Darcie Stats: 1 Month Old

I couldn't find the same blanket on her one month mark, so I had to switch blankies which looks lame.  But she is wearing the same onesie and look how much tighter it is on her at the one month mark!

My dearest Darcie Catherine,

As I did with your older sister, I have decided to write you monthly letters to be slurped into a baby book at the end of your first year of life.  It's been a delight to be able to look back on Daphne's book and see how she has changed and grown and to compare and contrast you two at this early chapter of your infancy.  You'll probably notice a lot of times when I refer to these differences or similarities simply because Daphne has been my only reference point as a mother and it is so fun for me to see how unique you two are from one another already.  I'm sure that will become increasingly obvious as you age, but it amazes me that it is already apparent just a few weeks into your life.  However, having said that, it is remarkable how much you two look alike!  I just showed Daddy some baby pictures that he thought were a mixture of both you and Daphne.  He was shocked when I told him they were all of Daphne as a baby!  He kept saying, "No way.  That one right there is definitely Darcie!"  I love that you look so much alike - my two little beauties.

Darcie, you are such a sweet, calm baby.  You seem to have a deeply pensive soul and have flashed just a few brief smiles at us thus far.  You only cry when you need something and I will be eternally grateful that we have not had to deal with a colicky baby yet.  On the other hand, you have revealed a few surprising flash pan flares of temper!  I will never forget when you were just a week old and Kevin and Danelle came over to bring us dinner and to meet you for the first time.  I had pumped before they arrived to give my poor chest a little break (mastitis is a major bummer!), so I was feeding you a bottle at one point while we visited in the front room.  I had pulled the bottle away from you for a moment while I readjusted and you let out an ear piercing shriek of absolute rage!  The conversation stopped dead as we stared at you in shock.  You smacked your lips down hard on the bottle nipple and ate furiously!  If that was an indicator for future temper tantrums we are going to be in for it! :)

Physically, you have been doing splendid.  As typical to most babies, you dropped from your birth weight of 7 lbs 3 oz down into the 6 lb range at the hospital, but by your two week appointment on October 22 you had jumped back up to 7 lbs 6 oz, placing you in the 30th percentile for weight.  It's nice to see you gaining weight as we have felt like you were such a skinny little babe in comparison to Daphne's chunkiness at birth - a whole pound heavier than you!  I wish I had other stats for you like your head size and length, but unfortunately our new doctor doesn't take those measurements.  In fact, since we are taking you to a family practice doctor instead of an official pediatrician, I've noticed there are a lot of things they don't do like our St. George doctor did since their focus isn't solely on children, which is kind of a bummer.  But I digress...you are healthy and strong and that is the important thing.  The jaundice hasn't resurfaced and all your tests have come back normal.  Your raisin fell off after just 5 days (compared to Daphne's 24 days!) and your skin has been incredibly peely as you've lost that first layer of newborn skin.  I adore your thin covering of dark hair that feels just like the downy feathers of a baby duck.  Speaking of ducks, you are a little water lover and are so content and peaceful when we have tubby time.

One thing that is driving Daddy and I bonkers is your nighttime breathing habits.  You breathe silently all day long until, for some bizarre reason, we turn off the lights at night and then it sounds like you've swallowed a baby pig!  You snort and wheeze and do this horrible gasping noise that sounds like you're struggling for breathe, propelling me out of bed and to your side in .5 seconds flat only to find you comfortably sound asleep.  Ugh.  It has made sleeping so difficult, but we're not quite ready to graduate you from the bassinet in our room to the crib in Daphne's room until you're sleeping through the night a little better and less prone to waking up big sis two and three times a night.  

Speaking of your sister, Daphne absolutely adores you!  She is constantly wanting to give you loves.  She has a pretty good sense of how "rough" she can be with you, but still needs reminders from time to time when she is a little too helpful and tries to shove the binky in your mouth or wants to flip you over on your stomach for tummy time.  She is very protective of you and will often scold me if she thinks I'm doing something that will bother you.  For example, today I was giving you a tubby and afterwards as I took a q-tip to clean out your ears she rushed over in a panic saying, "Baby Darcie doesn't like that Mom!  Take it out!"  The first few days that we brought you home she and Daddy were playing around with some improv singing when she came up with this little ditty nearly all on her own!  It was seriously adorable to hear her sing a song all about you!  She said, "Hi, hi, how is Darcie doin?  Why, why, why's she always snoozin?  My, oh my, I want to play with her!"  I am so hopeful that you two will grow to be the best of friends!

So let's talk schedule.  You sure don't have one yet and it's been stressing me out.  You will be amazing and go six hours between a feeding one night and then the next night you will wake up every two hours to chomp down.  Whereas Daphne refused to sleep whenever someone was holding her (she wanted to be in her crib to sleep), you are completely opposite.  You could be in the deepest dreamland and as soon as we set you down - boom! - those eyes shoot wide open and you cry to be held again.  I have felt like you were so little that I didn't want to let you "cry it out", but it is starting to get really hard to get anything done when I go to put you down for a nap and you refuse to fall asleep (or stay asleep) on your own.  

The other problem is that although you're an excellent eater, you're also an excellent puker!  The first time you did one of your colossal throw ups we were up at the deer hunt and I was feeding you in the truck when you suddenly detached and threw up all over both of us.  It scared me to see wave after wave of milk shooting out in a violent projectile vomit.  Since then, you pull this little doozie usually once a day.  I've taken to draping your blanket over my chest and lap to try and catch the wave if you do suddenly pull off, but generally it happens so fast that we both end up a drenched mess.  It's a good thing I adore you so much or I would be pretty thoroughly disgusted.  Anyhow, I think that your unpredictable sleeping is linked to this weird vomiting as you must be trying to play catchup and want to eat all the time after a good puke.  The doctor thinks you just guzzle and get air bubbles that cause you to gag and up it comes.  I'm hoping we grow out of this soon!

Although I've been feeling way more sleep deprived with you than I did with Daphne, it's amazing how I still feel completely up to the task.  The fact that I am not recovering from a C-section has been phenomenal for me both physically and mentally.  I absolutely glory in every little thing that I have been able to do that I wouldn't have been able to do if I had been cut into again.  I love that we are already going on long walks with me pushing both of you sweet girls in the double stroller.  I love that I am already mowing the lawn, doing all my own housework and rearranging furniture. :)  Thank you for coming the way you did sweet one!

Besides your Mama, Papa and big sis, you have a whole host of extended family who adore you already.  Auntie LeeAnn has made me feel so good as she just wants to steal you every time we are all together.  She breathes you in deep and has to shield you from all of your girl cousins who just want to pass you from one to another all night long at Sunday dinners in Parowan.  Aunt Nellie has choked up several times holding you just thinking of her little man due in January.  It will be fun for you to have a cousin so close in age!

Some other things we've noticed about you are:

1) You like to sleep with your arms above your head and hate to have them swaddled down.

2) You will take a binkie and a bottle of pumped milk, but I don't want you getting dependent on either.

3) When you are awake you are SO alert, taking in your surroundings with wide, curious eyes.

4) You have long, delicate fingers and toes. 

5) If I try to get you to look at me when you're checking out your surroundings, you will just lift your eyes over my head or to the side, refusing to make eye contact.
6) You last about 2 minutes during tummy time before you get mad.
7) You get very still when music turns on, when Daddy plays his guitar or when I play the piano.
8) You just might be a Mama's girl, which I secretly love.

It is such a pleasure to be your mother, especially to be a second time mother with you.  Everyone said it would happen, but I am astounded at how much more relaxed I am as a mother this time around.  I'm not constantly worried about the little things and I feel that in many ways I can more fully enjoy this stage of your life, especially because I know how quickly it passes.  So I will continue to enjoy our 2 AM hangouts when you are as alert as an owl, staring into my eyes with yours wide as moons and flashing me your occasional sleepy smile.  You have brought an increase of love and happiness into our home that we didn't even know was missing.  We are so much more complete now that you are part of our family.

I love you, my darling baby girl and feel so blessed to be your mother.  Grow on my little one.

Love you forever and always,

Your Mama