One month old!

Well time continues to pass here at our house. I'm just finding it a bit harder to update the blog since we have Maggie here to take up our time lately! We are still a bit sleep deprived, but the little family has finally settled into a routine...at least for three more weeks until I go back to work for half-days. I'll be back full-time around the first of November, but time is just flying, as I am sure it will continue to do for the rest of our lives!

Maggie Jo is still a pretty darn good baby. We have trouble getting her down at night, but then she sleeps for 3-4 1/2 hour stretches. She's growing fast, and it seems like she's starting to do new things every day. Since the day she came home from the hospital, she's had a remarkably strong neck. She's now developed pretty good control over her head, and she can do little push-ups off our chest with her arms. She's smiling quite a bit now, sometimes in response to us, and she seems dangerously close to rolling over onto her tummy already. (She's done it twice already but that was to the side off dad's chest).

She's also growing like a weed. Her four week check-up was last Friday, and she clocked in at 10 lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long. I was a bit concerned that her weight gain had slowed down, and we adjusted our feeding routine at the pediatrician's advice. Well, we had an appointment with the lactation consultant today, and she weighed in at 11 lbs 3 oz just six days later. Granted it was a different scale, but it appears we have little to worry about in the growth department.

We have had our challenges too. Nursing has been time-consuming and sometimes painful, but we are getting it figured out. Maggie's been battling a bit of baby acne/rash, and she also had her first little cold this week -- just a runny nose and no fever but traumatic for Mom and Dad nonetheless. We've also had to realize that nothing is the "magic bullet" when it comes to soothing a newborn and develop more patience. (Although I will say The Happiest Baby on the Block method is the closest thing we have to a magic bullet, and it has bought us a great deal of peace in the evenings. Great gift for expectant parents if you are ever stumped, and a BIG thanks to Karen for loaning us this DVD when she did.)

But overall, Maggie Jo is a huge joy, and we are blessed! Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes and support. We are just now getting to the point we can think about birth announcements, thank-yous and life outside these four walls. Here's a slide-show with pictures from her 3rd and 4th weeks for those who are interested!