Blessed Beyond Measure: Baby Life: One Month Old

Our little Hazel is already one month old! In fact, as I type this she is hours away from being two months old (working hard to catch up on my blog). Time is passing so quickly it makes my heart ache both as it grows in love for our baby girl and as I am reminded again by how fast it all goes by. Before we know it I'll be holding back tears as Eric walks her down the aisle.

At one month old, Hazel had gained a little more than 2 pounds, placing her at 10 pounds 13 ounces. Two weeks later (when I finally got around to measuring all of her) she had added one more pound placing her at 11 pounds 13 ounces and 22-1/4" long with a 15-1/4" diameter head size.

Hazel loves to be snuggled by pretty much everyone, but especially me. She also tolerates the love from her brothers and as time passes seems to be starting to enjoy it. She is a very happy baby. I really don't know what I can write down as her first smile because she has been smiling pretty much since birth and although some of them are just involuntary sleepy smiles (which are still adorable) others do seem to be voluntary. Her happy little face makes my heart skip. In addition to smiling all the time, she often laughs in her sleep and rarely cries. In fact, she really only cries when she has a trapped burp or fart to get out. For the first couple of weeks she HATED getting her diaper changed and would scream bloody murder throughout the process. As she got older though she has overcome that issue and now even seems to enjoy it at times. Even when she does cry, I can't help but think it is cute. Unlike Avery (who was loud from the start), she had the little newborn cry for her first month with some high pitched girly squeaks thrown in making her cries more adorable than bothersome.

In the first month, Hazel really slept most of the time. However, when she was awake she enjoyed being talked to and watching the bustle of activity around her. At night she wakes more often than I'd like, but thankfully goes back to sleep easily after feeding.

Regarding our family, she pretty much has everyone wrapped around her tiny fingers. Eric (the guy who said he didn't want a daughter because the idea of having a girl freaked him out) is smitten. Even though the two do not get nearly as much time together as she and I do, the father-daughter bond that they share is quite evident. Similarly, Asher and Avery seem as though they'd do just about anything for their baby sister. She is the first thing they run to in the morning and the last one they kiss at night. They fight over who gets to hold her and cannot wait until she is running and playing right along side of them. They make sure to tell me when she is upset and do their best to calm her down. The transition for them was a bit rocky at first, but the boys both love her dearly and are learning what the boundaries are.

Being a one month old, she really doesn't do much yet (much to her brothers' dismay), but she does enjoying being in on the family action and sitting in her swing to observe what is going on around her.

This picture makes me laugh. She has a tendency to loose eye control once in a while! ;)

Finally, looks wise Hazel still looks unbelievably like big brother Avery, but she is changing. Both her dark hair and deep blue eyes have been lightening up, so only time will tell what she will look like. Thus, I will end with some family baby pics so you can gauge her resemblance on your own...

First, Avery at 1 month old. I'm pretty sure anyone would say it isn't hard to see the family resemblance...