Introducing...

Miss Margaret Mae "Maggie" Turman!

She arrived on August 16, 2011, weighing 6 lbs, 10 oz. and 19.5 inches long. I had quite the labor story, with an unexpectedly natural labor (no epidural!) that took only 2.5 hours, from my water breaking at 11:45 p.m., arriving at the hospital at 1:15 a.m., and hearing her first cry when she came into the world at 2:20 a.m. Best moment of my life.

Her proud daddy is completely smitten. :)

10 tiny fingers, 10 tiny toes!

Angel. Baby.

Modeling her hospital door sign, lovingly made by an Etsy vendor right here in Nashville and announcing her name, which we had kept a secret. It was quite the hit with our nurses!

Our second morning together, in one of the rare moments I took my eyes off of her.

Heading home from the hospital! Daddy has never driven more carefully in all his life.

As IF I could sit anywhere but right beside her.

I had to be able to look at this adorable little face the whole way home. :)


My Maggie,

Since the moment we met you one month ago today, we have fallen so in love with you. It is absolutely, without a doubt, the purest love I have ever known. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of heaven by showing us how beautiful life can be. You are such a good baby, and have inherited my ability to sleep just about anywhere! You love your carseat, your swing, and your walks in your stroller, and can sleep in all three with ease. You also love the bassinet in your pack-and-play, and thankfully, have slept there every night since you were born. We learned early on the swaddle is a game-changer, and have mastered the art of rolling you like a burrito to help you sleep soundly, though you've already started trying to bust those arms out.

You are completely at ease being held by all of your admirers, from our families who came to see you that first day in the hospital, to our friends who have steadily visited (and brought lots of lifesaving delicious dinners) in the weeks since you came home. We've passed you around like a hot potato, and love seeing how content you are in everyone's arms. You always seem to fit best in mine though. :)

You're quite the foodie, having visited three of our favorite restaurants in your first month - Taco Mamacita for lunch, Germantown Cafe for Sunday Brunch, and Jimmy Kelly's for a fabulous dinner during Restaurant Week - and slept through each with complete and total ease. You weighed 7 pounds, 5 oz at your last checkup with the pediatrician, so you've gotten back up to your birth weight after getting down to 5 lbs, 14 oz, and then some! You love to eat and can get fussy if you don't get fed exactly when you're ready for it, but who doesn't get ornery when they're hungry? You seem to equally enjoy nursing from me and taking a bottle of breast milk from Daddy when he gets home from work, so we hope to keep up that routine as long as you'll let us. Your Daddy took two whole weeks off from work to be with you, which went by in a blur. We didn't know what date it was, but we sure loved laughing over every funny face you made, and capturing everything on camera we could!

You have your daddy's long fingers and toes, and your mom's microscopic toenails. Though it's still hard for us to tell who you favor, your Dad thinks you have my lips, and I think you have his pretty eyes. You have our olive complexion and dark hair, and are starting to rock a pretty solid mullet with more hair in the back than on top! I have lots of pretty bows ready and waiting for you, but we'll have to wait until you get a little more hair first.

All the sleepless nights, diaper blowouts, and marathon nursing sessions are so very worth seeing your sweet face when we wake up each morning. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and awe that we get to be your parents, and we love you more than you will ever know.

Happy One Month, sweet Maggie. May the months go by slowly so we can savor every moment!