One Month Old!!!

I know...I know...It's been FOREVER since I've updated my blog. Well, life has been quite busy in the Frueh household the last few weeks. We did take a trip to the beach and also a trip to New York. My grandfather died suddenly and rather unexpectedly, so that changed our routines and our lives quite abruptly. On top of all that, my pregnancy predictions are proving quite correct and God has blessed us with a "spirited" child :-) Through all the kicks and squirms of the last five months of my pregnancy, I predicted that Molly would be filled with spirit and joy. Well, the spirit is here. We're hoping the joy comes later ;-) We're eagerly awaiting Molly's first true coos and smiles, if for no other reason than to reassure her weary parents that she really does like us and that she is capable of expressing emotions other than angry crying.

Molly loves to be with her family. If anyone in the house is up and awake, she wants to be up and awake with them. And if you're busy doing something without her, she'll definitely let her voice be heard and let you know where she is until you pick her up and let her join in the fun. She only likes to nap if Mommy or Daddy naps with her. Otherwise, I think she's afraid she'll miss something exciting that we're up to, which usually only includes trying to take a shower or fix a meal. It's the funniest thing...we'll rock her into a deep sleep and carefully lay her in her bassinet. It won't be five minutes before she'll wake up screaming. One of us will pick her up and hold her to our chest and INSTANTLY she's back asleep. Yet, if she falls asleep in the Moby wrap or carrier, strapped to our body, she'll sleep solidly for 2-3 hours, no problems! She certainly knows how to get what she wants. She'll scream at the top of her lungs until we put her in the carrier so she can travel around with us. Consequently, I'm sitting here, updating my blog with Molly in her Moby wrap. I also prepare meals, eat meals, make phone calls, email friends, read, pack and unpack suitcases, and wander through airports, all with Molly swaddled to my chest. It almost feels like I'm pregnant again, except this time my "belly" can cry!



Molly celebrated her one month birthday today with her first trip to the pediatrician. She has continued the streak she started in pregnancy of being a perfectly "average" baby by measuring in at the 50th percentile for height and weight. She is 21.5 inches long and weighs 9lb. 30z. All that breastmilk she's been consuming every 1-3 hours for the last month has been doing its job and she's growing beautifully. She's in perfect health and the doc even gave us some possible explanations for her excessive fussiness. He thinks she may have problems with gastric reflux that can be easily remedied by making some simple changes in my diet. That way we can keep offending foods out of my breastmilk and out of little Molly's tummy. We're going to give it a try for a few weeks and see how things go. It's unbelieveable to me that Molly's already one month old!!! It seems like she just joined our family last week. I bet I'll be making similar statements for the next 18 years or so :-)


Here's a look at just some of the adventures Molly's enjoyed during her first month in the world:



Most of Molly's first beach experience was spent snoozing under the umbrella, which Mommy didn't mind too much because it meant she could snooze under the umbrella too :-)


The first real bath was quite successful. Molly actually enjoys being naked, even at diaper changes, and the warm water was a new, exciting adventure.




We bought Molly a swing, thinking that perhaps it would help in soothing her to sleep. I think this is the only picture we have of her actually sleeping in the swing and that's because we rocked her to sleep first and then put her in the swing. This look of peace lasted all of 5 minutes before she realized she wasn't in the arms of her favorite parents.



Now, THIS is more like it. This is where Molly likes to hang out most of the day (despite the look of terror on her face, she really does like to be in Daddy's arms). And if she's not with Daddy, she's napping with Mommy. And Mommy certainly doesn't mind the excuse to catch a few zzzzs.


Molly slept through her entire first plane trip to NY thanks in part to her Beco baby carrier, which she loves. Some of the other passengers in the terminal were giving us some nervous glances as we boarded the plane, surely with images of screaming babies in their heads, but she didn't make a peep the entire trip!

Once in NY, Molly got a chance to spend some wonderful quality time with her Great-Grandma Henry. We were all sad that Great-Grampa Henry never got a chance to meet her, but we know that he's looking down on her and smiling!

The trip to NY exposed Molly to a bit different weather than what she experienced on her trip to the beach with GG and Pop. Instead of 90's, temperatures instead ranged from the 40's to the 70's. She even got a chance to wear the pink sweater her Great-Grandmother Frueh made for her when we went on our morning walks.

Daddy had some fun one morning impersonating "Molly faces" in bed :-)
We took a family hike to the top of the Grafton firetower. It overlooks eastern NY, western Massachusetts, and southwestern Vermont. Eric and I actually took this exact same hike when we were in Grafton in April. At the time, I was 6 months pregnant, but I don't think Molly saw much more this time than she did when she was up here in utero. She slept the entire time in her Beco carrier, close to her Daddy's chest.

"Well, that's all folks. 'Til next time, stay cool and don't take life too seriously. I certainly don't."