one month of mae

Happy one month, sweet girl!!

This newborn thing is a bit of a roller coaster. Every evening spans an eternity... full of screaming and tears (mostly Mae's, some mine), and yet I can't believe it's already been a month since I held her for the first time. My heart melts when she looks at me with her innocent eyes, but minutes later she lets out a howling, "WAAAHHH!" and I'm reminded of why Dan nicknamed her Beelzebaby after a particularly tough day. I thank God for giving us this beautiful girl every day, but I pray for the patience to take care of her at least twice as often!

So, it's been a little rough, but here's some of the little blessings from this month! Mae is healthy and gaining weight like a champ. She often sleeps for 4-5 hours at night. She already enjoys laying under the colorful activity gym with her stuffed leopard, Stewart (my obstetrician made us promise to name a stuffed animal after him). We take daily walks to the grocery store with Mae in the stroller or Moby wrap. She is starting to make cute little cooing sounds, especially after a rapid sneezing fit (yes, she inherited that trait from her Dad). She sucked her thumb for the first time about a week ago, although she usually prefers to try cramming her whole hand into her mouth. And she really is super adorable, even sometimes when she's crying.

Other good news from this week is that Dan returned to work Monday after getting laid off at the beginning of February. It was so helpful having him at home for four whole weeks with Mae and for the last bit of my pregnancy. I don't know how I could have survived it without his help... this week alone with Mae was quite a challenge! Fortunately my mom came back to help out Thursday. Dan and I even got to enjoy a dinner out while Mae stayed home with her Grandma!

Charlie and Mae are getting used to each other. She naps through his best attempts to chirp her awake. I think he was disappointed to lose the distinction of "Loudest Creature in the House," though he has retained, by a narrow margin, the title of "Creature Who Poops The Most Often." Uh oh, I just had a horrifying thought: What if he learns to mimic baby screams? This could get ugly.