Scarlett: One Month

Ahhh...one month. One month of newborn snuggles, one month of unpredictable schedules, and one month of loving the newest little light of our lives. It seems that every time I type up one of these updates, I think to myself...'Wow! Where did the time go?' That has never been more true than it has been this first month home with our little angel S. Within 12 hours of bringing her home, big brother G was sick and puking all over with temps that consistently hovered in the 101-104 degree range for the next week; we endured not one, but two snow storms; and big brother C kept us busy with his school schedule and demands to play outside each and every time we pulled into our garage from running errands. As with any time you disrupt a set routine with little ones, there have been lots of tears and struggles around here as we adjust to our new reality as a family of five, but at the end of the day, the boys have been doing as well as can be expected, and they seem to love their little sister. So if you happen to stop by and wonder to yourself why her hair is a bit crunchy, know that it is from all of the sloppy wet kisses her brothers are constantly showering her with every chance they get!

THE STATS:

Age: 1 month

Diaper size: Newborn

Clothing: Newborn & 0-3 months

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY:

Baby S has surprisingly good head control for being just four weeks old! She has been 'working out' a bit on her tummy...a.k.a. 'tummy time', and can pick up her head and look forward or turn it to face the opposite direction. If I'm being completely honest, most of her neck muscle 'workouts' take place right on either T or I's chest as she likes to have her head popped up and looking around to see what is going on in the world. In other developmental updates, S has a pretty good grasp of focus for a newborn, and has been able to follow as we walk across the room, or move a toy in front of her eyes. 

SCHEDULE:

I hesitate to put this in writing in case I jinx our good fortune, but Little Miss has been a rockstar when it comes to sleeping. She started sleeping through the night right at four weeks (gasp!), and has surprised me each and every night since that she continues the trend. So, the schedule lately looks a little something like this:

7:30am || Wake Up
S is usually pretty alert and awake during the morning when we are at home. She likes to lay on her play mat and watch her hanging toys, or look at the light coming in the windows, or have her brothers sing to her and lay close by. If we are out running errands and she is snuggled in her carseat, she can usually be found napping!

Throughout the day, S will eat every 2-3 hours after waking up in the morning, and takes about 25-30 minutes to nurse. She does not yet have any consistent nap schedule during the day, but instead likes to nap while being all snuggled up on our chests, or in the carseat while we are running around town.

She is consistently hungry exactly when the rest of us are...meaning many times I am stuck in the other room feeding her instead of getting dinner ready, or while everyone else is eating. Her second favorite time of the day to eat or beg attention is right at bedtime, often making the boys' routine a bit of a stress at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, I love to hold and snuggle her, but when the boys are trying to get ready for bed at night and she is screaming for attention in the other room, it does not make for the calmest part of our day!

FAVORITE TOY:

S has been enjoying her Lovevery play gym this month. Specifically, she likes to look at the high contrast Montessori style ball, and has been working on her coordination by kicking the hanging musical bell toy.

STORYTIME:

We haven't had a whole lot of story time yet with little Miss, but she does often get in on nap time or bed time stories with her brothers as she is usually tagging along with Mom instead of being content to be laying down by herself.

CUISINE:

After successfully nursing both of our boys, it was a no-brainer for me that I would also nurse S rather than formula feed for her main source of nutrition. After a week of riding the struggle bus...my milk didn't truly 'come in' until four days after S was born, AND she had some problems getting a good latch (que super painful nursing experience for this mama!),...S has since gotten it all figured out, and is doing great. Thank you Lord for the inventor of Motherlove nipple cream...the only saving grace the first couple of weeks until S got everything figured out!

Now that we are in a bit more of a routine, S generally nurses every 2-3 hours during the day, and requires about 25-30 minutes to eat. This being said, evenings can get a bit shaky as to when and how often she wants to nurse before bed. The last week or so, she has been cluster feeding after we get the boys to bed (wanting to eat every 1-1.5hrs) before cashing out for the night around 11pm.

We have not introduced a bottle yet (I'm scared to even try my pump as I've had ZERO luck with it in the past, and I just don't know if it's worth the disappointment or if I'll just try formula right away when we do introduce a bottle), but as she rounds the one month mark, I'm almost more nervous about her NOT taking a bottle like another little person I know...ahem...big brother C, than I am about how much it matters to me if it's breast milk or formula in said bottle.

ONE MONTH FAVORITES

Snuggling
Wearing pink
Staring at Dad
Bath time
Napping

ONE MONTH LEAST FAVORITES

Being flat on her back
Not being held

OH THE MEMORIES:



Little S at just 2 days new. I took this picture the day we brought her home from the hospital. Such a little sweetheart!

At just two weeks old, S had a spell where she choked on some spit up/mucus build up. It was incredibly scary as she struggled to catch her breath for a good ten minutes. I tried just about every trick in the book to get her breathing...blowing in her face, pinching her toes, sucking out her nose/mouth, etc, but when she still couldn't catch a breath and started turning blue, I called Papa T right away and he came home to see what was going on. Thankfully, the episode ended on its own without any serious complications, and she has been fine ever since. At her 2week checkup, we decided that she likely just had some mucus buildup that she had a hard time getting out, and hopefully we can put it all behind us moving forward.

On a brighter note, S enjoyed her first overnight trip to grandparents right at four weeks old. She slept the entire 1.5 hr car ride, and slept through the night while on our visit, so I'd say it was a success! She got to spend some time outside on a stroller ride, playing with cousins, and enjoyed watching the ceiling fan. Exciting stuff!

As I am now trying to find time to blog with THREE very demanding littles at home, I didn't have a chance to sit down to look through ALL of the photos from this month, but will update this post as time allows with more pictures. :)