One Month on August 31, 2017
Weight: 10.8 pounds*
Height: 21 inches
*This is based on my rudimentary bathroom scale method. 🙂
I can’t believe it’s been an entire month since we met this darling lady, and I definitely can’t believe how much she has already changed since July 31st! We have had the fastest, sweetest month. I think I will write a post some time about how motherhood has (and hasn’t) changed me so far, but for now I will say that it’s truly a love like no other! Just as we love our family with a certain kind of love, our friends with a different one, and our spouse with still another, now Victoria has shown us that there’s still at least one more kind of love we hadn’t experienced yet. It’s BIG, bittersweet, somewhat scary, and full of joy and gravity.
But enough about me, here’s a recap of Victoria’s first month! Everything was obviously a first this month, but I’ve tried to narrow this report down to the highlights after we got home from the hospital. Future monthly highlights won’t be this elaborate, but I took a month-long break from a computer screen, so we have a lot of catching up to do!
Month One Highlights
Zero Weeks
Victoria had her first Pediatrician Appointment. When we first got home from the hospital, my parents were in town for a few days. Our very first full day home we took Victoria to her first doctor’s appointment and learned the joys of loading her up in the car seat and trying to finangle all of our gear and get there with everything and everyone in one piece, only to realize I wore a dress I couldn’t nurse her in. Oops.
We Really Enjoyed Family Walks. After my parents left, Will was on paternity leave for two weeks, and we loved getting out in the neighborhood for some family walks. Maneuvering the stroller still had a learning curve (especially through doors!) but wasn’t as challenging as the car seat.
One Week
One week old on August 7, 2017.
We Loved All of Victoria’s Faces and Quirks. She loves to smile, stretch when we take her swaddle off (complete with a fun “stretchy face”), do tummy time (especially on our chests), savor her bedtime routine (bath time then books and music), and play track the rattle and mimic faces with Will.
All of the Grandparents Came to Visit! We loved having all five grandparents visit the first month and even successfully took Victoria to a BBQ restaurant when Dennis and Jenna were here.
Two Weeks
Two weeks old on August 14, 2017. Photo by Emily Gerald Photography (more soon!).
We Found Out She had Gained a Ton of Weight at her Two Week Appointment. We took Victoria back to the pediatrician on the 14th, and she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz! We had fun with Grandmommy (Kathy) when she came back to visit too!
Will Gave Her Her First Bottle. The pediatrician gave us the all-clear to start one bottle a day to get her used to it on August 14th, and Will gave her her first bottle that night! He has really enjoyed that time with her (despite her looking homeless here: we’re worried she is cold after a bath!). Also, she spits up. LOTS of burp cloths are necessary.
Victoria and Pippa are already BFFs!
She Gave us a Little More Sleep. On August 20th, we moved her to her crib for the night, and she got down to one middle-of-the-night feeding!
Three Weeks
Three weeks old on August 21, 2017.
We Saw the Eclipse! Victoria started out her third week with the eclipse! She was very popular on our rooftop, and though she didn’t wear her glasses, she didn’t look at the sun either. 😉
We had Lots of Friends Over. Our meal train started when Victoria was three weeks, and it is such a blessing to have such generous friends and a wonderful church family. Here, Victoria finally got to meet “Uncle” Jeff! 🙂
We had a Wonderful Saturday in Old Town Alexandria. On the 26th, we got out of the apartment and had breakfast at La Madeleine followed by some farmer’s market and shopping fun in Old Town. It was glorious.
Victoria Went to Church for the First Time! Victoria’s first Sunday at church was on the 27th. She was very good and she got her “Simba” introduction, which is one of my favorite traditions of our church. The pastor announces new babies on their first Sunday at church, and the dad holds them up like Simba. 🙂
Four Weeks
We Can Run Errands Now! In the few days between four weeks and one month, we made the bold decision to attempt some errands, and Victoria loves riding around in the Solly Wrap! She has also rolled over from her tummy to her back twice now! She can sleep up to six hours in the night and graduated from newborn to size 1 diapers on August 29th. This is so bittersweet!
Month One Lowlights
The toughest part of our first month (besides the sleep deprivation and lack of a routine for me) was probably Sunday the 20th. Will had to go to the office, and we didn’t know I had mastitis, plus Victoria was very fussy. So you had a tired and sick mom, a cranky baby, and lots of desperate rocking. 🙂 Thankfully we figured out that I had mastitis and got help from a lactation consultant and antibiotics for me.
I think that about covers it! We may do a different format for future months, but the first month is kind of a big deal! We’re so blessed by this sweet babe!
