Oatmeal for Breakfast

Beatrice is one month old today! Here are a few of our favorite memories from the last couple of weeks.

After Bea’s umbilical cord fell off, we were able to give her a real immersion bath for the first time. She likes these way better than the sponge baths and sits quietly in the warm water while she’s washed! Kelly tumbles her towel in the drier so that she has a warm, fresh towel when she’s done with her bath.

Beatrice is learning to sleep in the bassinet, but her favorite place to sleep is still on our arms or chests. She’ll sleep for hours and hours when she’s being held.

Beatrice slept through most of her first two weeks of life–ten minutes was a long time for her little eyes to be open–but she’s really turned a corner as she approached the one-month mark. Now she’s awake and very interested in the world around her for hours at a time, and her eyes are getting bigger and bluer every day.

Beatrice has been smiling in her sleep for the past few weeks, but just a few days ago she started smiling for real! (We haven’t caught it on film yet.) So far she’s smiled at her mother, her doctor and nurses, Brenda, her aunt Megan … and not her father. This is a bit of a sore point.

Beatrice gets a little bit of “tummy time” every day. Sometimes she just lies quietly but lately she’s been able to hold her head up a couple of seconds and even try to roll over. These are developmental milestones she’s not supposed to hit for quite a while and we’re encouraging her to cherish her immobile days while they last!

We’ve really lost count of how many friends and family have come over to bring us food, hold Beatrice, and generally be supportive and loving. Beatrice has met adults and children of all ages and is generally very happy to be held and admired by just about anyone.

Kelly’s starting to feel like her regular self again. Seriously, does she look like she’s a sleep-deprived parent who underwent major surgery a few weeks ago?

Beatrice had her one-month checkup today and all looks rosy–she’s in the 70th and 80th percentiles in the measures that matter and she’s doing great. Thank you for your prayers and support as we try to figure out this “parenting” thing!