'm not sure how this happened, but somehow time has passed since Abigail's arrival and I suddenly have a one-month old baby on my hands.

Meeting Grandmamma

With Grandpappa

Taking care of a newborn is pretty redundant. She eats, she burps, she sleeps, she dirties diapers, then the process starts again. When she's really feeling crazy, she switches up the order of those events. That's about the limit of life variety right now. And yet, there are so many things that I don't want to forget about this first month.

Abby is a squeaker. She will eventually start crying if she doesn't get what she wants, but before crying she will just squeak for a long time. It is absolutely endearing.

Jedi Baby! aka: Abby after her first bath at home

She sure was happy to get out of the womb - there isn't enough room in there to sleep like this!

Abby is smart. I always thought it was weird when new parents said that - my thoughts were, how on earth can you tell? Probably my best example is that when Abby does cry, she immediately stops when we start the right process for getting what she wants, i.e. if she needs a diaper change, she stops crying as soon as we put her on her changing pad. If she's hungry, she stops crying as soon as I sit down with her in our rocking chair. It makes it so much easier to figure out what the problem is. I'm amazed that she picked up on those patterns so early on. She's one smart cookie.

Abby loves exploring different textures. While lying on Jacob's lap, she runs her hand all over his leg hair. When I'm nursing her she runs her hand all over my tummy. Her favorite thing to touch is her hair. She loves to run her hand back and forth on the top of her head, where the hair is thickest. Sometimes this leads to trouble. A couple of weeks ago I put her in her crib so I could use the bathroom. While I was away from her, she suddenly started screeching at the top of her lungs. I was seriously alarmed (see previous note about how rarely she even cries - screeching was totally unexpected!) I ran into her room and looked around, trying to figure out what the problem was. Then I saw that she had a fistful of her hair at the crown of her head. The more upset she became, the more she yanked on it, the more it hurt her, the more upset she became! I coaxed her to open her grip, and she immediately calmed down. This has happened about ten more times since that first incident. It is hilarious and horribly sad at the same time. Poor baby is still figuring out what belongs to her.

Visiting with Granny and Poppy

Feeling her hair

Loves sleeping on Poppy's chest

Abby is growing like crazy. At her one month doctor's appointment she weighed in at 9 lbs 7 oz. I was disappointed that they didn't measure her length because she suddenly looks really long to me (she was 20.75 at her one week's appointment - she grew one inch in one week!) She eats often and much. It's difficult for me to keep up.

She's got some serious love for her Papa

Adorable even when she's sad

Abby is really pretty. I especially love her eyes, which are so big and so dark. Maybe it's because she sleeps enough that I rarely see her eyes open, but it seems like they surprise me every time I get to see them because they are just so big.

Out late on July 4th

And Abby is a sweet, good baby. She loves to cuddle. I get nothing done during the day because she wakes up every time I try to put her in her crib. She just wants to sleep on my tummy all day. When I start to get frustrated by this and how impossible it is to get any housework done, I remind myself of what a small moment of time this is. Already this month has gone by so fast, and if time keeps moving at this rate, it will be no time at all before she's ready to be independent of me. So the laundry and dishes and vacuuming can wait a little longer. For now, I'm going to cuddle this tiny beauty.

Such a lady - always crossing her ankles under her skirts

Melodramatic Baby

One month old

I Didn't Understand

To my dearest Abigail,

I feel like I need to say some things, just for the record, to clear the air.

First of all: pregnancy is hard. It is so hard. It is impossibly more difficult than I ever could have imagined. In the first few weeks after I found out I was expecting, I thought for sure there had been some horrible mistake and that I was actually dying. And that was just the first trimester. I had no idea how much worse it was going to get.

Secondly, childbirth is hard. Oh my heavens, it is so hard. It is impossibly more difficult than I could have anticipated. I spent eight months physically and mentally preparing myself for it, and I actually thought I was prepared (Ha!) Now I'm just humbled. In the thick of labor, I prayed that I would die. I didn't die. Instead, labor got uncomprehendingly more difficult. It was horrific.

Conclusion: pregnancy and/or childbirth = me not at my best. I complained a lot. I was grumpy a lot. I am pretty ashamed when I look back on it now.

I will never forget the last few moments of delivery, when I was so exhausted and so discouraged, and forced myself to tune out everyone's voices except for your father's. I will never forget the awe in his voice as he watched you come out, and how it inspired me to keep working. I'll never forget the moment you were born, and the doctor's announcement, "It's a girl!", and how they immediately put you on my tummy, and I finally got to meet you. I'll never forget how rosy your cheeks were, and how dark your eyes were, and how sweet your first little cries were. I swear, you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off of you.

Abby, what I need for you to know is this: pregnancy is hard. Childbirth is harder. But for you, it was totally worth it. I would go through it again and again and again if it meant keeping you in my life.

I spent the last several months so anxious about being a mom and all the ways that my life was going to change. I expected the sleepless nights, and the moments of lost patience, and the endless poopy diapers, but I was completely blindsided by how much love I would feel for you. I didn't understand how much joy you were going to bring into my life. You are absolutely precious to me. I can't believe I get to be your mother.

Welcome to the world. Welcome to our family.

Love,
Mama

Freedom Ring

With the arrival of our Little Miss I have a ton to say and a lot of pictures that I want to post...but that will have to wait. My super-clingy newborn wants to nurse and/or cuddle with her mama all the time (and I'm loving it!), but I just don't have the willpower to type entire blog posts with one hand.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from The Best Photo Shoot Ever. Abby was really excited about this, let me tell you. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw these pictures later.

Happy [late] 4th of July!