1 Month!

Over the weekend, it happened.  Mila turned one month old! 

Current stats:

Age: 1 month

Weight: close to 8 pounds (guesstimate)

Length: 20 inches (guesstimate)

Sleep: short naps during the day, 2 - 3 hours between feedings at night most nights

Eating: exclusively breast fed, sometimes goes through cluster feedings, will accept a bottle

Appearance: gray/blue eyes, light brown hair.

Just looking at her, Mila reminds me of Ruby around this time.  Here's a comparison of their one month photos:

Mila, however, is quite different than Ruby.  She is a great eater, in fact she often eats more often than expected.  I've had days where I've been stuck on the couch most of the day because she was going through cluster feeding sessions.  Thankfully breastfeeding this time has been a little easier since I've been down that road before.  

I often describe Mila as being a needy baby.  She would prefer to be held and often throws a fit if we try to stick her in the swing or play mat to "hang out."  I often wear her in the Moby or Ergo in order to just get stuff done, although even that doesn't always work for her.  During the day she will catnap and then demand to be fed.  Since she is often feeding, I am often stuck on the couch which makes it hard to get anything done or play with Ruby.  Now that she has crossed the one month mark, I feel like she is finally starting to sleep in longer stretches and is *beginning* to tolerate some time in the bouncer, swing or play mat.

Just like big sister Ruby, Mila has very specific preferences about things.  She HATES to be cold.  Trying to take her one month photo was a challenge, even with the fireplace one and a heating pad under the quilt.  Most of the photos turned out like this:

And then I tried to give her the soft, fluffy rabbit.  Yeah, she was not a fan of that idea.

This past month has been a bit of a blur.  I'm still learning how to manage TWO kids and manage the rest of life.  It's a learning process for sure.  We've decided to keep Ruby in day care a few days a week in order to give her some continuity and activity, as well as give me time to rest or take care of business.  

I was truly thankful for the help I got early on from family and my sister will be here soon to help out as well.  This parenting thing is not for the weak, that's for sure.

I feel like Mila is just starting to blossom and show us who she is.  She seems bigger (although she's still wearing newborn clothes) and has started to develop more muscle control.  She'll turn her head towards music playing and has become more tolerant towards diaper changes.  Although I love newborns, the newborn stage is not my favorite since there is so much crying and very little feedback from the infant.  But, seeing her growing is great feedback and soon enough she'll be smiling and cooing, which will surely make me melt.

I love watching her sleep.  She looks so peaceful.  Although I can't watch her too long before I start to drift off to sleep myself! 

Ruby is adjusting to being a big sister.  She loves to help, like getting diapers and wipes, although she does need monitoring around Mila since sometimes she tried to help by poking her eyes when she's crying.  Lately I've noticed that she's having a hard time not being the baby anymore, like when she asked me to hold her like I hold Mila.  Both Noa and I are working hard to be sure to give her the one-on-one attention she used to have when we can.  

Another way Mila is like Ruby is her hands.  Mila loves to be swaddled, but it's hard to contain those hands.  They are often doing Houdini-like moves right after we swaddle her up.  Usually, at night she is double swaddled in order to keep her warm and keep those hands in place.

And, yep, she's a binky baby!  Ruby took a binky for three months.  I wonder how long Mila will keep it? And, when she does ditch the binky, will she become a thumb-sucker, like her big sister?

This little one has certainly made life busy, hectic, and incredibly full.  I can't wait to see who she becomes in the coming months.