One Month Birthday

Weight: Dipped down to 7 lbs 1 oz at five days old, 8 lbs 2 oz at 2.5 weeks, and 9 lbs 4 oz at one month

Height: 20.5 in. at five days, 20 in. at 2.5 weeks (the nurse said Ashton's cone head went down so that accounts for the loss of 1/2 inch), 21 at one month. We feel she grew more but I think it is just that she is stretching out more. She still likes the fetal position but lately, she pushes her legs out more and more.

Clothing Size: Newborn, which we weren't prepared for. I thought she'd wear newborn for about a week, maybe two. Definitely not for a month! She fits into a few of the 0-3 onesies but definitely not the pants. I'm ready for her to move to 0-3 months since we have lots of cuter clothes in that size.

Daily Schedule: Cry, eat, poop, eat, play, cry, eat, sleep, repeat.

Total diapers we change daily: Between 7 and 9

Total outfits we go through daily: If we're lucky, two. If not, four outfits, a blanket, and a crib sheet

Sleep Status: At first, slept 4-5 hours at a time during the night. Now she sleeps 3-4 hours. Falls asleep on her own in the crib without crying. Ashton slept in her crib from night one in her own room, which we are very happy about. She is definitely learning the difference between night and day.

Special Outings: Church, BYU games, Meet and Greet Baby Shower with women from church, lunch at Daddy's work, a whole day in Houston (went to a mall, Sam's Club, an oil change, and ice cream)

Firsts: Sponge bath, outing with Mommy alone (went to Target), walks around the neighborhood, start of tummy time, which she loves, meeting her cousins, and a real bath

Any big changes: Moved to newborn size diapers finally. Preemie diapers were expensive! Newborn aren't much better though. We tried size one two days ago and it was huge on her. So we're sticking with newborn for a little bit longer. Also, her umbilical cord took FOREVER to fall off. It finally fell off on Friday, at 28 days. We're happy it's gone as it was getting pretty gross.

Thoughts from the parents: Raising a daughter is the greatest blessing God has given us. Even when I am up three times a night with a crying, hungry baby, I still thank God for the opportunity to raise a child in our family.

Biggest Lessons Learned: (1) Cover your baby during diaper changes even if you have a girl. (2) Don't plan too many errands in one day. (3) Make sure the ruffles of the diapers are out or else you'll be changing a diaper and an outfit, and cleaning the carseat. (4) Living in a second story apartment is not fun if you want to take your daughter on a walk in the stroller. It's quite the production.

Monthly Pictures:

First bath! Using the ducky water temperature thing that Aunt Trescha gave her.

One Month Old today!

We were all matching in blue.

She loves having her head rubbed. That's the one thing that she will fall asleep to almost any time.

Monthly Video: This is Ashton lifting her head. She was about three weeks old.

What the next month should bring: Visits from grandparents (arriving in just a few hours) and cousins, baby blessing, first Halloween, and first babysitter (the grandparents)