How in the absolute world is my tiny baby already ONE month old!? It is insane how quickly time flies by with babies... especially the second one! Acelyn is such a perfect fit for our family, and she's made life transitioning to a family of four pretty simple. She's an easy baby that's so very sweet, but has a strong little sour side to her, when necessary (which I find hilarious at this point, though I know I'll be biting my words when she's a sassy little toddler)! She's a cuddler and absolutely loves to be held and talked to, yet the second she wants something or she's upset, she let's out a huge, loud wail! She already knows what she wants when she wants it and makes herself heard, such as life as a second child, I assume!
Here's a closer look into Acelyn's first month of life:
Height, Weight, and Sizes:
After our first month of exclusively breastfeeding, I was so, so, SO relieved to find out at Acelyn's one month well check that she has been gaining weight like a champ and our nursing relationship is doing what it needs to be doing! I've been nervous about her weight gain since my previous breastfeeding experience didn't quite go as planned; Nolan was fed breastmilk but only through exclusively pumping since he never could latch. Little lady's latch is far from perfect, and we're constantly working on it and sometimes have to reposition multiple times (she likes to keep her mouth tiny, has a hard time flanging her lip out, and sometimes won't get that tongue down!), yet we're making it work and she's obviously getting what she needs. Acelyn weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces (23rd percentile) at her one month check, putting on over a pound and a half in two weeks time. She also grew lengthwise, measuring in at 21 inches long (45th percentile) for height, and her head circumference measured 13.8 inches (11th percentile).
She's quickly outgrowing her things, as she just moved from newborn diapers to size 1s, and we're starting to find that some newborn onesies are getting quite snug! She can fit in both newborn size onesies (tightly) or 0-3 onesies (a bit bigger), and her sleepers that are all newborn sizes are starting to get a little snug, too, yet 0-3 size sleepers are still a bit large for her. Her bottoms are mostly newborn sizes with a few 0-3 mixed in, and outfits like rompers and dresses are strictly 0-3, as she's outgrown a few of her newborn dresses already. She hates socks and has a hard time keeping them on her very narrow, long feet, so if we're going out, she usually rocks her moccasins that fit pretty well. Luckily it's summer, so we spend most of our days in onesies or rompers with a swaddle for naps!
Feeding:
Acelyn has been exclusively breastfeed thus far, and we intend to do so for as long as we can! She currently eats every 2.5-3 hours during the day, and every 3 hours at night. Sometimes, I still have to wake her to eat, although she's gotten pretty accustom to our schedule and is starting to wake on.the.dot of our little routine we've made. She's a quick and efficient nurser, eating for only about 5-10 minutes each feeding. She absolutely hates to burp, and we've had quite the challenge the last week or two with spitting up and getting good, decent burps out of her. Her spit up can be, what we refer to as, "Exorcist"-like spit up, where she just opens her mouth and basically a whole feeding of milk just dumps out all over her, myself, and whatever surface we're sitting on. She's never bothered by it and doesn't cry or fuss when it happens, but we're working on trying to find the cause (i.e.: my diet, hydration, movement, overfeeding or just plain and simple newborn spit up). We're hoping it's a stage that will soon pass, but as long as little chick is gaining weight and not in pain, we're doing just fine!
Sleeping:
Acelyn is similar to her big brother in that she loves her sleep and has been very good about getting good naps in constantly. She does have many preferences that make getting her to sleep a little bit of a challenge, but once she has what she wants, she'll be out, solid! Acelyn has hated her arms being swaddled from day one of her life! She will not let us put those arms in and can often be found sleeping with one dainty little hand under her chin. She also does not like to sleep flat on her back, on most occasions. Her favorite places to sleep are her swing, the Rock N' Play, and cuddled in our arms or on my chest. We've tried her sleeping in the Bassinest and flat in the Pack N' Play, and she just won't have it. It's definitely the comfort of having that womb-like environment and feeling something surround her that she enjoys, so we'll be working on transitioning her to flatter surfaces in the next few months... but no rush, since I don't mind all the cuddles! She prefers sleeping more on her right side of her head than her left, so that's also something we plan to watch out for as Nolan was the same, and we ended up with his helmet journey... so we're being proactive and aware of that situation.
Lately, she has enjoyed her awake time being held and having conversations with Mama, watching her big brother play with his toys or playing with him on her playmat, or sometimes just hanging out, checking out the fan or watching her surroundings. She typically stays awake for about 1.5 hours and then sleeps for another 1.5 hours or a little less, and sometimes will go down very easily, other times it takes a bit to get her settled (see above preferences). We're working on taking a pacifier, as she's super specific and only likes the big, round Soothie ones, but even with those, has a hard time hanging on to it and spits it out quite often.
Likes:
-cuddling with Mom and Dad, especially sleeping on Mama's chest
-swing, can usually guarantee she'll fall asleep in it
-conversations and making funny faces (especially her "Surprise!" birdy face)
-Solly Wrap with Mama
-watching her big brother, whether he's playing on his own, holding her, or just around, she loves looking at him and listening to him
Dislikes:
-the carseat, absolutely hates getting in
-Getting changed
-Bath time
-the wind
-burping
-falling asleep on her own
