1 Month

A month! Where does the time go? That's actually something I spend most of my days wondering. All I do is feed and change the baby most days and yet I'll often look up at the clock and realize it's 8pm and I have no idea how I got from morning to night.

The vitals:
9 lb 4 oz
21" long
That's almost a full pound and a whole inch gained. I'm impressed. She's still wearing newborn everything and her 0-3mo stuff is long in the leg and sleeve, but it's too cute not to wear.
She has yet to wear anything other than sleepers/nightgowns twice, so, you know... Diva! Most days she only wears one outfit, which tells you that we've had no catastrphic diaper failures and only a few incidents of way too much spit up.

Highlights:
She's gotten to meet all of her great-grandparents on my side of the family
Her first at home bath was a success. I mean, she didn't really enjoy it in the "smiles and giggles" sort of way, but neither did she fuss, scream, cry or make it a miserable experience. Also, she gave us some really cute skeptical looks.

Skills:
Busting out of a swaddle to get her hands to her face
Being ridiculously cute
Eating (see above growth stats)
Sleeping for 4-5 hours at a time at least once per 24 hrs (which helps me do things like shower & eat)
Making suspicious-sounding noises two seconds before I'm about to fall asleep
People watching--she's tracking faces and objects better now

Works in Progress:
Holding her head up--she's got some strength, but lacks coordination & stamina
Rolling over--she's gone from belly to back twice, but not with any consistency. She can go about half-way from back to belly, but hasn't managed the full shebang yet.
Having enough hair on TOP of her head to put a bow in.

She Likes:
Car rides
Sleeping with her hands by/under her face
Trying to claw her eyes out
The giraffe pillow (I'm pretty sure just the high contrast pattern)
Being sung to
Being swaddled
The swing/sling/vibrating chair thingy

She dislikes:
Traffic (seriously. If the car is moving smoothly, she's happy. Stop and go? She fusses.)
Cold wipes (can you blame her?)
Sleeping alone

I like:
The crazy faces she makes (my 2 favorites are The Marlon Brando and the Winston Churchill)
Her velcroable swaddle sacks. When she's swaddled, J calls her the little slug. I like that too.
Her smiles (don't care if they're gas bubbles, it makes me happy)
When she reaches out to hold me
Frilly socks and headbands (ok, in general I like them, but right now I mean hers, not mine)
Her eyes are the exact same color as J's right now--a really pretty blue grey. I hope she keeps them, but I'm also excited to see if they change to any of the hazel/green from my side of the family. I don't think we'll get the pretty whiskey brown of my brother's eyes--apparently he was born with those.
When she falls asleep with her head on my chest
Covering her in smooches
Her fuzzy baby hair that sticks out all Einstein crazy after naps or feedings

I dislike:
Her reaction to me eating broccoli or fried okra
That she cries real tears
When she spits up (what looks like) everything she just ate & then smiles about it
Losing baby socks in the wash (just 1 so far, but it was the purple one. I've got to use the advice of putting them in a lingerie bag)
This baby acne thing. I know it's normal and nothing to worry about, but I still have irrational guilt that somehow it's my fault and her sweet face is messed up for life. See, irrational.
That feeding her still hurts. It's been a long month, and I love that I'm able to feed her from my person, but the ouch factor really puts a damper on things. I've tried every home remedy and cure listed on the internet, in books, and passed down from your grandma's great aunt's second cousin's neighbor's friend. At least, that's what it feels like. A chat with the lactation consultant seems to point to the problem being Eleanor's tongue--that slight tongue-tie thing isn't keeping her from eating or gaining weight. It's just keeping my parts from healing. I want to keep feeding her. I want this to work. So, we talked to our pediatrician about options and we have an action plan now. Keep us in your prayers, k?


Also, apologies if you've got a crick in your neck from looking at all the sideways pictures. She doesn't spend her entire life lying down, but most of it.