Gabbard Family: Happy One Month Birthday!

We can't believe our baby girl turned one month old this week! The time has gone by so quickly and we can see so many changes in her in just the last few weeks. I tell Alessa every day that mommy and daddy don't want her to grow up too quickly! For as fast as it's gone, we already can't remember what life was like before her.

After the baby was born, my mom spent the first two weeks with us...and to say she was a savior is an understatement. I totally underestimated how crappy I would feel after the delivery, so it was great to have my mom around to help me recover, do cooking and cleaning...and of course, help take care of the baby. Even though I've had a ton of experience with kids before, it's amazing how it's totally different when it's your own kid. We didn't know what the heck we were doing or what is/isn't normal, so it was so nice to have Nana AnnaMaria around. Sean's mom also came to visit the first weekend, so Alessa got lots of love from her gandmas!! We've also experienced lots of firsts in the last month - first book, first bath at home, first little smile at mama, first play date (with my friend Susie's son, Parker), first Valentine's Day and first trip to Nordstroms (a woman after my own heart!) to name a few! :) Alessa has been adjusting well to her new surroundings...and Sean and I are adjusting better and better every day. The lack of sleep definitely starts catching up to you, but we are now used to walking around in a complete daze.

She's still tiny - weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. so our focus this week has been to try and get her weight up a bit. Poor baby has had some reflux, so we're hoping that getting that under control will help. People still say she looks a lot like mommy, but we think she is starting to look more and more like daddy every day. She is definitely getting longer by the day, too - she has the longest legs and torso! In fact, at her two week doctor's appointment, they shared that she's in the 25th percentile of weight and the 90th percentile of height. Definitely takes after daddy!