One Month

Natalie was not super thrilled to be having her photo taken on her one-month birthday, so these photos were the best we could manage.  At least she's not screaming in them, right?!

On August 17, 2014, Natalie turned one month old!

Natalie is growing like a weed.  At her one-month checkup, she weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long.  These measurements put her in the 59% for weight and the 54% for height.  She was exactly three pounds above her birth weight, and she well exceeded the average of one ounce gained per day! 

Natalie sure looks like she is becoming a little butterball, too.  She has the roundest cheeks.  She also fills out her 0-3 month clothing nicely, although there are some newborn items she can still wear.  Like Henry, Natalie is long in the torso.  It is less of a problem with the fit of clothes for her, because she can wear dresses, but I love rompers for girls.  So, I probably won't be able to buy ahead often because I won't know what size she'll need for the next season until closer to that time.

Natalie has developed quite a bad case of baby acne.  She really didn't get it until about 5 weeks, but it hit with a vengeance.  It is all over her face, chin, and even a few spots on her chest.  Henry had acne, but his wasn't this bad.  Mark asked me this morning if we should invest in some Covergirl for Natalie!  Ha.  In all seriousness, though, it should go away on its own soon.  I did read that sometimes babies with bad acne can have bad acne as teens, which would not be ideal, for her sake.  Hopefully that won't turn out to be true for Natalie...but why worry about something that's years in the distance.

In terms of eating, I feed Natalie every 2.5 hours to 3 hours during the day, with the hope that it will stretch out her night sleep.  So far, this has been a futile hope.  She is still up every 3 hours or so at night.  She does sometimes go 4 hours, especially for the first stretch.  And a few times she has gone 5-6 hours!  On those nights I feel like a human again ;-) 

Natalie's sleeping in general, or rather her sleeping preferences, leave much to be desired.  She is not a fan of sleeping anywhere except my arms, in the k'tan wrap (which is a lifesaver, by the way, and I HIGHLY recommend), or in the carseat when we're out and about.  She will sleep in the swing, finally, if she is sufficiently asleep when you put her in there.  If she's not, forget about it.  And sleeping in the rock n' play?  Not happening.  At naptime or at night.  Which means that Natalie is sleeping in our bed at night.  Not ideal at all.  I never, ever, wanted to co-sleep with a baby.  But here we are.  I am doing it because the alternative is listening to her cry and grunt in the rock n' play, when I am exhausted and just want to sleep, and I worry that her crying will wake Henry.  So, for the time being, Natalie is in our bed.  And even then, sometimes she fusses and is uncomfortable after eating, taking ten-fifteen minutes to settle down.  This is such a change from Henry, who would fall right asleep after nursing.  I am going to try out the mini crib this weekend.  Right now, the mini crib has turned into a storage area for clothes I need to store away.  But I think Natalie may do ok if she sleeps in that right next to my side of the bed.  Fingers crossed...if it doesn't work, I am going to invest in a co-sleeper to alleviate the worry that comes with a baby in the bed.

Natalie is still a fairly fussy baby, although she has improved markedly since I began using gas drops before each feeding.  She typically is pretty content during the day now.  Her witching hours are the period from about 7pm to 10pm.  She is usually fussy during this time and is only happy unless she's eating or in the wrap.  This makes it interesting for me, because I have been doing most of the parenting solo for the last several weeks, while Mark works nonstop preparing for a trial.  It is great fun trying to get Henry ready for bed with a crying, fussy baby, let me tell you.  Luckily, my wonderful Aunt Lois is willing to help wrangle Henry some nights when Mark isn't available.  This is a lifesaver for me, because she can play with Henry or help bathe him and get him ready for bed.  Our pediatrician told me that babies generally get less fussy by about week 8.  I am hoping this proves true for us.

During the day, though, Natalie is much happier than she used to be.  She now smiles and coos, typically after she eats.  All of those coos and smiles make the challenges of her fussiness worth it.  I don't remember how much Henry cooed at this age, but Natalie seems more vocal than he was.  I love it. Can't wait for the first belly laugh!