Emma: One Month!

Dear Emma Lemma,

I can't believe you are a month old already!  Where has the time gone???  You are no longer a newborn, but an infant now!  And you have outgrown your newborn clothes to prove it!  I already had to take all of your newborn clothes out of your drawers and put them in storage.  You didn't even have a chance to wear some of them!  You are such a big girl!

At your one month checkup:

Weight: 10 lbs, 3.5oz - 75th percentile
Length: 22 inches - 85th percentile
Head Circumference: 38 cm - 85th percentile

You still have that head full of dark hair and it is as wild as ever.  It sticks straight up on the top no matter what we do.  Aunt Tina says you need some product ;) 

You have beautiful blue eyes and Doctor Mike says he thinks they are going to stay blue!  I love the brown hair/blue eyes combo!

At this point you look nothing like your big sister, so we'll see if you end up like Aunt Tina and Mommy.  People are always surprised that we are sisters.

In general, you are a very good baby and you don't cry much at all.  This is surprising considering all that you have gone through in your first month of life.  Nothing major, but you've had it a little bit rough. 

It started off with clogged tear ducts.  Sometimes after your naps you could barely open your eyes because they were so crusty.  That is resolving, but last week your big sister so generously gave you her cold.  Yup, a month old and you have your first cold already.  That's what you get when you have a big sister I guess. 

And then to top it all off you somehow ended up with yeast in your mouth, belly, and diaper area.  So we have to give you oral nystatin four times a day, for ten days, and it makes you gag and often throw up :(  Also a nystatin cream to your diaper area three times a day.  Poor little lady!  No wonder you would get so fussy during and after your feedings.  Your mouth hurt, your belly hurt, and your diaper area hurt!  And considering all of that, I'm surprised you didn't cry more!  You are a tough cookie!

You are sleeping pretty normally for a newborn at this point.  But man, do you love the midnight hour!  It is your time to shine.  Wide awake and not at all interested in turning in for the night.  I often go to bed before that and Daddy stays up with you until I feed you again around 12-1AM.  But you are typically awake from 10PM-1AMish.  Not so bad right now because Daddy is still on paternity leave, so he doesn't mind staying up late with you.  Once he goes back to work it will be tougher on us, so let's get into a better routine OK?

I can't complain too much though, because you often give me a four hour stretch after your midnight rendezvous before you wake up again.  Sometimes even 5 hours!  Then I feed you and you usually fall back to sleep pretty quickly and sleep until 8-8:30.  That is the time that all four of us have been rising lately and it's been great! 

You are exclusively breastfeeding and doing well with it, despite the yeast ordeal.  Sometimes we have slight issues with proper latching because you have such a sensitive gag reflex.  But we're working on it, and all in all it's going well.  I hope to nurse you for a year, just as I did with Addy.  We'll see.

You have changed so much in your first month, and you are so much more alert and aware than you were a few short weeks ago.  You look right at us, and you have just started smiling at us too!  What a heart melting feeling for Mommy and Daddy!  Your little smiles are the sweetest!

I have not been able to blog as much as I'd like to (imagine that), so there were a lot of pictures to go through.  Believe it or not, this is the narrowed down version.  Here are some pictures from your first month of life:

Home from the hospital!

 

Snuggles with Grandma

 

 

 

Photo Shoot with Aunt Tina

Go PSU!!

Little lady :)

Story time with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa

First tub bath at almost three weeks old.  Big sis is there to help!

Snuggled up in your towel

 

Sleepy smiles :)

Hanging out in Addy's crib

 

Front yard family picnic on a beautiful autumn day!

First trip to church!

 

You are asleep.  Daddy is asleep.  Addy?  Not a chance.
 

Hanging out with Grandpa and big sister

Pumpkin patch

 

 

On top of the haystacks with Grandma and Grandpa

Ready for another PSU game!

 

 

With Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Hertzler

 

Grandma could've held you all day :)

 

As you can see, you have had lots of visitors come to see you!  Everyone loves you Emma Jane!

 

Here are the photos from your one month birthday:

 

 

 

We love you soooo much Emma Lemma!  You are the sweetest little thing and the perfect addition to our family :)  Happy One Month Birthday Little Lady!

Love,

Mommy