Today, I’ve officially been a mother for one month. My beautiful baby girl is a full 1 month old, and it’s amazing the kind of changes she makes daily. She’s already looking so much bigger, both in weight and length. She also makes progress so fast, and each day I see her making new connections to voices and faces. She can already flip herself to the side if she has something to pull or push off of, and she can hold her head up pretty well. I can’t believe how fast she’s changing!
Amélie’s First Month
It’s really hard to believe that it’s only been a month. It feels like just yesterday I’d wrapped up 52 hours of labor and we were holding my newborn babe in my arms… Yet it’s been an entire month.
Jaundice and the Hospital
We spent the first few days of Amélie’s life in the hospital. She had jaundice and had to sleep in the bili bed to treat it, and we had to start supplementing formula right from the start in order to help it pass out of her system. Luckily it seemed to clear up well enough and we were able to go home after only 3 and a half days.
Amélie’s First Night Home
Being a mom is hard, and even though I was so excited to go home with my baby that first night home was scary. I had my first bought of baby blues. Something about leaving the safe haven of the hospital with nurses around 24/7 was scary. I couldn’t stop crying for fear of having to take care of this tiny tiny infant all by myself, even though I knew I could. She was just so small and helpless. But we did alright… It’s been a month and she’s still alive.
Amélie Sleeping Arrangements
Amélie has many beds. We bought her a crib for when she’s a little older, and a bassinet for the side of the bed. However, when the basement flooded and our bed was moved into the living room there wasn’t room for the bassinet, so I bought a nice little co-sleeper to go in the bed with me. She wont sleep in the co-sleeper. No matter how sound asleep she is, the minute I put her in it she’s wide awake and crying. At night, the only way she’ll sleep is if she’s actually on me, so we’ve worked out a system where I have myself and her propped up on the pregnancy pillow so we can’t move and our faces are by each other so I can hear her breathing.
At first I was scared that I’d roll or sleep too deeply, but it seems that momma instinct is strong and we’ve been perfectly safe. As you can see from the photos above, she’s the happiest there.
Amélie and Daddy
During the day, Amélie will sleep just fine with her dad. I think she just needs to be on someone to be happy sleeping. I know this may cause issues down the road, but for now it’s the only way any of us get any sleep. Her cuddling with her dad during the day is the only way I can get anything around the house done, or my blogging done. It’s good though, I’m obsessed with her and her daddy snoozing together. They’re just the cutest! He’s such a great dad.
Amélie and her Brothers
Amélie’s older brother’s S and B really adore her. They’re always asking to hold her, and they are constantly talking about how cute their little sister is. Little S just fawns over her, he’s always petting her head to soothe her, or checking on her and letting me know she’s okay. It’s ADORABLE.
Amélie’s First Christmas
Not only was it our first Christmas with miss Amélie, but it was our first Christmas with the boys, so it was extra special. It was so nice to get photos with all of us together.
Amélie with her Grandparents
I’m really close with my parents, so we’re lucky that Amélie gets to be super close with them too. They are over-the-moon happy about their first grandbaby, and they’ve been around a lot over the last month. My dad is fixing the flood damage in the basement for me, and has also told me that I should think about getting in touch with somewhere like this public adjuster Doylestown company to help me when it comes to filing my insurance claim. And to be honest, I could do with all the help that I can get in this area, so I might look into this. My mom keeps making regular trips down to see the baby or watch her for me. We also spent many days up at their house for the holidays. Her Grandpa Rick has nicknamed her Puff, as in Puff the Magic Dragon, because he inserts her name in the place of “Honna Lea” in the lyrics of the song. She really loves her grandparents, however, they can’t help as much as they would like to because they are starting to get older now. This means that they’re not as mobile and active as they once were. We’ve actually been having conversations lately about finding life insurance for seniors. This would cover them if they develop any health issues, helping us to cover the cost of funerals and medical bills. Whilst we don’t want to think about it, it’s something that needs to be discussed.
Amélie with Her Great Grandparents
I was always lucky growing up that I had so many grandparents, great grandparents, and even great great grandparents; so I’m glad that Amélie gets to have great grandparents as well. My grandma D has been such a big influence on my life, that Amélie even gets her middle name after grandma (and actually after my dad, and myself as well as we all have the same middle name). They were so happy to meet her, and they’ve fawned over her all along. My grandpa Nick even cried the first time he met her and held her in the hospital. It’s pure love.
Amélie also got to meet her other great grandparents for Christmas as well. They were so excited to meet her too.
Amélie with her Aunts and Uncles
My brother’s and Sister (and brother’s girlfriends) have just loved getting to love on their new and first little niece. So cute!
Amélie and Uncle Josh, Her Godfather
Uncle Josh, Amélie’s godfather, came down from Canada for the holidays and got to meet this little angel. They took to each other instantly, and he’s already started planning vacations for her to come stay with him when she’s older. So sweet!
Amélie and Uncle Ken and Aunt Kristina
Amélie’s other godparent is Aunt Kristina (and Uncle Ken), and they are loving her so much too. Uncle Ken has taken to calling her “Dragon” as her nickname, and claiming that she belongs to him now so I can’t take her home. They are so sweet with her, and it’s nice that I’m their kids’ godmom just like they’re mine.
Amélie and her Honorary Cousins
Since I’m their godparent, and their parents are Amélie’s godparents, that makes them some kind of honorary cousins with each other. It’s great, because they have been SO cute with her. Kaden has nicknamed her little Omelette, which my mom has taken to calling her also.
Little Fashionista in the Making
I’m just loving dressing her up in sweet little clothes. How cute are her little holiday outfits? I’m OBSESSED.
New Years
We started our New Years lazy at home this year, but our New Years Kiss couldn’t have been more perfect. We love this little babe!
More Photos of Amélie
Here are some other adorable photos I’ve taken over the past month. I can’t get over how sweet she is, and I already have hundreds of photos on my phone. I just want to sit and stare at her, and if I can’t stare at her, I’ll stare at these photos instead… *sigh*
