Well, we made it. Through the first month that is. Yes, my Maggie is a month old today. And by the time you read this she may be closer to two months--I'm thinking it may take me that long to write this post.
You see, my sweet newborn has woken up, so to speak. She has realized she is out of the womb and she's coming around. No more groggy days where Mommy can get everything done and then some. No my Maggie now demands a lot of attention. I knew it was coming, I fully expected it, but boy am I tired! Okay, let's be realistic...more like exhausted!
I know I mentioned in a previous post, that we were going to be schedule free around here until closer to 3 months. Well, that just doesn't work for my personality, little Maggie, and a toddler running around. So about 2 1/2 weeks ago I pulled out all of my books (my faves being the Baby Whisperer series by Tracy Hogg and Babywise) and I got to reading up on getting some organization around here. (there is a lot you forget between babies!). Since then we have been on a great "routine", notice I didn't say schedule. Maggie is adapting well, but she needs some guidance. And the best part is we all know what is coming next...I like that. So here is a summary of Maggie's "routine" and how she is doing at 1 month...
Eat
We start our day between 7:30-8:00 a.m. This is when she takes her first feeding. She only nurses for about 10-20 minutes...she is very efficient and very good at it. She eats approximately every three hours at 10:30, 1:30, and 4:30. From 4:30 on we do a little cluster feeding for the evening hours. So I nurse her again at 6:30-7:00ish and then at 8:30-9:00ish.
Activity
After eating we do an activity. I know your thinking "activity with a newborn?". But yes, it's the way we separate eating from sleeping. I want her to learn to fall asleep on her own. Her activities are very newborn friendly, like...a diaper change, staring out the window, staring at the wall, sitting in her bouncy seat while I sing or talk to her, etc. Her awake time is only about 30-40 min. (including feeding) and we just started pushing it that long. After those short minutes and that little bit of stimulating activity, she is ready for a snooze.
Sleep
At the sign of her first yawn after her activity time, we set the stage for sleep...close the blinds, turn the sound machine on and swaddle tightly. I hold her for a minute, sing her favorite song "You are my sunshine" and then lay her in her crib drowsy, but not asleep. Generally she falls asleep on her own in about 10 minutes for a good hour and half to over a two hour nap. Note I said "Generally". Oh trust me, we've had a couple naps were she has needed some extra soothing to stay asleep and Mommy hasn't had ONE MOMENT to herself. This my friends is why it will take me days to write this post. But, I gently remind myself this will be worth it when she's a great sleeper. Right? I must admit sleep training is the number one thing that makes me think we are done with babies around here.
The evening are a whole different story. From her 4:30 feeding, she usually only takes about a 45 min-1 hour catnap. The rest of the evening is hit or miss with sleep. A couple of catnaps, lots of fussing, two feedings, and a bath. She stays downstairs with us during these hours because it can get exhausting go up and down trying to soothe her during the "witching hour". At 9:00ish I giver her her last feeding before putting her down for the night. This session of "putting down" requires a lot of soothing!!! Clay and I begrudgingly share this task. But, once she's asleep she is down until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning. Love it! (If only I could get to bed when she does:) Then she's up again for another feeding at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. After that we start the whole day over again at 7:30-8:00a.m.
Little Tidbits
Even with the "extra soothing" and the fussy evenings, I still think she is a jewel. Unlike another baby we had around here, *ahem*, I won't mention any names, she doesn't cry and spit up all day. Which the pediatrician believes at this point we are in the clear for acid reflux...still holding my breath though.
Speaking of pediatrician, we had her one month appointment on Friday. Here are my Maggie's stats:
weight: 10lbs 8oz 90th percentile
height: 21.5" 75th percentile
head: 37cm 50th percentile
Another big baby...just how I like them!
Among other things, Maggie has some loves already. She loves her bath, she loves looking out the window, and she loves to nestle up on my chest below my chin (which I love too). And of course, she has dislikes too. She's not crazy about diaper changes unless I go pretty slow and talk her through it, she hates cold wipes (I had to invest in a wipes warmer due to this), and she really doesn't like getting out of the tub. We have to turn the heat up to a blazing degree around bath time to make the transition out of the tub smoother.
Big brother is still madly in love with her. He greets her every morning and reminds us throughout the day, "shhh, don't wake the baby". Although he is the loudest one in the house. And last night he even shared his toy steam roller with Maggie right across her sweet little forehead. Way to make the fussy evening even fussier big brother:)
Well, thank you for reading this far. I'm sure it wasn't that exciting, but if you have number 2 on the way, it is a little insight into whats ahead. More so, this post is for me (a little time to myself) and for Maggie (so she can see how much work she was and therefore, how much I must love her).
Off to feed a hungry baby!
The tree is decorated- the presents are wrapped below,
