4 months of Everly Jean
Before Everly was born, I thought to myself, I should blog every month of her! Photos and little stories….that would be so fun! And, indeed, it would be fun! But MAN does a month fly by quickly making it hard enough for me to keep up with editing photos let alone writing about it. I will say though, I have kept up with her baby book and writing to her in a journal that I started a year ago when I found out I was pregnant! BUT one area I have NOT struggled is with taking photos of her! Thank goodness for my cameras wifi connection making it so easy for me to take photos, upload to my phone and share. As I write this, I have 600+ photos uploading to Lightroom to be edited of JUST her first 4 months! It’s a little obsessive but its my absolute favorite way to hold onto memories.
I DID share a blog post of Everly’s birth story so feel free to head back to that if you missed it, but I will probably go overboard here with photos and silly stories…so, buckle up…it could be a long one! (ps the photos and stories don't necessarily go hand in hand...haha but I have to sharers many pics as possible here!).
The first few days in the hospital were pure bliss. Even with doctors and nurses in and out constantly, I felt like I was on cloud nine and complete disbelief that our baby girl was real. We didn’t tell friends or family her name until they met her…introducing OUR DAUGHTER to our closest people was absolute JOY!!
This first month was filled with lots of snuggles and a ton of visitors. In hindsight, I am not sure I would do a meal train how we did it. It was SO fun having people over to meet our girl but WOW was it a lot. We had a meal EVERY DAY for the first month. It was the biggest blessing ever. BUT we also had visitors every single day for that first month. Let’s just say…I learned a lot in that time! I spent a lot of time resting and taking baths letting my body heal. We didn’t leave the house much until about 2 weeks and I was in a lot less pain by 3 weeks. Wow, that postpartum healing is NO joke! Everly was also jaundice (check out her super yellow eyes!) so we had a nurse visit at home as well as a few doctor appointments that first month. It is a crazy, faced paced transition but thankfully she hasn’t made it too hard on us at all!
After her first bath, we discovered her truly insane hair and we haven’t looked back! Fully embracing this crazy hair that hasn’t fallen out at all…only getting longer and blonder with time!! We invested in some preemie clothes and she wore the same few things every day but we didn’t care! We made lots of outings to Target, parks to explore, and breweries, too!
Uncle Peter came to visit TWICE from Arizona. Everly got spoiled with pretty much constant snuggles and attention during these visits!
The second month of Everly went so quickly! I started getting back into my photography business, we got outside a LOT as it slowly warmed up (so relative…but its MN what do we expect?!) but then she even got to experience her first April blizzard (so classic…). We realized those stick straight legs aren’t going anywhere and she’s DEFINITELY not chunking up, either!
Right at two-months, she really started sleeping well! She has always been a great sleeper and only given us a few bad nights… but we moved her into her crib and suddenly we ALL slept better! The girl really learned to move. She would move all around her crib and end up in very different spots from where we left her! It was crazy and so cute. I have spied on her through her monitor way too much for my own good, but its adorable watching her wiggle around in there! We even graduated from preemie diapers to newborn diapers!
First Easter (the day she turned 2 months old!) was great! She got spoiled with a new dress (and thankfully it was a warm day!), had her first Easter egg hunt, and got to be proudly shown off at church by her daddy!
We had lots of bonfires this month soaking up that quick Minnesota spring. She loved watching the fire and, in general, loves to be outside! She went to the zoo for the first time, although I’m not sure she had any idea she was there.
We celebrated my first mothers day with FOUR generations. Everly, myself, my mom, and my mom’s mom who is almost 90. It’s so special to capture these memories and make the most of having all these generations here!
The lactation consultant at our pediatritian was our greatest support in this month. We fought hard to continue our breast feeding journey. It’s been a lot of work but with some extra encouragement and advice, we have made it happen! And in 5 days, everly gained 7oz. During this month, the was in the 4thpercentile for weight! A tiny peanut but a growing girl no less!
She loves baths but HATES getting out. Thankfully this has switched RECENTLY but those first three and a half months….she would SCREAM. I mean, high pitched, burst your ear drum, kind of screams when she got out. But, when you’ve got that crazy hair….you need a LOT of baths!
At three months, Everly found her voice and started chatting a lot more! She started figuring out how to use her hands and “playing” with toys. She quickly fell in love with the ‘monkey man’, as we like to call him, a hanging monkey on her play mat. She talks to the monkey man more than anyone else: he gets her.
At 12 weeks we started sleep training and it’s been a GAME CHANGER. We cut the swaddle out and had a few hard nights but…NOW!! The girl self-soothes to sleep for naps and bed time and it’s so refreshing!!
As spring started to bloom and blossom we spent a lot of time outside! I am so obsessed with the blossoming trees and was so grateful to get to explore and show her them! We did our best to live up the perfect spring weather! We even commenced spring with a milk bath and some lovely blooms!
Everly took her first trip to Lutsen, too! Her first time sleeping in a hotel (apparently the hotel room bathroom is great sleeping conditions, she was AWESOME!), her first time touching lake superior (she SCREAMED), her first gondola ride, AND her first wedding! It was a big weekend!
As its finally becoming summer, she’s taken her first pool swims in a little baby pool at home with grandma Lois, a Minneapolis park wading pool, and just this week in the big pool at Jake’s families house!
Her hair is finally long enough for pony tails (they’re so cute and hilarious), she got a mesh bumper in her crib because she was CONSTANTLY getting stuck between the bars, she has an intense case of FOMO and power naps all day but sleeps through the night, and she has spoiled us with a few real, legit belly laughs. We are seriously so in love with this girl. She is pure sunshine and brings so much joy to every day. Every change is better and better. It’s a constant state of excitement for what’s next all the while grieving the time that passes too quickly. Now, onto become a big FOUR-month-old tomorrow and celebrating with her first flight and first girls trip! Hopefully a fun post to come about that sooner than later!!
