Just like with Coen the first month has flown by like whirlwind. The days and weeks have been going by so quickly.
Alana has already changed a lot over the past month. She had a full head of hair but is getting the male pattern baldness look just like Coen did! She is much more wakeful and coherent than those first few weeks. She seems to have the same temperament as Coen at this point but I am sure she will start to show her true self over the next few months. She is a little needier and her nighttime sleep is not as easy. She has also been growing just as quickly as Coen and at 4 weeks she has put on some inches and lbs.
Height: 21.5 inches
Weight: 10 lbs 3.5 oz
Likes: Snuggling, baths, getting padded on the bum, staring into our eyes, bright lights, the Ergo and eating!
Dislikes: Touching her stomach, tummy time, settling after night feeds.
Firsts: Breath, Bath, Christmas, New Years
Sleep: Alana had a very sleepy first few weeks and naps and nighttime sleep all blended into one. At about 3 weeks she became much more wakeful and spent a lot of time just looking around. She seems to have the day/night confusion like a lot of newborns have. There were many nights she was waking to feed and it took almost 2 hours for her to settle and fall back asleep. She has been waking about 2 times a night for most of the nights but there have been a few days she has only waken once a night. She is a very noisy sleeper and definitely wakes me with her squawks and cries throughout the night. We have gotten into a not so good habit of having her sleep in the swing the first part of the night. She gives a good 4 (occasionally 5) hours if she does. The rest of the night she spends in the rock and play and wakes after 2-3 hours. When Coen was born I remember the pediatrician telling us just do what you have to do to make it through the first 3 months. I am a little nervous about breaking her of the nighttime swing habit and will probably see how month 2 goes before trying anything to drastic. I am not going to lie this first month was tough on the sleep front. I could be up anywhere from 2-4 hours in the middle of the night with her and then up early because of a 2 year old who decided to start waking an hour earlier than normal caused some tough days. We are doing the same routine where I feed her between 7:30-8:30 pm and then go right to bed. My husband stays up with her for a bit to get her to sleep or to keep an eye on her if she decides to wake early. This works great because I get a good solid 3-4 hour stretch without worrying if she is crying or that she will not go down when I am ready for bed.
Eating: Breastfeeding is going well. Alana latched on right away but we did have some troubles with my left breast. She struggled with latching on after the first week because I became so engorged. She would start nursing then fall off and cry. I think this caused some of the nighttime disruption because she would get worked up. I also got a lovely case of mastitis right before Christmas which was a lot of fun! She nurses about 10-12 times a day with an average of 7 minutes a side most days. She eats every 2-3 hours during the day.
We introduced a bottle once this month and she did great with no issues. I have to get her used to them for when I go back to work so it’s just finding a time to give it. I am currently pumping once in the morning to start my freezer stash again.
Diapers: We went through approximately 253 diapers this month. This number is a lot less than Coen’s was in the first month but probably because we don’t change her as much! She is in size one still and I didn’t bother with newborn ones this time.
Clothes: I put away her newborn clothes last week and she is now in 0-3 or 3 month clothes. She has the same body type as Coen with little arms and legs but a big waist so some are a bit too long. I keep her in sleepers most days because it’s just way easier.
Big Brother Update:
Coen had a rough time when we first brought Alana home. Before she was even born, he started skipping his nap out of the blue and became super fussy and was acting out. He stayed with my mom and my mother in law while we were in the hospital which threw him off and then we had all the holiday craziness which led to a pretty cranky toddler who was off his routine. Luckily he now seems to adapted pretty well. He tries to give her the pacifier, always looks for her in her swing or on the play mat if she is still sleeping. Just recently he wanted to hold her in his lap but he will not hold her in his arms despite me asking. He always points to her when we ask where his sister is and seems to already genuinely care about her.
Height: Not sure. I did not measure her!.
Baby Steps to Balance 