Selah B, 1 month old!

Selah Bethany (Selah B, Selah Love, Little S, Selah Insert-random-middle-name-here-like-Daddy-does…) is one month old!

You hear every parent say it, but I don’t know how to communicate the sentiment in a less cliche way…

She is growing up SO. INCREDIBLY. FAST. 

I don’t remember feeling quite this sad about growth acceleration with Elliott. Maybe because he was our first and I was so excited for him to be able to talk to us and walk and laugh and I just couldn’t wait to see it all develop….but with Selah it has been so different. I wish she would stay this tiny forever…I wish she would do the “newborn stretch” forever, where her back arches and her little frog legs cross and tuck right beneath her bumble while her clenched fists stretch above her head…I wish she would make her little newborn sounds and snorts and squeaks forever…I wish she could snuggle up on my chest and fall asleep curled up in a little ball forever…ahhh, these first few weeks are so, so sweet…

Here are a few facts and a lotta pictures to help you get to know our sweet little Selah from afar…

She is CHUBBY! And for that, we are so grateful! (Only when referring to babies is the word “chubby” actually a compliment!) She looks so much like me when I was a baby, and I certainly had rolls :). And I love her chub…I love her thighs, her arms, her tummy. Selah weighed in at a healthy 10 lbs 5 oz on her one month birthday, and we are certainly proud of every ounce she gained. She is still eating every 2 hours, but only nurses 4 minutes per side…a pretty efficient nurser, wouldn’t you say?? How different than my little buddy, who nursed for ONE HOUR every two hours until he was 6 weeks old! This makes life a lot easier because nursing isn’t nearly the ordeal that it was when I was nursing Elliott.

She is a SQUEAKER!! She doesn’t just cry, she squeaks. She makes more noises than any newborn I know…they are so sweet, and so loud! And she definitely lets us know when she needs something…she’s for sure a…how should I put this? A verbal processor :).

She LOVES to have her diaper changed! I don’t think she has ever cried through a diaper change! In fact, it calms her down…she LOVES being clean. Which is REALLY FORTUNATE because…

She is a POOPER. Okay, I know this may sound obvious, but oh no–I guarantee you’ve never met a baby who poops like Selah poops. She has projectile poop. Seriously. We have each had poop sprayed all over us while changing her diaper. But then one day, Brian went upstairs to change her diaper and I heard him say in his usual understated tone, “Whoa.” And then a few seconds later, “WHOA.” And then a few seconds later, “Whoa…WHOA.” Since he sounded so calm, I didn’t think much of it…I just thought it was a really, really full diaper. But I asked if everything was okay and he responded–again, in his super-understated manner, “Selah pooped everywhere.” Well, it turns out, he wasn’t kidding.

She is a SMILER. Whether she’s awake or asleep, she’s smiling! I know a lot of people say it’s gas at this age, but I’m telling you–Selah responds to us and smiles at us all the time. She smiles every time she falls asleep (yes, I know that’s just a newborn twitch thing) but also, she smiles at us when we get real close to her and smile and goo-goo talk away… I even got her awake and smiling on camera at just 7 days old.

She is BEAUTIFUL. It overwhelms me every day. She is just perfect…I love, love, LOVE that she gets to hear how beautiful she is every day. (Because yes, I believe it is SO important for little girls to grow up knowing they’re beautiful! And smart, and capable, and compassionate, and, and, and…but also that they’re beautiful. But that’s an entire other blog post :).)

Here is the progression of our sweet little love over her first month of  life. I don’t have pictures from every day, but some days I couldn’t narrow it down to just one so there are a few to make up for the days that I missed :).

Her Birthday

2 days old

3 days old

4 days old

5 days old

6 days old

7 days old

8 days old

9 days old

10 days old

11 days old

12 days old

13 days old

14 days old

15 days old

22 days old

23 days old

25 days old

28 days old–ONE MONTH OLD!! 

We celebrated her one month birthday with…chocolate chip cookies! Grandpa and Nonna were here for the milestone, so we all gobbled down cookies in honor of this little pumpkin head. Poor Elliott missed the celebrations because he was already in bed. Don’t worry, I ate a cookie or two for him :).

Okay, time for a little compare/contrast of siblings… I really don’t think Selah looks anything like Elliott did or does, but people say you can tell they are siblings. I can’t really, but that’s okay :). Selah looks so much like me as a baby and Elliott looked SO MUCH like Brian as a baby. Anyhow, you can judge for yourself…

Selah Bethany, you are the perfect addition to our family. WE ADORE YOU…though you are sweet as can be, we can tell that you have some spunk to you, too! You are not afraid to speak up and let us know exactly what you want. You are simply STUNNING, and you have the most beautiful smile that shows itself every time we come near… Please stay tiny forever while simultaneously blossoming into the radiant little girl that God has created you to be! We love you…happy 1 month birthday!!!