One Month

It always amazes me how slow a day can drag on, but a month can fly by. This past month has literally flown by way too fast. Knowing that Parleigh is my last baby, it is really hard for me to see her growing so fast. I am trying to cherish each moment with her as a newborn, because I know that I won’t be able to go through this again. Granted, the sleepless nights and the interrupted showers I could do without, but if I have to endure that in order to spend these sweet moments with my little baby, I will willingly sacrifice it all!

And, to make matters worse, Parleigh is growing fast—literally! We went to her one month check-up this morning. I had to chuckle when I remembered how worried the lactation consultant was in the hospital about my milk not coming in, or Parleigh not gaining enough weight! Ha!!!

Here are the stats:

at birth {cause I’m not sure I ever posted it!}

Weight: 8lbs 2 oz

Length: 20 1/4 inches

at one month old:

Weight: 10lbs 4 oz

Length: 21 3/4 inches

Let’s see: Parleigh eats almost every two hours. Some times she’ll go longer if she is napping. She loves to demand being nursed right when we sit down to dinner. Parleigh is waking up every 2-3 hours at night. I think she would sleep for longer if her congestion wasn’t causing her to have troubles breathing. Since she is 10 lbs already, she is bursting at the seams of her newborn clothes, and ready for 3 month clothes. Parleigh’s belly button HAS NOT fallen off yet. Yes, you heard me correctly—she is one month old and has yet to experience a nice, normal bath. Can’t wait till we can give her one!

Her name. I forgot to mention how we decided on her name. It’s so funny because living here Virginia, most people have never heard of the name Parley or Parleigh. Granted, we kinda tweeked the name Parley to fit our needs! Parley Parker Pratt was a missionary for the church back when it was first restored to the earth. He was such an amazing man and both Ben and I love reading about him. Before we had children, we both decided if we had a boy, we would name him Parker, after Parley P. Pratt. That is where we got the name for our first child.

When I found I was pregnant last summer, I pulled out the baby naming books and started searching for the perfect “P” name. I really like Piper. A lot. So much that I had in my mind that’s what we would name our baby if we had a girl. I didn’t even tell Ben until we had our ultrasound, because I didn’t want him to say “No.” He actually liked the name, and we were going to name her Piper. ……….And then I got to thinking. Is that the name we really want to use? Is there a better name? I was having a conversation with my sister and we were brainstorming, and Parley came up. Hum, too masculine. Right? It IS a boy’s name, right? Well, what if we spell it with a –leigh after my sister-in-law, Ester Leigh. Parleigh. It was perfect. And Ben liked it. So, it was settled.

Even still, I wasn’t quite sure we made the right choice. Especially when the nurses would ask what her name was and they would get that “look” like oh, that’s cute. {uh huh!} But, at one of the late night feedings in the NICU, I remember looking at Ben and saying, “I love Parleigh’s name. I absolutely love it. I think it is beautiful.” and he said, “I know, I feel the same way.”

My little Parleigh Ann, with her unique name. She is a unique, sweet, little spirit. Named after 1. Parley P. Pratt. 2. Her Aunt Ester and Great Aunt Cindy {whose middle names are Leigh}. and 3. Her Grandma Fe {Phyllis Ann Helm} and Great Granny {Shirley Ann Lineberry}