Today you smiled....

...and what a gorgeous sight it was!

You have been working those cheek muscles for a few days now but today you graced us with your first proper smile. Your whole face lit up. Even your eyes smiled. Beautiful..... xx

4 weeks + 4 days old

1 Month Old

You forget about a lot of the little things in the days (and weeks) after giving birth. You vaguely remember that it hurt, that you were sore and that adjusting to life with a new baby was a little tiring... but you are designed to forget, otherwise you'd never do it again.

I'd forgotten that it felt like being hit by a bus from the waist down - and then said bus reversing back over you too. That it was uncomfortable to walk. Awkward to sit down. Like you don't think you'll ever feel human again. But here we are, a whole month on with things all seeming to have settled back down and returning to normal, slowly but surely.

Other things you conveniently forget about life with a newborn include:

• Your entire schedule is now dictated by a tiny human being and their need to be fed. It will be months before you are ever on time for anything ever again!
• You will make those cups of coffee but they will never get drunk.
• Forget doing your hair & putting on make-up. You are destined to spend most of those early weeks living in your pyjamas... unless you have plans (which you will inevitably be late for, see point 1).

But having said all that, you also forget about the little positive things about life with a newborn. The small changes or the little quirks that you notice. Over the past few weeks here is what has been happening with you:

• You are spending more time awake.
• You have begun making more of those cute baby noises, cooing & gurgling.
• Your hair colour is gradually getting lighter.
• Sometimes when you let out a big exhale, your little nostrils flare.
• You have almost completely lost the crease across the top of your nose.
• When I'm feeding you, you like to grip my little finger and hold on to it <3

When the health visitor came to see us yesterday, you weighed 9lb 7oz. You are finally starting to fit into your 0-3 month sleepsuits (mostly because you are long and your legs need the extra room) but as for the rest of your next size clothes, most of them still drown you. Although you are long, you are slender and petite and everything is just too baggy on you yet.

It's ridiculous how quickly the time passes. A month on and you are getting bigger, sleeping longer and working those facial muscles so much that we are soooo close to getting that first responsive smile!

And even after four weeks of having you here, Dexter is still the loving & attentive brother he was when we brought you home. The novelty of you hasn't worn thin yet. He's always telling us he loves you. He gives you lots of kisses and cuddles. He loves to help out and entertain you. You're a lucky little girl to have him as a brother :)