P-A-D: Day 31, One Month Old

Kailea's one-month birthday was yesterday, Sunday the 13th. On Friday (she was exactly 4 weeks old) she weighed 7.2 pounds, and measured about 20" long (measuring a baby isn't easy!). That is a gain of just over 1 pound, and 2 inches. Our girl continues to be a drama queen, spitting up often, keeping us awake at night long after she's finished feeding, and losing her "calm baby" persona to fuss regularly like any other newborn.

She is already visibly larger, and I have mixed feelings about this. About the time we brought her home from the hospital, it struck me that she was beginning to grow and I didn't want that to happen. I selfishly want to be able to hold her in my arms whenever I want, for as long as I want. How precious to always have this tiny baby on hand, to cuddle whenever you want. But she's not a pet, she's a growing girl! I'm looking forward to seeing her smile at me, to have her reach for me, to hear her first words. Maybe I'll want to freeze her then, too. But I'm sure I'll quickly begin to long for seeing her walk, hear her speak in sentences, hear her giggle as she runs around the house. Of course, it will be nice when she's finally out of diapers!

So yesterday was not only Kailea's birthday, but it was also my first mother's day. We spent way too much effort cleaning and preparing to have both of our families over, so long before bed time we were exhausted, but it was well worth it. I finally have pictures of everyone holding the baby! Plus, I think everyone had a nice time chatting, eating, and otherwise celebrating the mothers in the family. Eric went out and bought me a camcorder, at my request. Hopefully we'll be putting it to good use soon. It really was a lovely day.