Elliott: One Month Old

Our little sweetie has been with us a month. Even though it seems like a year ago that we were in the hospital, the weeks have gone by so fast. I seriously can't imagine people who only have 6 weeks of maternity leave! She's a pretty great kid and we have developed a nice routine.

Elliott is still sleeping most of the time. She sleeps, I change her diaper, she eats, and falls asleep. Repeat. She is pretty much attached to me and sleeps on me often. I try to only bring her into our bed for one stretch each night so she at least learns some separation, although this doesn't always work. Maybe it's just my head but she seems to sleep more soundly when she's with us, although she doesn't always sleep longer. I know I sleep better with her by me. She is a bit of a restless sleeper. She will stretch and grunt often but can usually put herself back to sleep if we wait it out. When I put her down she automatically moves onto her side to sleep. Elliott likes to bury her face if possible. 

Her schedule typically goes as follows: She usually has wake ups at 11, 12, and 2. Between 10 pm and 3 am she is the most restless and requires the most attention - go figure. This has really been more of an issue the last few days since she's coming out of her extra sleepy period of life. She would nurse all night long for comfort if I let her. She is not interested in the paci but if she's awake her hands are likely searching for her mouth.

After the 2-3 am wakeup she sleeps her longest stretch, usually until 6 or 7 am. Her next wake up is usually around 9. When I put her back in her bassinet for that late morning nap, I use that time to shower and do chores. I can swivel her bassinet so I can see her if I poke my head out of the shower. So far she hasn't woken up during any of my showers (tomorrow she will surely scream now that I've said that).

For lunch we head out to the living room. She mostly naps on me the rest of the day, but gets at least one or two stretches in the mamaroo. The mamaroo is hit or miss. She has to already be sleeping to go in it, and needs a blanket. Sometimes I can get a good hour or more out of her, but most of the time it's just a half hour stretch which is okay. We have been using the ocean wave setting recently. Either way she sleeps absolutely superbly during the day (unlike the night time). If she doesn't fall asleep while nursing, usually walking around, bouncing, or rubbing her back will do the trick. More recently she's been awake after feeds so I don't think she'll be dependent on nursing to sleep moving forward.

Breastfeeding is going okay. During the day she gets what she wants in 10-15 minutes, but night time is longer. She only needs one side. She has always seemingly had a good latch, but the second week was pure torture. I dreaded feeding her and would pretty much cry or scream with each latch. It looked like she literally took a bite out of me by the end of that week, so I knew something was wrong. I went to the lactation consultant and she was surprised I hadn't given up due to my current physical state. She said that I was doing everything right, but thought Elliott may have a tongue tie. She got us an appointment with a pediatric dentist that day and he confirmed that she had both a tongue and lip tie. Thanks to a quick snip with the laser that was fixed. Since then, things have been improving slowly. Things are still not great though and I am not healed. Hopefully that won't be too much longer because it has been rough. I have a small freezer stash from the first week, but otherwise I haven't pumped much as to give my boobs as much break as possible. She has had 3 bottles and although it takes some time for her to adjust, she has taken them okay. My supply seems to be fine so I don't think I will have any problems as long as I am motivated to pump. I know she's getting plenty because we are going through diapers like mad men.

Elliott is a mama's girl. She's obviously with me all the time and is comfortable with me. I'm also patient with her and typically know what she wants. We are already BFFs. She will hang with dad most of the time too as long as he is feeling patient and can devote his attention to her. I haven't left her at all yet but I have an overnight trip planned in two weeks which will be interesting (for all 3 of us). 

Now that she's awake more I try to let her "play" for a short bit before eating and sleeping again. This mostly consists of laying her on the floor and letting her be, which she enjoys. She needs a break from me sometimes. Occasionally she will sit in the mamaroo if she is wide awake and can look around (she likes the light shining through the window). Peanut, Nugget, Girlfriend, and Mama are a few of her nicknames.

Everything that we do is baby-led for the most part. If she wants to eat, I feed her. We don't follow a super strict schedule. At this age I know that she cries instinctively out of need and not to manipulate me. I pretty much give her what she wants and for the most part she's a super easy baby. We have only had maybe three nights when she was fussy to the point where we were wiped. I think that's pretty great for being a month old, and she eventually wears herself out.

Elliott enjoys being in her nursery and will sit and look around. She also likes mirrors. She seems to really enjoy bath time, which we do every 2-3 nights. She even enjoys being wrapped up in a towel when we take her out. Car rides are typically not her fave and she often cries during them. She still doesn't like to have a dirty diaper and will cry if she pees while awake (it must scare her). Once we start walking to the nursery she perks right up because she knows what's coming. We have been using all gifted diapers up until now which has been nice. We have one big box of newborns left and she will definitely be ready for size 1.  I plan to start putting cloth in the rotation during the next week. Newborn clothes fit just right but 0-3 month are still a bit baggy.

We have gone on a handful of adventures and she has been great on all of them. She has done well in a carrier so far because she can sleep close to me. One of my biggest goals is to not keep her too cooped up. I figure the more that we take her out with us, the more socially aware and flexible she will be. Obviously this is done within reason and we plan in advance, but so far it has worked out fine.

Elliott has always had a full head of hair and if any has fallen out it has been minimal. I think it's even gotten longer. She smiles and sometimes even chuckles in her sleep which is my favorite thing ever. I kiss her a million times a day. We just can't believe we have this cute, little thing forever.