Maeve is one month old and an absolute joy in my life! She slept through the night last night for the first time! I put her to sleep at 10:30pm and she slept all the way through until 5:30am. It felt so good to get a long stretch of sleep, but I’m not sure if my body or my heart are ready to not feed her during the night. It was likely a one-off so I’ll take it.

Maeve has started smiling a couple days ago and it’s amazing! She gives me smiles when I talk to her after I feed her. It is so adorable and it has been a very happy surprise to have her smiling so early. I was not expecting it! This morning before one of her feedings, she was smiling over and over when I picked her up and talked to her. I love it and I’ll use my ridiculous voice to get all the smiles I can.

Maeve hasn’t had a soother or a bottle. Neither have been offered, neither have been required. A few times in the evening, we’ve thought about giving her a soother. But she’s so easy to calm. In the evenings when she’s feeling a little fussy, we hold her and Conor will hold her so she’s facing down. The amount of crying she does is very minimal. She stops crying as soon as she’s picked up and held, the evenings being the only exception. It’s not uncommon for her to be laying in her arms with her eyes open, taking in the world around her. Eventually she transitions into sleep with hardly a peep. She seems so satisfied and content.

Maeve has gotten so deliciously plump. It’s been very rewarding for me to watch her fatten up. Breastfeeding is working and we both love it! 

Maeve clearly recognizes the voices of her family and will turn towards whoever is talking to her. She’s really becoming her own little person and it’s so exciting. Maeve’s neck is very strong which is a necessary blessing because with two older sisters who love to act like little mommas, Greta especially, Maeve needs to be able to support her head more than the average baby. I’m constantly reminding Holly and Greta to be careful. They just adore Maeve and always want to hold her. There’s been lots of arguments and many tears over who's turn it is to hold Maeve and who has had the most turns, etc. 

I can honestly say that I have savored and cherished my time with Maeve. These are the good old days and I am loving them. My perspective is clearer because I have two big girls. I know firsthand that time is a thief and I know what I have to look forward to. I love my little baby and I feel daily gratitude for her presence in my life. Heavenly Father told me that she would bring me joy and she absolutely has. I adore her. I can’t imagine our family, or my life, without her. 

I took monthly photos of Greta. I don't think Maeve and Greta look very much alike besides the dark hair. If you'd like to see for yourself, here's the post of Greta at one month.

Conor's sister, Elizabeth, drove to Spokane with her daughter, Vienna to take care of us and to take some photos of sweet baby Maeve. Liz sent over a handful of photos and I'm in love. I'm so grateful she made the trek down to us and I'm even more grateful that she so willingly shares her beautiful talent with us! I value photos so much and our family enjoys looking at photographs. I have a whole stack of books from the years (and many more to compile!). Very often, Holly and Greta will pull out the books and flip through them. I love photographs and I'm so grateful that they're so easy to take (maybe too easy judging by how many photos are on my computer!).

Maeve is 3.5 weeks old and life is still crazy. I haven't even attempted to find a new rhythm nor have I needed to with Conor's generous paternity leave. My days are filled with nursing Maeve, sleeping, showering and lounging. I'm trying to get out for walks. I'm looking forward to getting back on my feet again, but I'm also really enjoying nestling in and caring for my baby while everything else slips away. In it's own way it's beautiful.

I took some photos of my three girls yesterday. That was exhausting, but worthwhile. When the big girls are back in school all the daylight will be faded by the time they get home so I knew I had to take the opportunity. 

We all love Maeve so much!

Our sweet baby girl came on December 4 at 11:49am. She weighed 5lb, 10oz and measured 18.5" long. We named her Maeve Alberta Muirhead and we're all so in love with her! So far, she's been a dream baby. Not only was my labor quick (2 hours and 20 minutes), but Maeve is also a good little feeder and I'm finally getting the positive breastfeeding experience I've always wanted. She sleeps at night time (knock on wood!) and cries very rarely. She loves to be held and is surviving Greta's rowdy cuddles. We're so glad she's here!

Our baby girl isn't here yet. Both Holly and Greta were already born by this point so she feels overdue, except she's not. I still have 6 more days to go until my due date. But we were convinced she'd be here by now. I'm just having a long early labor stage. Lots of contractions that don't grow up into anything. Fortunately, I feel really great for the most part. The contractions can get a bit wearing but otherwise I'm not swollen or uncomfortable and I'm in good spirits. I feel confident that she'll come when she's ready whenever that is. I'm measuring pretty small (5-6 weeks small!), so maybe she needs a little more time to fatten up? I had an ultrasound to check in on everything and she passed all the tests and the tech could even see hair. I didn't want any 3D pictures of her face. I just want to be surprised I guess. She'll be here soon enough in person!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. Lots of time with friends and good food. I recently started making the girls holiday breakfasts. Halloween was our first one and now Thanksgiving. They LOVE it and it's a fairly simple way for me to celebrate the holidays with them, make them feel special and I feel like I'm doing a "good job" as a mom. It's a win all around. 

Holly and Greta wrote little letters to Santa and taped them to the fireplace. All they want Santa to bring them is Candy Canes and hubba bubba. The old guy can do that! Not having television and all the ads really effects our Christmas experience for the better I think. Their little letters are so cute!

I'm still trying to plan fun stuff on the weekends. If I don't, I'll go crazy! We're going to decorate gingerbread houses, get a tree and trim it, we have a party to go to, I want to watch the BFG with the girls, maybe do some charity toy shopping... Or maybe the baby will come? I don't have anything else to do to get ready for her. I'm tired of obsessively cleaning my house. I'm kind of over crossfit. And my freezer is filled to the top. So I need things to look forward to!

Nobody is pregnant forever right?!