I can’t believe that it’s already been over a month since my little Violet was born! It has gone by so quickly. I didn’t share monthly updates with Jona, but I’d like to this time around. Especially since the poor girl doesn’t even have a baby book yet. Here is her one month update.
{Violet at one month}
Weight – 6 lb 8 oz. It’s not quite where she needs to be, but she’s gaining weight now, which is a relief. We had a little scare with her weight dropping down quite a bit below her birth weight (6 lb, 7 oz). However, she turned around quickly, gaining 7 oz in just 3 days, so I bet she’s up even more now.
Length – 19.5 inches (I assume she hasn’t grown much in length since birth, but I could be wrong.)
Sleep – She was sleeping a lot more the first few weeks of her life than she is now, which is both good and bad. For a while she slept so much she would hardly eat (hence the weight drop), so I’m glad she has more alert times now. However, I rarely sleep for longer than 3 hours at a time at night, if that, and sometimes it’s a challenge to get her back to sleep after she eats. I’m hoping that once her weight is up a bit more she’ll grace us with a little more nighttime sleep.
Eating – I nursed exclusively for the first 3 weeks, but when she wasn’t gaining weight like she should I switched to pumping and bottle feeding. She never had a great latch and would fall asleep while nursing, so the bottle has helped her eat more at each feeding. I’m hoping to transition her back to breastfeeding soon, so that I’m spending a little less quality time with my pump and more with her. I know it won’t be an easy transition, but it’s one I want to try nonetheless.
Clothing – She’s rocking newborn sized clothing right now, and I’m so thankful for all the clothes we have been able to borrow from friends who have girls. Two of my good friends have daughters who are close in age to Jona, so they lent me their girl’s clothes for Violet. Since they both have since had baby boys, I was able to lend them Jona’s clothes as well. Hand-me-down baby clothes are wonderful!
Mood – She is definitely much more calm than Jona was. She does have her fussy moments, but usually they’re fairly predictable. She cries when she’s hungry and when she’s tired, and sometimes when she’s gassy. Otherwise she’s content (or asleep).
Favorite things – being held, her swing, being swaddled
Least favorite things – diaper changes, being hungry, not being held, tummy time
How we’re doing – We’re tired. Aaron is in grad school right now, so he is beyond busy. He still does so much to help out, and I know he’s exhausted. He has class two nights a week (not for much longer thank goodness) so some nights are pretty crazy. Luckily I have family who will come over to help out when I need it. I feel a lot more relaxed this time around, and other than wishing for more sleep, I’m doing really well. I also feel like my body has recovered a lot more quickly this time around.
How big brother is doing – Oh boy. I thought taking care of Violet would be the hard part, but it’s so not. Jona has always been a really easy kid–he listens, he’s typically a “rule follower”, and he’s just pretty happy overall. Well, he’s giving us a run for our money now. I know it’s partly his age (3), and partly the adjustment to not being the only kid any more. There are tantrums galore, and he’s so much more needy now than he used to be. Bedtime has become a circus, with him fighting us every step of the way. I know that things will get better, but right now this parenting two kids stuff is HARD. On the upside, he really does love his little sister and he’s really sweet and helpful with her.
{spending time with cousins}
Things I want to remember – Violet is so much more snuggly than Jona was. She loves napping on my chest or Aaron’s, and she just melts right into us. Like all newborns, she makes the cutest sleepy faces, and I could watch her sleep all day. She’s started to make little coos and I swear I’ve seen a smile a time or two. Also, she has so much hair! After a bath it’s really fuzzy and it looks like she had a run-in with a light socket. I love it. She also has really long fingers, and I keep saying that she’s going to play the piano. I’m pretty smitten with my sweet little girl.
