Today Charlotte is one month old. Tomorrow is her official due date. We weren’t prepared for the exhaustion, the worry, or the stress of wondering if we were doing it right. The support and love of our family and friends has been invaluable. We also weren’t expecting the sheer awe and wonder we experience every day. Our little peanut is perfect. We adore her. Our sun rises and sets with her blueberry eyes. Currently, the sunrise can be observed around midnight, 2:30am, 5am, and 7am.

It’s been an amazing first month. Welcoming her into our world so suddenly, I think we were lucky to leap-frog over that last month of “we’re not ready” thoughts – not to mention escaping pregnancy through a steamy June. She was going to be our little “Junebug,” but I guess since “Maybug” doesn’t have the same ring, she’ll have to settle for “peanut” and “munchkin.”

So here is the list of our “firsts” that mark her one-month milestone:

ANDREW’S FIRST FATHER’S DAY. Charlotte gave him the book Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do). Charlotte and I discussed the potential impact of such a purchase, but she assured me she wouldn’t let daddy lose a finger. I think she’ll be able to keep him out of trouble.

For those of you who can’t read binary, Andrew’s shirt says “Dad” and Charlotte is wearing her “Daddy’s Princess” onsie.

FIRST DIAPER JESSICA EVER CHANGED! Yes, a perk of being one of the youngest in the extended family. Although I wasn’t the very last baby of all the cousins, it was considered counterproductive to ask a 3 year old to change a baby’s diaper, so I was spared the task. Somehow I also managed to avoid diaper-aged-kids during my star-studded career in babysitting.

FIRST DINNER IN A RESTAURANT. Celebrating my mom’s birthday we all went to our favorite Italian restaurant, Cantina D’ Italia when Charlotte was two weeks old. Shewas awesome and slept soundly the entire time. We have since gone to other restaurants without stress. We know once she’s a bit older this will become more challenging, but for first time parents, we had no idea what to expect.

FIRST NIGHT OF UTTER EXHAUSTION RESULTING IN TEARS OF SHEER FRUSTRATION. This didn’t happen as quickly as we were lead to expect, so when it happened, we were both taken by surprise. Almost two weeks had passed before the first breakdown. I thought, foolishly, that perhaps we were just super-stars at handling the lack of sleep. No, it just took that long to wear down the reserve of sleep we’d built up over our lives (30 years to build up, two weeks to knock down – I should have slept more as a teenager). Several of these magical nights have followed, but once we experienced that first breakdown and realized we could survive, the others haven’t been quite as daunting.

FIRST OFFICIAL GROWTH SPURT! The first of many signs of growth, Charlotte has graduated from preemie-sized diapers to newborn. We’re actually quite excited, because you can buy newborn sized diapers in reaosnable amounts-  the preemies came in little bags and we were having to get more constantly. She also fits in a couple more outfits now, although she’s still too tiny for the 0-3 month. Some of the newborn clothes were enormous on her and she’s finally starting to expand her wardrobe.

FIRST SPORT KITE EVENT + PROPER ROADTRIP WITH THE WHOLE CREW. This last Saturday we drove down to Richmond to see all our wonderful friends at the Old Dominion Sport Kite Competition (ODSKC). We packed into our friend Andy’s SUV with Charlotte and Austin – the amount of equipment required was shocking! By the time we hit the road we had: 3 adults, a dog, a baby, a tent, three captains chairs, snap-n-go stroller, dog bed, diaper bag – complete with a ton of diapers, extra outfits, and a can of formula for emergencies, water cooler, snacks, and the car seat (and this wasn’t even an overnight!).

With beach traffic it took us about 3 and a half hours, which included two stops to give Charlotte a break from the car seat, for us to grab lunch, and for Austin to leave his mark on a grassy patch near a gas station. We spent about 6 hours in Richmond and made it home by midnight – exhausted. It was probably a bit more than we should have tried on our first attempt, but it was lovely to see everyone. Charlotte has now attended her very first sport kite event and I’m sure it is the first of many!

Unofficial Length and Weight:

Charlotte won’t be back to the pediatrician until the end of July for her two-month checkup, but we did a little one-month status check of our own. Using our salt scale and a measuring tape from my sewing box, our munchkin is now 7lbs, 4oz, and 20 inches long.

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