(A story of tiny firsts, quiet worries, and learning not to count too hard)
She rolled over today.
Just… flipped, like she’d been practicing when I wasn’t looking.
And I gasped — louder than I meant to —
because for some reason,
that little movement felt like a goodbye
to the newborn she was yesterday.
I’ve been tracking everything.
Feeds. Sleeps. Poops.
Little boxes I tick, not because I’m obsessive…
but because I’m scared I’ll miss something important.
Her pediatrician said she’s doing great.
Gaining weight.
Meeting milestones.
Happy.
Still, I watch her like I’m decoding something.
“Should she be laughing more by now?”
“Is that rash from the laundry soap or her vaccine?”
“Why does her head tilt slightly when she’s tired?”
No one warned me how loud the quiet health worries would be.
But you know what else no one warned me about?
How huge the little wins would feel.
The first time she grabbed her toes.
The first time she tracked a toy with both eyes.
The first time she let me brush her gums with a tiny finger brush
and actually smiled.
I’ve started keeping a “firsts basket” — not for keepsakes,
but for things that helped along the way:
- Her soft thermometer that doesn’t make her flinch
- The vitamin D drops we keep by the rocker
- A baby milestone journal, where I write one sentence per day — just one.
Even if it’s:
“She drooled on my neck while babbling about nothing. I hope she always tells me everything.”
Milestones don’t show up all at once.
Sometimes they sneak in while you’re folding laundry.
Sometimes they wait until you stop watching.
Sometimes… they don’t match the app timelines.
And that’s okay.
She’s growing.
And so am I.
Not in perfect alignment, but in rhythm.
And on the hard days,
I open that journal
and read the sentence I wrote on day 11:
“She smiled in her sleep. I think she knows I’m here.”
Baby Milestone Memory Journal
Not a scrapbook. Just a soft, simple space to remember the tiny things that might otherwise blur. I write in it one minute before bed — and feel like I captured a whole world.
No-Touch Thermometer
Quiet, fast, no drama. I use it when she’s burning up and I need calm, not guesses.
Vitamin D Drops
The one routine I never forget — one drop, one smile, one reassurance I’m doing enough.