One month

So we've known this little girl for one month now. What she has made most clear to us in her time here on earth is how much she likes to be held, jostled, bounced, jiggled, wiggled, walked, carried, carted, and toted. AND be nursed. What she does not like is being put down, or held in any way that does not involve jostling, bouncing, jiggling, etc. Her hair was golden as can be when she was born, and quickly turned red, or at least strawberry blonde. Her eyes, as when she was born, are still dark blue.

She went to the doctor today for a weight check as I am always worried she is not getting enough food and maybe that's why she fusses all the time. I made a list of worries to bring up with the doctor:

1. Obviously her weight. She is skinny. Has no Mommy-reassuring rolls to convince us I am producing enough milk for her. We were hoping for some good gaining in the last 14 days.
2. Diaper rash (she has a tiny bit of one.)
3. Her finger and toe nails are not growing. I've never cut or filed them once and they look as perfectly manicured as the day she was sucked from the womb. Is this another sign she isn't getting enough food? She can't even spare the energy to produce nails? Quite worrisome.
4. Her belly button protrudes hugely and red-ly when she screams. Kind of creepy.
5. Her nipples are inverted. Is this normal? Cause for concern?

Wonderful news! On all fronts, she is perfectly healthy! Every worry was laid to rest. She grew one inch in the last 2 weeks, making her 22 1/2 inches (92nd percentile in height) and gained ONE WHOLE POUND!!! 16 ounces in 14 days! (60th percentile in weight.) I felt like doing a jig of joy around the examination room. The doctor looked at her skin and felt her and gently pinched her little bit of chub and pronounced her as healthy as could be and even as I watched the doctor look at her I could see she was a little chubbier than even a few days ago. She said if she was hungry she would be waking up every two hours at night, which she never does. At most she wakes up a time or two, with 4 and 5 hour stretches in between. She said the nails are probably just getting rubbed off, but are no cause for concern, her belly button is normal (babies have weak abdominal wall muscles, so the buttons can bulge when they scream), her nipples are normal, and her bottom, for its few red spots, looked great to the doctor. Love the news, love the doctor, love everything. Love YOU! I am very happy.

Other one-month news: Anna-boo slept through the night last night for the first time! I was very stunned when I woke up at 7 this morning, realizing she hadn't been awake since I put her down at 10:30 last night. Amazing.

Also, as I got her ready for her appointment this morning, I walked over to her and started cooing without thinking about it. She turned her head toward me, looked me in the eyes, and gave me three huge smiles!! This is the first time she's smiled at me! It was so exciting that I continued with the maniacal antics for the next half hour.

Due to a monstrously geyser-like spit-up that soiled myself, the glider we were on, the couch next to us, and the entire small person that produced it, Annalise had a bath today. (This was after I proudly told her doctor one hour before that the bub never spits up). I put her baby tub inside the regular tub and used the hand-held shower head to spray her. She loved it, trying to catch the spray from the water in her mouth and nurse it. She hated getting out (you could probably hear her protestations in LA) but 'opposition in all things', right? :)

One month down, and we are all still alive to chat about it. Hurray!