It’s been about four week and a couple of hours since Madeline has graced us with her presence. She’s the chillest baby around, crying (for the most part) only when she’s hungry or needs a diaper change. Everyday I spend with her, I notice traits that she’s inherited from me.

For one, she’s got quite a lot of hair. I seriously thought I gave birth to a werewolf (there wolf!) or a Russian baby. Tons sprout on her noggin, shoulders, and back. Her pediatrician explained to us that the hair on her shoulders and back will likely fall off as she matures, which is a shame because it’s so darn cute.

Another trait I bestowed upon her was my smile. Her entire face seem to crinkle into the most contagious smile imagineable. I never knew I had such a smile, but a few friends have pointed it out.

Yet another trait of mine that Madeline shares are her toes. Unfortunately, she will probably be nicknamed ‘Pinnochi-toes’, if not by her peers later in life, than most certainly by me! Like mine, her toes are incredibly long … and incredibly edible. Nom nom nom.

I am officially a mommy. Madeline Terra Gasio was born on Friday, August 22, 2008 at 3:35pm PST. Details and photos galore to come soon, but for now, here’s some visual stimulation:

Madeline Terra Gasio, Age: 1.5 Days

It’s commonly believed that pregnant women tend to crave extraordinary combinations of food, such as pickles with ice cream or pizza topped with cherries. In the past 39-ish weeks that I’ve been pregnant, no strange desires of such food pairings ever hit me.

For the most part, I only craved beverages of the fruity variety. In particular was Hi-C fruit punch, loaded with 100 percent Vitamin C (*cue that infamous Graduation song*) and probably 110 percent sugar. My baby will probably have a sweet tooth, just like me.

That said, there’s no need for explanation about my huge craving for chocolate. My intake of chocolate got rather ridiculous, feeling the need to have at least one piece of chocolate on a daily basis, otherwise life as I knew it lost all purpose. Dramatic, yes. Thankfully my intake of chocolate over the past couple weeks has dwindled to eating a piece every other day.

I suppose the only odd combination of foods that I craved was bagels with cream cheese and hot dogs. Or tortillas with cream cheese and hot dogs. But that’s actually a combination I craved even before I became pregnant, and I never considered it a strange craving.