The first time she slept over 6 hours I woke up in a panic!!! She’s done really well with nursing and we’re thankful for that too. The hardest part of the last four weeks has honestly been just getting my emotions and hormones normalized! The first week was hard for me emotionally but now that I’m feeling like myself again, I can look back at those hard days and see how much grace Michael and my family showed me. Everything I felt was amplified! If I was happy… I was really happy! If I was overwhelmed… I felt like the weight of the ENTIRE world was on my shoulders. I would cry over everything. One day I cried over not having enough pictures of me and Evy during her first 5 days at home. So my Mom, sister and Michael subtly encouraged me to get dressed and they took some pictures of me and my little girl! They were so sweet to me. I also remember nursing her in our bedroom and Michael turned on the playlist that we listened to on repeat during labor. Every song reminded me of the pain I was in but also how incredible that experience was, and I was honestly so emotional that I had to tell him to turn it off! I felt super protective over Evy at random times. I also had anxiety over her sleeping at night and so I made Michael order an Owlet…. and it was the best decision. Just having that little monitor on her foot at night gave me enough peace of mind to stop waking up every couple of hours to check on her. Definitely worth the investment.

The first month was wonderful… even though it went by way too fast! Here are some of my favorite memories! :

ONE  MONTH MEMORIES:

• Having my sister and Micah (her 8 week old!) stay with us during Evy’s first week! She taught me so much! She also let me cry when I would have my meltdown moments, but then Micah provided GREAT entertainment to make everyone laugh! He’s the most expressive two month old I’ve ever met!
• Having my momma stay the week with us! We are so blessed to have a momma who is also a NURSE! She’s the most amazing caregiver, but she also reassures us not to worry about certain things and she notices things we need to ask the pediatrician about. Momma would stay up with Evy from 9-12am and then bring her in to nurse, and then watch her from 1-4am so that Michael and I could get some bigger chunks of sleep during our first nights home! That was the greatest gift!
• Drinking “Cran-Apple” juice when I would nurse her in the middle of the night, because with my gestational diabetes I couldn’t have ANY juice!! It tasted amazing!
• Eating homemade banana bread muffins that Emy made! She would warm one up and bring it to me every morning when we were both nursing our babies! I’m telling you…. I was so spoiled!!!
• Spending time with Emy in the “Nursing Nook”! We have a loft in our upstairs that overlooks the living room and it has officially become the “Nursing Nook” because you can nurse and be out of sight but still hear everything that’s going on below! Emy and I spent a lot of time up there with our babies. It still seems surreal to even say that last sentence! It is such a sweet blessing to go through this season with my sister!
• Hearing Michael tell Evy how cute she is for the first time while he was changing her diaper (He’s the pro diaper changer!)
• Having Michael’s family down 3 times during her first week! Everyone loved getting their turn to snuggle this little girl!
• Taking Evy and Micah on a road trip to meet their great-grandparents! Nanny and GranGran were at the door eagerly waiting for us when we showed up!
• Introducing Evy to so many people who we love!! We had friends stop by the house, the hospital and we even met up with some friends at Pierce’s BBQ in Williamsburg to meet Evy for the first time!
• Taking her to the doctor for the first time with Michael. She weighed 9lbs 15ozs and flipped over by herself on the table! The doctor was impressed!
• Experiencing Evy’s first major blowout that happened during the night…. and got on the WALL. Michael and I were too impressed to be frustrated!
• Seeing Evy smile for the first time. Her smiles are the best and the older she gets, the more she smiles in the morning when she’s waking up!
• Getting more comfortable nursing her. The first week is rough when your milk comes in, and it’s painful.  However, the second week was so much easier and now I actually get to enjoy this sweet time with her and it’s so special to me. I never thought I would say that. Nursing is the part that I was dreading because it was going to steal my freedom away from me….. and yet if I have the choice to pump and have flexibility in my day or nurse her… I always want to nurse her. No one else can fill that role in her life, and I love that it makes her so happy. Milk-drunk smiles are my favorite!
• Loving the way she smells…. pre-dirty diapers.
• Seeing Michael as a dad. I hope I never forget how special this first month has been for us. We’ve had to become a team in a whole new way!
• Being with Michael when Evy smiles really big…. it’s just the best.
• Remembering how amazed Michael and I were when we woke up for the first time at 6am and realized she had slept through the night at 6 days old!!! PTL! We thought something was wrong!! Nope. We just have a big baby with sleep patterns like her daddy! Michael loves to sleep! :)
• Taking her places! It’s fun to get her out of the house and try doing normal life stuff with her. Some things end up being stressful but for the most part, we come home feeling really proud of ourselves for getting out into the world!
• I’ve loved having my sister, Emy, and best friend, Jilly, just a phone call away and knowing that they would never judge me for not doing something the right way or not knowing something! Everyone needs friends like that!

EVY’S FAVORITE THINGS:

• Her changing table! She loves getting her diaper changed and being naked!!! She could be screaming her head off and then immediately be content if we get her to her changing table!
• She loves the light fixture in our bedroom! It wasn’t the cheapest fixture in the house (it was actually the most expensive!) and now we totally feel justified buying it because it makes our newborn stop crying! ha!
• She loves sleeping on her stomach on our chests!
• She loves being on people’s shoulders instead if being cradled.
• Her favorite thing to do is have her crazy hands by her face! Always. This is why the swaddle isn’t always well received!
• Even though the swaddle isn’t always her favorite… it HAS been the secret to getting her to sleep 6-8 hours! Those darn hands wake her up when she’s napping! They have a mind of their own!
• She likes having her hair brushed but isn’t a huge fan of hair bows!
• She’s just starting to like her pacifier! And we’re 100% ok with that because we’re trying to avoid thumb sucking!

So now that I’ve made you read through all of the family memories that I want to remember about this season of life, here are some pictures of her first month!

My family has grown so much in the last few years!!!

When your childhood best friend surprises you at the hospital and you’re both in tears!

Evy’s great Grandma and great Aunt Kimmy!

Four generations!

I wonder when our parents met each other almost 30 years ago if they ever imagined this day happening! :)

Micah trying to scare his new cousin!! haha! He’s the cutest!

Uncle Joe drove down at 4am to meet Evy when she arrived!

Bokeh meeting Evy!

First trip out to the doctor! Bokeh thought he was going! ha!

Aunt Emy blocking the light for portraits! ha!

Cousins!

Knox and Evy!

Newborn portraits with Tiffany Farley!

Meeting her other great grandparents!

Newborn portraits that I took at home!

and some ONE MONTH portraits! How has she changed so much?!

We tried.

We love you beautiful girl!

Follow along as Evy grows with our family Instagram account HERE!