During those first few exhausting but magical weeks after Katie was born, many people reminded that “the days are long, but the years are short.” Becoming a mother is such a gift, but it comes with so many unknowns. Luckily, the joy and tender moments that began in those first weeks have continued and balance out the fear and feeling of being overwhelmed. When Similac asked me to reflect on my time as a parent and share some of the milestone moments that we’ve experienced with Katie as part of this sponsored post, it made me yearn to relive some of these again as they have flown by.

As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, Katie has grown up before our eyes and everything has been a whirl – happening faster than we ever expected. It seems as though one moment we were trying to figure out how to give Katie her first bath and the next we were trying to keep her from standing up in the bath.

In order to ensure that we don’t forget all the special moments, we’ve done our best to document these firsts as much as possible through pictures, blog posts, special calendars and baby books. While many of the memories and words that I’ve written in these books are personal, and something that I look forward to sharing with Katie when she’s older, here are a few “first and only” moments that we’ve experienced over the past ten months.

• Holding Katie in our arms

I was still in disbelief that after years of talking about have a family of our own and months of planning, our blessing was finally in our arms.

• Nursing

I remember sitting in the cold hospital bed, so clueless and confused, cradling Katie in my arms, while praying that she would naturally latch to my breast and not cry. Those first few nursing sessions in the hospital were stressful but seemed successful. It wasn’t until a few days later, at our first pediatrician visit, that we realized I didn’t have enough milk supply to keep our growing girl fed. Regardless of how difficult those first few days and weeks were due to insufficient glandular tissue, I do not regret the three months I dedicated to nursing Katie.

• Milk drunk naps

That sweet smile and look of contentment that was frequently on Katie’s face when she’d fall asleep in our arms during or after a feeding session made me feel such joy and appreciation. I felt such a great appreciation for the support of friends, family and especially our pediatrician who immediately recommended that we use Similac to supplement my breast milk upon realizing that, due to insufficient glandular tissue, all the lactation cookies, supplements and pumping wouldn’t result in enough milk to keep Katie nourished. Similac has been a wonderful fit for our family since that first week as it is easy to find both online and locally and it is the first and only leading infant formula brand with no artificial growth hormones. Similac’s dairy ingredients come from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones.* My mom who is a neonatal nurse also recommends Similac since she knows that they are focused on research and innovation that focuses on bringing the best ingredients possible to the baby. In fact, did you know that Similac is the first brand to include 2′-FL Human Milk Oligosaccharide** in the formula, an ingredient that was previously only found in breast milk? Similac with 2′-FL HMO helps strengthen baby’s immune system to be more like the breastfed infant than ever before. Now moms can feel reassured that their babies will get even more of the important nutrients to strengthen and support their growing immune systems. We’ve been using Similac Pro-Sensitive for the past few months and love that it is gentle and has helped with her gas and spit-up.

Visit the Similac Sisterhood of Motherhood Savings Club, where you can subscribe to monthly delivery at an average savings of 20% and learn more.

• Smiles

For those first few weeks of parenthood, you give so much to this small person but do not get any confirmation or affirmation. That first smile, even though it was barely a full smile, brought tears to my eyes.

• Finding her voice.

I remember texting Bo a video while he was at work saying that one of Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs was loose in our home. When Katie discovered her voice and the high pitch squeak she was able to make, she wouldn’t stop. As if the sound amazed her, she would do it constantly throughout the day whether I was near her or while she was napping. Luckily, like so many things with babies, it was a phase that passed quickly.

• Introducing solids

We were so excited to start giving Katie solids that I remember we specifically planned to do it when Bo and I could both be there to experience the fun and mess. Seeing her curiosity and expression after trying a new food perfectly reflects Katie’s personality – curious, thoughtful, and happy.

• Learning to splash

Even at a young age, Katie loved bath time. We always do bath time right before her last bottle and it is the perfect transition from our evening playtime to the calm of bedtime. Around the time she was five months old, Katie started splashing and enjoying the water so much that she would get upset when we started putting the toys away and drying her after bath time. That first night, when she finally responded to my splashes, was such a treat. Even though I was quickly covered in water, she refused to stop and giggled and smiled for the next few minutes while she kept splashing. Needless to say, these days bath time is a 15-20 minute activity in our household.

• Standing up

These days Katie is constantly on the move and pushing her body to do new things each day. Lately, standing up assisted by either furniture or people, makes her smile and giggle. I’m not sure if it’s the new perspective or just her satisfaction with this new accomplishment but that smile warms my heart.

• Interacting with nature

After a long cold weather, it was so special to spend time in the park with Katie last weekend. While we had to watch her every move, seeing her reach for flowers, dig in the dirt and watch the birds was such a joy!

Disclaimer:  Breastfeeding is the gold standard for infant nutrition. For moms who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, formula can be used. Talk to your pediatrician about what type of infant formula is best for your child.

Legal Disclaimer: **No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-treated and non-rbST- treated cows)  *Not from human milk

Thank you to Similac for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.