One Month Old!

Faith is a month old today!! Wow, where'd the time go?? I figured I'd better start writing down things about her so I don't forget! It amazes me how much I already forgot about Nathan when he was this age. And she's already growing up too fast!

* Faith rarely cries - unless she's hungry. I feared we'd have a colicy baby since Nathan was so good. But Faith is such a content baby! We are blessed! I pray she always has a contented spirit as she grows older.

* She doesn't like to be swaddled. I should have been able to predict this... when she was in my belly, she'd fight against anything that pushed on her. For instance, when I laid on the bed, if I lay on my right side, she'd kick my right side as though to say "get that bed out of my space!" I'd turn, and then she'd kick on my left. She doesn't like her space to be limited. I have a feeling she'll never change and as she grows, only fight for more and more freedom.

* She won't sleep in her crib. Nathan slept in his crib starting on the 3rd day he was home. But Faith won't lay flat happily, unless she's being held. She likes the swing and car seat, since she's not laying flat. And so she sleeps in her car seat. We just put it in her crib :)

* She has never fallen into a typical every 2, 3 or 4 hour routine. But she has her own style. She's in an every 4-5 hour routine at night - sleeping for about 4 hours at a time, then waking to eat. And in the mornings and evenings, she's in an every 2 hour routine - wanting to eat every two hours. Then in the afternoon, she'll go for 4 hours once - and God has granted me the blessing of those 4 hours overlapping the same 3 hours her big brother naps! Well, at least a few times a week. I know that she'll soon change up her own schedule and make me figure it out again, but for now I know what to expect each day.

* She's a double sneezer, like big brother.

* She has more hair than Nathan did at birth, and it's dark brown - but I don't think she had a genetic chance at any other color.

* She has the same color eyes Nathan had at birth, too - dark blue/gray. I'm sure they'll turn brown, just as Nathan's did. Time will tell.

* Unlike Nathan, Faith has yet to develop any birthmarks or pimples on her face. Nathan had tons of tiny white bumps on his face, a "stork-bite" on the back of his head and then later developed 2 darker birthmarks on his shoulder and at his hairline, on his forehead. So far, I haven't found any birthmarks on Faith. The only odd thing about her skin is that it's constantly flaking off on her feet and hands. But as the new skin grows, that is going away.

* Faith has long fingers, long feet and long toes. But it doesn't look like she has flat feet like big brother and daddy. But she certainly has daddy's long toes!

* She's still so tiny. Friday she weighed 8lb, 3oz. She's gaining about 1/2 pound a week. So next week she should reach Nathan's birth weight. I look at 0-3 month clothes and can't fathom that she'll be big enough for them in just a matter of weeks. She is just so precious and tiny - it's impossible to resist letting her fall asleep on your chest.

God amazes me daily. That He knew Faith before she was born. He knew her name before we did. He knows what she'll be like as she grows. He knows the plans He has for her life already. And He created every little fuzzy hair, every little wrinkle in her skin, everything about her. He made my daughter and I just pray that I never cease to go to Him for help in raising her to know Him and to live up to her name - to be a light, pointing other's towards faith in Him alone.