While we are still getting ourselves settled into Home Life at the One Week/Month Mark with sweet Wilson Ann, it is very clear that she has stolen all of our hearts and was always meant to be part of our story. I may still find myself mystified at times that I am now a mama to five and that we have a second girl in that bunch, but there’s no mystery when it comes to how happy they make my heart.

Now that we’ve had a wee bit of time to be in our normal chaos instead of hospital chaos, we’ve also had a wee bit of time to learn more about just who this newest little person is. For the most part, minus that doctor-made belly button and inch(ish)-long scar on her tummy, she’s a typical newborn. She eats every 2-3 hours during the day, sleeps a lot, and poos. That’s really about it (and isn’t it all just glorious?).

Wilson is a fan of her paci, being super snuggled up in blankets or on her people, and noise. Thank goodness, right?! Because you know there’s no way that all four Bigs have suddenly learned to be super quiet, so they’re all a good match. But side note question: anyone out there have a good white noise device to recommend for nighttime? Normally we just run floor fans, but currently using an app on my phone and wondering if there is a happier medium out there.

Her color is gorgeous and she’s doing the full-peel/slight baby acne thing right now. Her hands don’t stay quite as tightly balled as I remember her siblings doing, and she loves to swing her long arms around during feedings and diaper changes (because: challenge is fun, right?). Although she doesn’t cry much, when she does, it tends to ratchet up pretty quickly into a sound that makes my mama heart hurt because it’s one I heard other babies in the NICU doing but never from her while there, so the guilt of not being able to be with her 24/7 the whole time in Omaha comes swooping in pretty quickly when she does that (was she crying like that when we were gone?!). Trying to remind myself that that might just be a Fifth Kid thing and not so much a NICU thing and she’s not afraid to use her voice to join the (happy) cacophony of our home.

Speaking of her voice, she has this grunt/throat clear sound that is always in triplet which is quite endearing, unless it is between 3-6 a.m., in which case I’m less of a fan.

And as fond as Wilson is of being around the rest of the Welschies and their goings-on, I find myself wishing for not much else than to be close to her, too (OK, sleep. I also really just want a bit more sleep or an uninterrupted nap for once, but I digress). I don’t think that’s much different from my other babies, but it feels a bit more heart-string pulling in those moments when I just get to hold her in my arms or on my chest, or put her on the bed next to me for a little close time. After all the lines and cords and beeping/dinging things that were connected to her arms, legs, and chest for the first three weeks of her life, to have nothing between us is the biggest blessing after that of being home.

So one whole month. Forever long and also gone, just like that. She is perfect.