Don't get too comfortable!

Wow, time flies. It’s been a month already. If I can sum up the past month in one sort of motto, it would be “Don’t get too comfortable”. As many know, babies sole purpose for most of the first few months of life is the following: Eat, Sleep and Poop. So, in order to incorporate my first month motto, I’ll elaborate based on their functions.

Eat: From previous blogs some people can ascertain that I’ve had some issues when it comes to being able to breastfeed. It was something that I wanted to do, and of course everyone says it’s a right that everyone ‘can’ do; but as I’ve come to find out, not everyone can. I found out that I can, but just not enough to keep her happy. We’ve been using formula, which is hell-a expensive! We go through a $25 can a week! It’s interesting figuring out how much to give her because they have no ability to regulate, and then they end up yacking half of it anyway.
During her first week we were working on getting her birth weight back up. When she was born she was 7lbs 8oz. She got down to 6lbs 9 oz! With the formula, by her second week we got her up to 7lbs 14oz! Go us! I have no idea what she is not since that was now 2 weeks ago. However, I had to take a trip to the Labor & Delivery Unit (we left some of my clothes there) and they asked how old she was, at 3 weeks…and commented how she’s a “good eater”. Great…you calling my kid fat? Is she going to have a complex already? Maybe it’s just me having a complex for her. But no, she’s still in newborn clothes but you can see her cheeks filling out a little. I also got a comment, “Is she about 2 months old?”. Um, no…3 weeks.
She’s been fairly yacky too which is a product of a formula fed baby. It’s not too uncommon that one or both of us will go through 2-3 outfit changes a day. And I’ve dealt with the fact that I will perpetually smell like milk for the next few months. I’ve given up changing after every yack episode because like my motto says…Don’t get too comfortable.

Sleep: We have been very blessed in the sleep department. Everything that I heard at first was “Oh, the first month is hell…the first 2-3 months is hell”. I was thinking…a month is a really long time! None the less, the first month has gone by fast, but already by about 2 weeks she was sleeping in a 6 hour stretch! Now lets put this into context. A newborn is supposed to be fed every 3 hours. Some think…3 hours isn’t terrible. It’s not 3 hours from the end of the feeding, but from the beginning. So say you get up at 2am, feeding lasts until 2:45, and it takes about 15 minutes for them to get to sleep...it’s already 3am. Then factor in that it takes people about 15-20 minutes to fall asleep (me=1 hour), then it’s 3:30-4 depending on who you are; get about an hour of sleep before you have to repeat the whole process over again! That, my friends, is where the exhaustion comes from. So, when us parents wake up at 5-6 hour stretches and realize that she’s quiet…it’s terribly easy to pop out of bed with fear that your child has stopped breathing. It’s nice to find out that she hadn’t. More often than not, she goes down around 9pm, wakes up at 2, goes back down between 2:30-3, then gets up at 6, goes back down till 9am. It’s marvelous. However, there are days where she still does the every 3 hour feeding frenzies…to which I say…Don’t get too comfortable.

Poop: Everyone’s favorite topic. I won’t go into too much detail about this one. Plumbing is working fine and we go through a bazillion diapers a day. I do have to say my Diaper Champ is working like a Champ! Jason is on diaper pail emptying duty and he always gags when opening it, and I have to admit that I can’t smell it . We’ve been through 1 month and haven’t had any poo leakage. I’ve been peed on and she’s peed through several diapers. But I do now that the poo leakage is inevitable. So I know not to get too comfortable with her and/or I not needing an outfit change due to poo reasons.

Milestones: Avery is starting to be more alert. She’s a bit fussy during the day and often doesn’t seem content just being awake. She loves the outdoors which is awesome since it’s summer time. She gets calm quickly and momma can work on her tan . This month has been a learning process for all of us. Figuring out her patterns, her cries, what she likes and doesn’t like, etc. She’s a little person with a budding personality. I can’t wait to spend more time with her and learn all about her!

On to month 2! Wish us luck!