I'm gonna start off by saying I'm not trying to be condescending or shoot down your entire plan, BUT you might want to do a little more research...
1. Is your girlfriend a professional piercer? Is she planning on wearing gloves, using sterile needles AND sterile jewelry (meaning autoclaved, not soaked in alcohol or something) and working in a clean area? If not, go to a professional. Not Claire's or Wal-Mart, a real professional who will pierce your lobes with needles and proper jewelry, not a gun.
2. After a piercing, you need to wait about six months before doing your first stretch. Your piercings probably won't even be healed after a month, and they definitely won't be ready to stretch. A lot of people think a piercing just has to be healed to be stretched, but it has to be strong enough to accommodate larger jewelry too. That just doesn't happen in a month. In a month they might seem healed on the outside and that's about it.
3. If you're starting at 16G, your first stretch should be 14G, not 12G. Never skip any sizes, even small ones. Those small sizes set the foundation for your whole stretching journey.
I would recommend getting pierced by a professional at 10G or 8G so you can already wear plugs and stuff while you're waiting to go larger. IMO it's the best decision you can make if you want to stretch but your ears aren't pierced yet.
Oh, and read this!
http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/forum/ ... garding-ItGood luck!