First Month

Coming home from the hospital was completely terrifying. I was just waiting for security to stop us and tell the two of us we were not allowed to take this tiny baby home. I think what scared us the most was her prematurity. She had to spend her first night in the NICU because she was having trouble with her breathing, especially figuring out how to breath and eat at the same time. Once she was able to show that she could eat without dropping her oxygen saturation into the 70's, they let her come back to our room. Knowing something is wrong with your baby and watching them take her away was one of the hardest things I have experienced.

Once at home, we had to continue supplementing her with formula since she had a nice case of jaundice - she was our little mellow yellow. You never realize how yellowish they looked until you start looking back at pictures of them. Belle went to the doctor at 1 week old for her jaundice and weight check. She was at 5 pounds 10 ounces, and our pediatrician said that was excellent for everything she had going against her.

The best thing that first month was watching Belle discover things. She slowly went from screaming bloody murder with her bath to deciding that it wasn't TOO terrible. The first time we put her under her floor gym and she was very alert, her expression was priceless. You would have thought that we had laid the entire world before her. She made what we call her "model" face, and you must always insert the sound effect "oooooooooooooo" with the face. It was just amazing to see her become so aware of the world around her.

We wrapped her first month up with the onset of colic. The colic set in right at 3 weeks, just like those books tell you. It is tough!! I guess that I would rather go through colic with the first baby than the second. The screaming for hours on end will really do a number on you.

The little "mellow yellow" leaving the hospital room

Belle's First Bath

The well known "model" face

One Month Birthday

Her size at one-month