Susanna Judith is one month old!

I'm going to follow in the footsteps of my sister and do a little to record monthly milestones as they pass. Since I don't really keep a journal, at least doing this will allow me to preserve some memories of my daughter (it feels so weird to write that!) as she grows. If her childhood is anything like Will's, I won't remember many of the small things and when she's grown and asks me questions about her children and how I handled similar situations with mine, I'll maybe be able to use what I've written to help guide her in raising her babies.

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Will just loves his "baby sister," as he calls her. One of his favorite things to do is to just hold her.


On Friday Susanna Judith passed the four-week mark. It's funny - I do remember that those first weeks with Will passed in a blur of dark, wintry days and seemingly endless cycles of nursing on the sofa, diaper changing, laundry, and often-truncated naps. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant - just a blur. This experience with Susanna has been different - perhaps it's the time of year, perhaps I am blessed with perspective and experience, and perhaps having Will to help and get me out of the house makes the difference, but it is different. It already feels like time is flying by and that she's growing faster than I really want her to.

It's really hard to get two children to face the camera for a photo, so this is about as good as it gets. I think it turned out pretty well!


I don't know if Spencer or I will have more children, but even if we do, I find myself a little sad sometimes at not being pregnant and feeling her move inside my belly. I expect that I will have more of these feelings as she continues to need me less and becomes her own person.

The fashion show begins!


Anyway, she is a month old. As far as stats go, she was weighed at her last appointment on the 11th of September and came in at 10 pounds and 6 ounces. That was a total weight gain of 1 pound and 8 ounces over the course of two and a half weeks. She seems to be putting on an ounce or more per day, so when we go in for a check-up on Tuesday, I'm thinking she'll be somewhere in the 11+ pound range. She's also gained little more than an inch in height. I don't know about her head circumference, but it was in the 75-90% range when she was born, so I bet it'll stay close to that.

Snuggly on the floor


Her skin peeled a lot when she was first born - it was a surprise to me since that didn't happen with Will. That said the peeling is virtually done now and her skin is super soft and smells sweet - like baby skin! Her hair is hanging on and is a soft medium brown, like mine. Interestingly, her eyes seem to be getting lighter and might even turn out to be blue. That is possible, since my Dad has blue eyes and Spencer's mom has blue eyes. In fact, though mine are decidedly brown, Spencer's are hazel and have a lot of blue in them. It would be kind of fun to have one with blue or even hazel eyes.

I think this sums up how Will feels about her.


You know how baby appendages are often kind of spindly? Susanna's were, too, but now they are starting to fill out and show some soft roundness. Her fingers and toes and still teeny, but she knows how to use those fingers - her strength surprises me sometimes.

Spiderman wanted to get in on the love, too.


Personality? Hard to say. When the bulk of your day is spent sleeping, individual traits are hard to distinguish. She's not overly demanding, but she can be persistent. Imagine that! She has a marked preference for a particular blanket for tummy time, and doesn't like having her clothing changed. However, she does like baths and if given the choice, wants Mommy. She has smiled a few times. Not reacting to anything that we've done, but particularly after eating. It's cute to get an idea of what she's going to look like as time goes by.

She's an extremely efficient eater (like her Daddy), and a pretty good sleeper. We usually get somewhere between three- and five-hour stretches at night and for the most part, she naps well during the day. We are looking forward to transitioning her to her crib in the nursery at night. She uses it during the day to nap, but we keep her downstairs with us at night. It'll be nice to reclaim our bedroom in a few weeks. I think that like Will, she's naturally clean, as she actually enjoys diaper changes. She relaxes and stretches out while we clean her and put on a fresh diaper.

Our baby girl is a good one, I think. We are enjoying her and are looking forward to the coming months or her young life!