Anna Marie Patman Petty: March 2008

Well, technically Anna was born on February 21st. But we marked two important birth-related dates this past week. First, she turned one month on Friday. Second, she reached her official due date on Easter Sunday. Yes, that's right, our child was due on the least busy day of the Christian year. Her pastor dad duly notes God's ironic sense of timing.

As of last Thursday, she was up to 6 pounds, 6 ounces and is roughly 20 inches long. We've had to readjust her car seat seatbelt straps. She's also starting to outgrow some of her premi outfits! Now, I know what you're thinking. It probably sounds something like this, "Oh my goodness! I can't believe she's so tiny! I didn't know babies were ever that tiny." Please don't say this around her parents though! We knew her when she was barely at 5 pounds and just 18 inches long. A month seems like a year in our world and we're quite proud of the work we've been doing taking care of her.

Tangential side note that Don stresses is of utmost importance:
I know veteran moms and dads have warfare stories from the trenches about how difficult times will get ahead (like when PETA was called because their child tortured their dog and they were featured on the nightly news or the time when the neighborhood street was flooded because their child flushed a diaper and caused the pipes to burst and the septic tank to bubble over). And by sharing these stories they think they're providing us with comfort. But lest I sound repetitive for articulating the obvious, let me definitively say, "They're not!" The appropriate response is not conditional or comparitive. It's really quite simply, "She's so cute!" Get back to us in five years and then we'll talk about selling our horror stories for Hollywood movie rights. ;)

In the end, Anna is taking her time to grow. And why not? People have their babies on a schedule even before they're born (Nine months? I mean honestly, how many people are born on their exact due date?) We know this: She's breast-fed and so she'll be much slimmer earlier on. She was premature and her weight wasn't expected to skyrocket in the beginning anyway (Mom and Dad still maintain that it's harder to predict what your baby should be doing when they're not expected to be born for a month). She's not tiny. She's perfect just the way she is. :)

And a final unrelated note: Don can't really take credit for the last ten or fifteen posts. The photo shots were set up by Auntie Lee and she took several of the really good ones of Anna's hands and feet. Thanks Lee for your photog skills and lighting tips.