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I can’t believe I’m writing this already – how on earth is she one month old?
It has been both the shortest and longest month ever. It feels like yesterday that she was born but it also feels like she has been a part of us forever.
So far, she really has been the perfect baby. I hate saying that she’s ‘good’, because babies can’t be good or bad. What I mean by perfect is that she is generally very calm and content. Sure, there’s been the odd screaming fit, usually in the car, and when she’s hungry, she lets the whole world know, but, compared to the boys anyway, she’s been so chilled out.
We haven’t ventured to any baby groups yet, but that is something we are going to try to do this week. At the moment, once the kids are at school and Graham is at work, we come home and she has a feed, and then naps for a couple of hours. At lunchtime, she wakes up and we have a little play on her play mat. She seems to love these geometric rattles from Hape Toys – they’re softly coloured and made from rice-based materials. All of the rattles make different sounds when they are shaken, and she turns her head to follow the noises. She then generally has another big feed before going to sleep for another couple of hours, which leaves me to get on with some work.
Cluster feeding has hit big time in the evenings, which means from about 7 pm onwards, I’m pretty much tied to the sofa feeding her. It can be a little frustrating sometimes, but it is completely normal and I know it will pass soon. The main thing at the moment is making sure I keep up a good supply by feeding her on demand and making sure she gains weight – which she is. At her last weight check, she was 7lb 5oz, which is more than a pound heavier than she was at birth.
In terms of sleep – she’s sleeping pretty damn well for a newborn baby! I am actually getting more sleep now than I did when I was pregnant with her. We go up to bed at about 10pm, where I feed her to sleep. In the past week, she’s been letting me roll her over into her crib, which is one of those ones that attach to the side of the bed. For the first couple of weeks, she would wake up as soon as I tried, but she’s quite happy in there now for a while. She then wakes up around 1 am for a quick feed. Sometimes she goes back into her crib, other times she ends up sleeping in with me (following the safe bedsharing guidelines). We lie down to feed, so we can both doze. She then sleeps until about 4.30/5 am, and again, has a quick feed and stays in with me from that point. I’m wholly embracing the cuddles!
We have been getting the odd big beaming smile from her. I thought it was wind but she smiles back at us in response when we smile at her or laugh, so I’m definitely taking that as proper ones. She has the cutest little dimples in her chubby cheeks – just as Ben has. She is looking more and more like Ben every day, especially now she is fattening up! Her hair on top has gone blonde, and she has super long eyelashes already.
The boys still absolutely adore her. Every morning they come into the bedroom to say good morning to her and give her a kiss. They’re constantly asking to hold her and they are just the proudest big brothers in the playground, pushing her pram to show her off. They also read to her and are always keep to get on the floor and play with her. I hope they’re this enthusiastic when she’s crawling and toddling and annoying them! She’s had cuddles off pretty much all of the teachers in the infant school, including the headteacher which is lovely, as she will be going to that school in a few short years.
