4 Months Old

Welcome back to the chronicles of the newest extension to the Sebby-Burghoffer clan. We are pleased to announce that Aurelia is still a baby! No, but in all seriousness, we had a doctor's appointment today and her updated stats are as follows:
Length: 25.5 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 11.8 pounds (25th percentile)

These numbers seem off to you, concerned family? Well, they are. Apparently, I've been unwittingly starving my child for some time now. This is, I will admit, a tiny bit of an exaggeration; I don't want to alarm anyone. However, when Matt and I joke about how Aurelia eats all the time (she'll take anything with food attached to it--bottle, breast, formula, breastmilk, you name it), the reason seems to be that when she is being fed, it's not enough! What have I done? She seemed happy! I noticed with pleasure little chunkies forming on her thighs and a smooth, round belly--signs of a well-fed girl, or so I thought.

I'm feeling a bit guilty about this, and I'm obviously going to feed her more, but I would like to also add this to the "Things I've Learned as a New Mom" list. Already noted therein:

1. As often as I said with absolute conviction while I was pregnant that my baby will not be a thumb-sucker, it is actually a full-time job to keep her hands out of her mouth
2. Leaving her in someone else's care for longer than one hour is literally heart-breaking
3. It does matter when strangers mistake my beautiful daughter for a boy
4. Being responsible for the life and well-being of another human being is more difficult than any task I have ever done and the only reward I need is to hear her laughter

There are more. You were right, well-meaning friends, family and strangers. I haven't slept well in four months. Nursing an infant is exhausting. I wish I hadn't taken for granted the opportunity to go out to a restaurant for dinner with friends. One day, Matthew and I will need to establish a 'date night'. You were all correct; maybe one day I will listen to you rather than clinging to that ridiculous penchant for 'finding out the hard way'.

The holiday season is coming up. Matt, Aurelia and I are hosting her first Thanksgiving for the first time. My kitchen is about the size of the turkey we plan to cook, which adds a sense of comedy to an otherwise Norman Rockwell-y experience. The goings on for Black Friday are still up in the air, but will most likely involve hitting the snooze button and, at a more reasonable hour, chortling at the fools who went out at 4am. After all, we'll need our rest in order to be at optimal strength for the ping-pong/shuffleboard tournaments that are sure to follow.

Following the Thanksgiving weekend, I plan to put up our Christmas tree--my favorite seasonal accessory by far. I look forward to creating my magical holiday wonderland inside the house and introducing Aurelia to the handsome and talented Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life". I'll let you all (and by you all, I mean our one avid fan, Patty Sebby aka Grandma) know how it goes!!