Emory - 1 Month

On Monday, October 14 sweet little Emory turned ONE MONTH OLD!  Wow!  In some ways, I really do feel like the time flew by.  In other ways, it seemed like a pretty long month.  I guess it's kind of like that saying "the days are long, but the years go by quick."  That's kind of what this month felt like.  The days felt long at times, but the month went by quickly.  =)

It's amazing how in just one short month our whole family changed and we really couldn't imagine it any other way.  I am so thankful for how well we have all adjusted.  Since the moment we found out we were pregnant I had been praying fervently that we would all adjust really well to a new baby.  God definitely blessed us as we all seem to have adjusted really well.  Brynn has been awesome.  I can't really picture her transitioning to a baby sister any more smoothly.  And I was surprised how much easier I adjusted back to newborn mode. Don't get me wrong...I have had some emotional moments for sure, but in general it has been so much easier the second time around.  I think the biggest difference this time around is that we know what it is like to be a parent already.  With Brynn it was like our whole world was rocked upside down (for the better for sure, but just a completely different way of life).  Now, on a Friday night if we have the girls in bed by 8:30 and we are watching Dateline it's like "awesome, a couple hours to ourselves!!!" as opposed to last time where I was like "aren't we supposed to be out having dinner with friends and being social butterflies?"  HA!  I don't know if that even makes sense, but it does to me.  =)  Juggling two kids isn't easy (if you have more than two kids you are probably laughing at me), but we are learning for sure and it's getting easier all the time.  I think I'm also learning to not sweat the small stuff.  I let a lot of stuff stress me out when Brynn was a little baby, and I'm learning that some things really aren't that big of a deal.  I also have a FABULOUS husband who is so supportive and helps out SO MUCH, which makes it so much easier.  Just like when Brynn was born, I feel like having a tiny baby just makes us grow even closer as a couple because we have such a strong partnership and really work together and rely on each other.  And just so it doesn't seem like this month has been all roses and perfection, it has been TOUGH.  I will be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the newborn stage.  BUT...I know that it's just a stage.  And because I know that I am trying to soak it in and enjoy it because I know it doesn't last all that long.

MONTH ONE
(Our little monthly stickers haven't come in yet, so we will just pretend her onesie says "ONE MONTH OLD".  =)

• We think Emory weighs about 9-10 pounds.  
• She is wearing size 1 diapers...the newborns are just too small now.
• She seems to be more sleepy than Brynn was at this age.  I seriously feel like ALL she did this month was eat and then go right to sleep.  I would jokingly tell Ryan "I think I maybe saw her eyes about five minutes today."    
• She is on a pretty good 3 hour schedule.  We wake her up every morning at 7 to nurse.  After she nurses we try to keep her awake just a bit and then put her down for a nap.  If she's still asleep at 10, I go ahead and wake her up and start our fun little cycle all over again.  I nurse at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, and 10.  (Obviously there are times she wakes up early and is hungry, and then I feed her, but if she's still asleep, and she usually is, I wake her up.)
• Right now she is usually going to sleep at around 11 after I've nursed at 10.  Most nights she wakes up some time between 3 and 4.  I nurse and we put her right back to sleep.  Then I almost always have to wake her up at 7 to start the day.  
• Nursing - FINALLY by the end of the month I felt like she really got the hang of nursing, and it took the whole month to get there (and several calls to the lactation consultant and friends).  She got really choked up and burpy and had such a hard time nursing.  I had to start pumping a little bit EACH time before I would nurse because she just couldn't handle my "let-down" and it was just too much for her.  Thankfully, by about 4 weeks old she could start to handle the let-down and nursing has gotten MUCH better.  
• SPITTING UP - Holy cow, this poor child had a period of a couple of weeks where she was spitting up pretty much her entire feeding!  It would happen randomly and I never knew when it was going to happen.  Then it was like an "exorcism" all over me.  That was definitely one thing that DID stress me out!  We called the doctor about it several times, and finally realized that she may have been getting too much milk, and also we just had to start burping her even more frequently.  Knock on wood, but it's gotten better the last week or so.  There are times she may only nurse now for like 10-12 minutes, but she's content and then I have to wake her up for her next feeding, so I guess she's getting plenty of milk.  
• WITCHING HOUR - She usually has trouble going down after her 7 pm feeding.  I remember Brynn being the same way, and I would get all stressed about it.  This time around, we realize it's a pretty normal baby thing to have a fussy time and we just spend that time holding her and watching TV or letting her hang out in the swing if it helps.  
• I feel like everything I just wrote about sounds negative, but the truth is that for the most part she's been a great little baby!  From early on, we've only been getting up about once a night, and I'll take that in a HEARTBEAT!  She's also been pretty good about getting swaddled and going down for most of her naps awake (drowsy, but awake).  (Now...right as month two started she just got her first cold, so she hasn't started month two as well...ha!)  She's also been such a trooper because having an older sibling means she gets taken to a lot more places and done a lot more than Brynn ever did as a newborn.  I frequently have to scoop her out of bed and pop her in the car seat to go pick up Brynn from school or we go hang out at the park with friends.  (That's probably also helped my mental state this time around...we are out and about quite a bit because that's what we are used to).  =)  

What an incredible month of becoming a family of four.  Emory - we love you more than you will ever know and are so blessed to have you as part of our family! 

And just to compare...here are both girls at one month old.

Brynn at one month...