One Month Old: Growing, growing, growing...

Growing, growing, growing......over 3lbs in a month!

Little billy goat noises are slowly giving way to soft vocal inflections such as "Ah"....Cries are no longer quite so sharp....movements are not so jerky. And, somewhere in this month, the tiny curled up bundle on my chest has begun to stretch out....Legs and arms don't pull in and tuck anymore, but stretch out.  Your head doesn't automatically nuzzle in toward the place where you lived for over 9 months.

The newborn clothes that never fit according to numbers, yet fit because of the frail figure and scrunched up body....all of a sudden look like they could have never fit at all!!!....So much so in fact that the next size is almost too small!  How did I miss this?  Happens every time.  Unopened diapers are also about to be exchanged...again.

Eyes are beginning to focus and look directly at us, instead of up and just beyond....the stage Papa always calls looking at Jesus.

Instead arms and legs are straightening out, and muscles strengthening to hold a sweet head...though it still bobs to and fro....every now and then jerking backwards or forward, especially when sleepy and full of milk.

Time in the baby gym now includes looking in the mirror and batting at the little jungle animals hanging above your head.... more often than not the silence turns to cries of tummy discomfort....but every now and then, a happy little sound comes out.

The newborn appearance is almost gone, yet that infant stage hasn't arrived either....you are somewhere in between...but not for long!  As the puffiness of birth recedes, big blue eyes with sparkle and long lashes are emerging, and a beautiful smile is breaking forth with amazing dimples!

Sleep for all of us is a little more regular with a feeding schedule starting to stabilize: 6, 8, 11, 2, 5, 8, 11.  Though, with four little ones and a still gassy tummy, naps are sporadic and come with relaxation and no tummy pain.

Little breaths come in frantic rapidity when it is time to eat, sometimes along with tiny snorts.  Afterwards, a completely relaxed torso, head and neck with closed eyes flops back and forth as we seek a burp worthy to save hours of discomfort.  It isn't always easy.

Milk covers your mouth and chin and slides to the neck where it can quickly smell sour, though a bath in the little tub makes you sweet and fresh within minutes.  Lavendar baby scent fills the air.

Soft blonde downy hair turns oily and darker with kisses, nuzzles, and pats.

Years later we will look back to your newborn furrows and frowns and recognize expressions you've had since birth. But we don't know those yet....not just yet.

And now is when we will begin the process of getting to know you, our best Christmas package of all.