And the days fly by
Like waves tumbling in across the sand, these newborn minutes tumble into hours, then days, then weeks. I sit, mesmerized by their beauty, overwhelmed by their demands, and speechless at their agile disappearance. These moments of savoring and survival, how dare they melt into history so quickly?
A hundred words crash around the frontal lobes of my brain, but the clock is ticking away mercilessly and sleep is priceless. How about a hundred pictures instead? Well, more or less. Hopefully less. But no guarantees.
Zara’s first week:
::Three days old ::
A sweet sleepy baby. That red newborn skin. Those uncoordinated hands waving wildly when she’s startled. And best of all, those baby streeeetches.
Adam and Liam were completely caught up with the boxes of baby things I emptied and took them downstairs to build a house. They spent hours, cutting windows with pocket knives, putting tape over them to make “glass”, adding vinyl and carpet scraps, and even cutting a hole in the top of each “room.” They used their miner headlamp and stuck it into the top of the room that needed “light” at the moment.
::Day Four:: Grandpa and Grammie come to visit
“I just fell totally in love with her,” he whispers over and over. “I could never stop loving her.” or “I’m so proud of her. I don’t really know what I’m proud about, but I’m just proud of her. Do you think she’s proud of me, too?”
::Day five:: Newborn cries are so cute they should be documented. The howling ones, yes, but especially the darling little “offended” ones. You know the ones I mean. “I’m just a little bit displeased.”
An attempt at a bottle
Those first sponge baths
Her adoring big brothers
:: ONE WEEK::
And the second week:
A fun baby shower. Having my mom come for two and a half days {oh bliss. winging it on your own is overrated}. A fun lunch with three of my sisters in law before the shower.
A visit from Grandpa and Grandma Beachy. Sadly, there are no pictures. You can tell the newborn moms by the photos snapped with their tablets instead of good cameras, or worse, not snapped at all. And by the way they click like on facebook, but rarely comment, and all but neglect their email accounts.
First time in a tiny dress:
More brother love {it’s not like we hover or anything}
Babies have a mommy and a daddy for a reason. Mommies say, “Oh good, you’re asleep.” Daddies say, “Oh good, you’re awake.” Mommies snuggle them and wish they’d stay tiny. Daddies give them tummy time and help them get strong because they can’t wait until they’re big enough to play and interact. One night as Zara kept lifting her head around while David held her the boys insisted I come look. I said if he makes her grow up too fast we’ll have to have another newborn soon. David shot me a look and Adam said, “Isn’t that kind of selfish? Shouldn’t you be grateful for what you have?”
Some of my favorite moments … in the evening or early morning when the house is quiet and it’s just the two of us. I inhale the scent of her, kiss her soft baby cheeks, and do everything I can to remember who she is this minute. Some day, she’ll be a strong, confident woman. But today, she’s my itty bitty bundle of precious perfection.
More wakeful
More darling {how can this be possible}
And chubbier by the day. She dropped from 7lbs 2 oz at birth {Wednesday} to 6 lbs 9 oz on Friday. By the following Friday she weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. The look on the pediatrician’s face was priceless.
:: Two weeks::
Goodnight, world!
Baby fever! What a precious little cutie pie.
awe, someone is having a lot of fun with the pink baby world and the pictures are just divine!! She is a doll. YES, the time goes entirely too fast. entirely. Callie will be 2 (two), 2 years old this month. Totally blows my mind!…… Keep on enjoying her to the hilt!! =)
Aw, I wanted at least 100 pictures! 😉 Michelle, she is just precious…but you know that already. Every time I see her pictures & read what you’ve written, I’m transported back 5 and 1/2 years to the time when my own miracle daughter was a wee one. You’ve been awakening some beautiful memories.
She is simply beautiful, Michelle! I know you are having so much fun with her, and I love seeing you and the rest of the family loving on her!
Loved seeing sweet Zara’s pics, and how she’s changing her looks so fast! Glad God has blessed you with such a precious gift!
Zara is ever so precious. I can only imagine the fun you are having after all your losses, and I am so so happy for you. Cherish the moments… before you know it she will be turning 1, like my baby girl did yesterday. :-/
LOOOOOVE it. love seeing you having so much fun with your little girl. I got a little lump in my throat over here, those newborn days are so precious. It’s so great how much your boys love on her too:-)
Beautifulness. I loved seeing your pictures! I’m so so happy for all of you!!!
just gorgeousness. there’s no such thing as too many baby pictures. 🙂
and seeing all of the joy on your faces, love it.
She is so beautiful. Just makes a person ache…
🙂
There should be a warning at the top of this post that if you read and look at the pictures below you will run a high risk of having babyitis. Meaning, you will think of your twins that are turning 7 and think, well maybe we should have another. 😛 I am just going to have to get my baby fix through being an auntie. Seriously made me wistful thinking of these precious days gone by with my little ones. I can tell you are enjoying and basking in motherhood and I adore that.
Like Cindy said, there is no such thing as too many baby pictures! 🙂 She is just gorgeous, Michelle! All that dark hair, the perfect little face, those stretches, all the PINK things and bows, and her adoring brothers and daddy and mommy… I was just melted in a puddle reading this post! One thing that still stands out to me, amid many things, with having my third baby, is how much my two oldest ADORED the new little baby. I had not realized that *their* love and enjoyment would run so deep, and my mommy-heart could hardly contain the joy of it all. 🙂 Loved this so much! xo
been wanting to get over here to check in on you and wee babe – she is so incredibly beautiful. looks like her mama to me . I love you both!!
Oh Michelle,
Zara is one adorable and precious bundle of joy! Thank you for sharing your joy! I always enjoy your blog posts and pictures!
Sweetest baby!
Just read through nearly all of your blog today–a sick day–and wanted to say something like what someone else said…. I’ve never seen emotional and physical struggles written about so honestly, and even better, I’ve never read such struggles written about in a manner so blessedly free of shame… the combination is so healing; no wonder you’re a nurse! I know I’ll be thinking for days, and thank you so much.