One Week Old

Today is your one-week birthday.

I cannot believe it.

You've already changed so much. You've lost your "newborn" look and are looking like a baby.

A one-week old baby.

We are still learning about you - what you like, what you don't like, and your little personality that is already developing.

You like to eat every 2 hours, and you're eating 2 ounces every time.

You are very impatient once you wake up ready to eat. You turn your head and suck on my cheek and scream while I fix your bottle. I'm going to have a hickey at some point.

You don't like to burp. We all have the hardest time getting you to burp. This usually results in projectile spit up about 30 minutes later.

You hate to be naked. You cry when we change your diaper, you cry when we give you a bath, you cry when we change clothes. Once you're back in your clothes, you immediately stop crying.

You loved to be swaddled in the hospital, but changed your mind once you got home. You like to have your arms free when you're sleeping.

You like to sit in the Nap Nanny on the dining room table while we eat dinner. You're under the light, and you stretch and make great faces because you're so warm.

You don't like silence. We're having a hard time getting you to sleep in your room at night. I've spent a few nights on the couch holding you so we can both sleep. We might start leaving the radio on so you can hear some noise.

You love to be held. I can't blame you.

You get the hiccups about 5 times a day. They don't seem to bother you, but they always come right around bottle time, so we have to wait to feed you if they're before, and you spit up if they're after.

Charlotte doesn't bother you whatsoever. She barks, and you don't even flinch. You must be used to that sound from inside my belly. But when GiGi coughs, it makes you jump.

You're so tiny that even some newborn clothes don't fit. And you like to pull your feet up in your onesies, so it's even funnier looking.

You sleep best laying on my chest. Spoiled much?

You look a lot like me - round Charlie Brown face, looooooong fingers and toes, and our fingernails are the same. You actually look a lot like your granddaddy (he would have made you call him Bubba), but I look a lot like him.

The jury is still out on your hair. Its dark on the back, light on the top, and has a red tint all over. I know you'll probably lose most of it, so we'll see.

We are discovering a lot of your daddy in you. You have the "Parrish cowlick" over your right eye - you will hate that when you're older. You move all around while you sleep, especially with your arms. You raise them up and wave them around. If you're asleep on someone, your hands are in your face, which is what your daddy does when he sleeps on his tummy. When you stretch, you stretch all the way through your body stick straight, down to your tip-toes. And when you sneeze, you sneeze several times in a row.

Daddy thinks all these things are awesome. They make me smile because I think your daddy is awesome and love that little traits of his are popping up in you.

There are times that we just watch you. You are an amazing little thing, constantly reminding me of God's goodness and grace. How gracious is God that He would bless us with your tiny little life, and entrust us with your upbringing?

It leaves me speechless to know that you were made between God, me, and your daddy. You started out the size of a pea, and have grown into this beautiful human being that we get to feed, bathe, and love on every day. You are the perfect image of God's love for us, and I am reminded that as much as I love you, God loves us even more.

I can't wait to share this love with you as you grow older.

Right now, your GiGi is holding you, and you're beginning to stir for your next feeding. I'm going to give you your bottle and lots of kisses, because it's another day I won't ever get back with you.

I love you, my little Bug. You are undeniably the best thing that's ever happened to me.