Kate turned one month on the 18th and she couldn't be more phenomenal! She is growing so fast and already weighs 10lbs. 9oz. as of the 19th! Big girl! She is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night which is pretty much amazing... last night she slept from about 10pm until almost 4am! That is six hours of sleepy bliss for me. I actually ended up having to unwrap her swaddle to get her to start waking up because I needed to feed her... I was in some pain from going so long without feeding her.
After I fed her last night, it was about 4:30am and I just didn't want to put her down. She was all cuddled up on my chest, sound asleep, and my brain started going. I realized how blessed I am. With my daughter on my chest and my husband asleep next to me, I felt like everything was right with the world. What a wonderful little family I have! I got a little choked up... I'll admit it. Eventually I put her back down and she slept for another 4 hours... amazing!
The first month has been such a period of learning. Nursing is finally something I can enjoy- instead of crying and hating every minute of it. I thought women were liars when they said "it gets better," but it really does. I never knew how many diapers a newborn baby could go through. Holy crap! No pun intended... Seriously, I change her wet pants before I feed her, then she poops in the clean diaper, then I change her again and it isn't long before we hear her let loose again. I read, while I was pregnant, that a breastfed baby should have a dirty diaper for every feeding... but I guess I just didn't realize how often that was. Dang! Supposedly she will start pooping less now that she is one month old. We'll see!
She has started smiling and it is the best thing in the world! She only does it in response to seeing someone else smile right now... I guess that is how their brains work, but it is amazing! She is going to be such a charmer. Look out, Daddy! The other night she giggled in her sleep and I just about melted into a puddle of goo right there. It was the cutest thing ever!
Matt is probably the greatest dad in the world. For real. He adores her so much and it makes my heart all fuzzy and warm. I really value that, since my dad wasn't around for me. I have a whole new love and respect for Matt that I can't really explain... there is nothing like seeing your husband become a dad.
I am so excited for Christmas- our first Christmas as a family of three! This little girl is going to be SO spoiled... I can already tell. It is so special to my mom and my grandpa, too, to have a new little one at Christmas time. Especially for my grandpa, since with all the scares we've had with his health, we never knew if he'd get to see this day. He tells me everytime he holds her how happy he is that he got to be here to see her. It is so special to me, too. I hope she will know how much he adores her.
Ok, now that I have made myself cry, I will use the rest of this time that she is sleeping to eat some breakfast and pick up around the house. Many more stories to come!
