Andromeda's 1 Month Update

Yes, I'm nearly 2 weeks overdue posting this, but considering that I was a full year overdue posting anything from 2017, I feel like I'm actually doing pretty well...

Snow in front of our house

And in the hospital parking lot

First time holding Andi!

Getting inspected - you can kind of see the bruise on her noggin' due to her forehead first approach to life...

Andromeda had a super eventful 1st month.  She was born on Friday, December 8, 1.5 weeks late and the day after Houston's "big" snowstorm of 2017.  I didn't get to see any of the snow in person because I'd had an epidural and couldn't walk, but I got to see pictures of the pretty dusting of white covering the trees in front of our house and the cars in the hospital parking lot.  My directionally challenged daughter decided to make her entrance to the world forehead first, which caused some initial health concerns (she had to get an ultrasound of her head on Day 1 of life) and so I'm SO thankful that both my mom and S were there with me to provide encouragement and reassurance.  My parents had actually already been in town for 2 weeks, thinking they'd arrive before her due date in case she came early... she obviously didn't.  And they stuck around in Houston for the first week that we were home from the hospital too - it was incredibly helpful to have them around to help with the dogs, hold the baby while I napped, and cook dinners for us while we coped with the learning curve of caring for a newborn.  Andi had been sleeping like a champ in the hospital but promptly took up the new habit of only sleeping while being held as soon as we got home.  On the plus side, she was a fantastic eater and lets be honest, while sleep deprivation was a real thing the newborn snuggles are kind of amazing. 

So peaceful!

The grandmas!

Meeting my parents!

Three generations

And the dogs were so great with her!  Penny likes to check in every so often, give a kiss, and then go on her way.  But Pandora is OBSESSED with her baby!  She just loves being around her and gives her tons of kisses, sometimes too many.  Luckily Andromeda seems enamored with her puppies too and takes it all in stride.  Pandora's loud barks don't even phase her!

Pandora always wants to be around her baby!

Not so happy after her first bath

After just 2 weeks, we made the arguably crazy decision to drive to South Florida to see family with a newborn and 2 dogs.  Just as we were leaving, Andi and I started to come down with a cold.  We were barely 1 hour away from home and she was screaming and crying.  Wasn't hungry, didn't have a dirty diaper, our sweet little baby just felt cruddy and wanted some snuggles.  Poor little peanut.  Despite our less than stellar start, we managed to make it to my parents' house in just 2 days with stops about every 3 hours to feed the baby, and it wasn't that bad of a drive.  Upon arriving, Andromeda got to meet her great grandparents, cousin M, and her Uncle D, which was absolutely adorable and wonderful.

Meeting GG and Great Grandpa for the first time!

And her Uncle D!

We spent our first few days in Florida sick, and there are few things I have experienced in life that are worse than listening to your brand new infant sniffle and wheeze all day and night.  We hunkered down, got a humidifier, and slept a lot and a few days later were in better form.  Which was good, because we'd been somewhat sequestered as we didn't want to get anyone else sick, especially my little baby niece G who had arrived with my brother and sister-in-law only a couple of days after we got there.  It was so great when Andi was finally feeling better and we were able to introduce her to her cousin!  Although, admittedly, at 3 weeks and 4 months old respectively, the interaction at this point was somewhat minimal.  We can't wait until they get older and can be besties! 

Cousin!

Getting some playtime in on the activity mat

Andi also got to meet the rest of our family, including my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She participated in her first girls' craft day (I do these every year with my girl cousins and their kids as an interactive holiday gift).  Grandma and grandpa took her on lots of walks around their neighborhood (she loves going on walks in her stroller!).  She went to her first brewery! And she finished up her first month with her first major developmental milestone, after which she was able to start focusing on people and even started smiling at us!

Family walk

All 5 great granddaughters!

Andi meeting Aunt D and V - her face in this picture cracks me up!

Snuggled up with mommy during first girls' craft day

Baby's first brewery trip...

Look at that smile!!!

That wraps up Andromeda's first month!   I'll do my best to be more timely with the post for month #2!