Eleanora | One Month Old

Eleanora Rose is one month old today! It seems like the longest month of my life and yet it’s flown by. It still doesn’t seem real. She fits into our lives so perfectly and I can’t imagine anything different. We think she is just the cutest thing ever too. Adjusting to life with a baby is definitely not easy, but she’s worth it. Our off days look a lot more boring now, (We take turns napping! Haha!) and our lives are a bit more complicated. Still, we’re continuing life like normal. We’re both back to doing the jobs we love and the things we’re passionate about…just with a little one to think about now. She’s our favorite little tag-along! My days are a little slower and filled with lots of spit up and diapers, but that feels pretty normal now. We’re on an adventure as we try to figure out being a new mama, running a business and being a part of ministry with Jonathan. It’s complicated, unpredictable and messy at times, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes it’s really hard. Sometimes it’s completely overwhelming. But as Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…I have never in my life envied a human being who led and easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” So that is what we are striving for these days. We want to live well, regardless of what each day brings. We strive to do the hard things, whether that looks like choosing spit up and poo over “important” emails and events, sacrificing sleep to work at a job that means something, filling my days with people when I’d rather just take a nap and be alone, letting things go so I can focus on my baby without distractions for a while…or whatever form the challenge takes from day to day. I won’t say this month has been easy at all, but it has been worth everything. Then again, I can’t say any month of my life has ever been easy. These are just different joys and struggles. In every season, including this one, I have been so blessed even if things are hard. Eleanora is such a joy. She’s made me cry from exhaustion and smile from the greatest love I’ve ever felt. She is one of the best, most wonderfully difficult challenges we will ever take on in life. We love her more than we can ever express.

Here’s a few monthly updates on our little lady:

• She smiles a lot, especially in the morning. 7 am is her favorite.
• Bed time, however, is not her favorite. We struggle.
• She will gladly wear headbands all the livelong day…which makes her mama pretty happy!
• If we ever lose her froggy paci we are in deep trouble because she loves it so much!
• She’s so altert and curious about the world when she’s awake.
• Her neck muscles are pretty strong, and if you’re not careful she will take a nose dive off your shoulder!
• A few of her newborn outfits are getting a little snug. We’re happy to see a few rolls here and there!
• Her hair is coming in more and still light brown.
• We are smitten with her blue eyes.
• She is a good-tempered little miss and happy most of the time.
• Sleep is ok. We’re still working on what works best for us at nighttime.
• She does sleep in her crib all night and generally wakes up once anywhere from 3-5 am.
• She is incredibly noisy when she sleeps and makes all kinds of weird sounds. (She gets it from her daddy!)
• She loves to nap on daddy’s chest and he can always get her to fall asleep.
• The swing is a favorite place for afternoon naps…or her ergo carrier.
• Eating is not a problem for her at all. She’s a champ.
• We love rocking in her rocking chair.
• She loves going for walks around the neighborhood, especially when it’s not too sunny.
• Riding in the car is bliss…she falls asleep every time.
• When she gets mad really mad, she will make a cry face but no sound comes out.
• Her mad faces are actually kind of hilarious.
• She has the funniest expressions when she’s sleepy. She’ll go from smiling to frowning in a second.
• The bathroom fan and shower noise puts her to sleep.
• She HATES being swaddled and prefers to be able to move her arms and legs around.
• Bath time is her favorite and she loves to taste the water on her fist.
• She likes to listen to classical music, loves to be sung to and likes to sit in mama’s lap while she plays the piano.

Happy one month of life little one!