How do you begin when the past two months feel like years and so many joys, tears, laughs, and questions have passed? I guess the beginning is a good place to start:
Felicity Renee Bailey entered our lives at 1:50 p.m. October 31, 2011 (more on that later...36 hours of labor requires it's own post or number of posts!).
Our lives are forever changed by her presence, forever more joyful, forever more terrifying, forever more grateful, forever more fun, forever more in need of wisdom and grace from God. I could go on and on...
So now to play catch up...
Month 1: "I just can't believe it. She's really ours. I never could have imagined her as wonderful as she really is." Just a few lines repeated over and over in our house the first month. We are in love, but let's be real. The first few weeks are rough, especially the first two. I don't know who cried more me or Felicity. I remember thinking I'd never prayed so much in such a little amount of time, about one topic in my whole life. Each day that passed saw the passing of my own discomfort, hormonal imbalance, and insecurity and the growing of a deep, deep love for our girl...
At two weeks we were completely taken with her dreamy eyes...coupled with her crinkly forehead, we gave her the nickname baby chimp:
Some favorite memories from month one include:
- a furrowed brow from day 1. Our girl was cute + grumpy which equals CrUmPy.
- Her first two nights at home she cried and wouldn't be consoled from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. It was like a three-ring circus up in here trying to find the silver bullet. Dan, my mom and I tried everything! Her pediatrician must have wanted to crack up when Dan and I asked him what was wrong with our newborn because she cried all night. He told us that her days and nights were mixed up and time would help. He then looked at Felicity and with all seriousness, in his Korean accent said: "You make your mommy crazy!"
- Time with grandparents: the first week my mom and I were up with her at 3 a.m. I was crying because of all of her crying and all of a sudden we heard these loud sucking, smacking noises. She was going to town on her fist as I bounced her up and down. I've never laughed and cried so much at 3 a.m.! Pa Pa Jim and Grandma Thresa came around week three. I'll never forget how she followed my dad across the room with her little eyes as he put together our new IKEA storage. The week of Thanksgiving Grandpa Darrel, Grandma Val and Uncle Ben came to celebrate with us. She practically slept all of Thanksgiving day. Grandpa held her all through dinner. She was completely out!
- Overwhelmed with gratitude: There are no words that could fully express the love and support we have felt from our friends, family and church family. Every time I thought the encouraging words, meals and gifts were at their end more would show up. I can't imagine going through this transition without the support of others. It is truly beautiful and a challenge for me to do the same for others. Thank you for every kind word, note, gift, prayer, and meal. We are so grateful and humbled by your generosity.
- Out and about: The first time I took Felicity to Target I was doing my normal check: keys, phone, license, money. I suddenly had the feeling that I needed some sort of document to give me permission to take her out! I also remember feeling afraid that I had left her somewhere as I drove home. I can't tell you how many times I double checked that she was in the back seat. I will also never forget the first time I took her to ladies bible study. Picture this: a room full of women and a newborn baby. Do I even have to explain why this was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen?
- Bed time: One of our favorite times with Felicity is the bed time routine. We swaddle her up, pray for her, sing to her, and then make her watch mommy and daddy kiss :) It's a mystery to us but for some reason she just stares at us with those dreamy eyes, a cute little baby burrito, we turn the lights down and usually don't hear another sound from her until she's ready to eat again. It's truly amazing.
I could keep going, but this 2 month post is starting to get too long, and I haven't even gotten to her second month. I guess I just want to bottle up every little bit so I can hold on to it forever. Month two will have to wait for another day. I don't want to miss any more of today to tell you about yesterday :)
Treasuring every moment that I can,
Katie
