My monthly updates are somewhat of a baby book for my kids, so here I am! Back with monthly updates for the newest member of the family, sweet LF.
Thankfully, life has been MUCH more laid back with this third kid than either of the first two. We didn’t take any flights. We didn’t have a power outage or ice storm. It wasn’t our first time. We slept in our own beds for the entire month. As I referenced in LF’s birth story, staying in Nassau for the birth has had its benefits.
LF’s stats (measured at a well check at 5 weeks)
Head: 38 cm
Length: 21 3/4 in
Weight: 9 lb 3 oz
LF is our smallest baby, but she’s almost caught up with KLC’s weight at one month. It’ll be interesting to see how the two of them compare over time and whether LF will catch her in height.
Her weight gain of a full pound over the month (plus the 6 or more ounces she initially lost) shows that we’ve had a successful breastfeeding relationship thus far, aided by the lactation consultation via Skype in the first week.
Sleep has been…newborn like. My babies have all been rather alert right away, and LF seemed rather unsettled her first couple of weeks, wanting to sleep in arms primarily. This time, I had the wherewithal to try cutting out dairy to see if that would help. Boy, did it! She is now much more settled and has fewer issues with gas. We thought the dairy thing was the answer to all our woes when she also started having more normal stools (an issue all of my kids have had–infrequent newborn stool), but she’s struggled again with that. I’ve been dairy-free now for 4.5 weeks. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem too bad as I still have plenty of other food categories to choose from, and I have experience giving up many more categories through the Whole 30 program, which I’ve done twice. (W30 requires giving up dairy, legumes, grains, soy, all forms of sugar/sweeteners, and alcohol.)
Last night, LF slept from 8:30 PM-12:30 AM, and that felt pretty terrific. She generally nurses every 1-2 hours after the initial stretch, which tends to be longer. KLC started sleeping 6 hour stretches around this time…hint hint, LF. 🙂 LF sleeps swaddled in a borrowed Graco rocking bassinet until I get too tired, unswaddle her, and bring her into the bed.
Before I add a few pictures, I’ll end with a high and a low for the month.
High: In the birth story, I described how incredible it felt to hold the baby. The pain at the end of labor was very hard for me to deal with, though the memory is mercifully fading already, and I had a lot of fears about birth trauma for the baby this time. When she was born and laid on my chest, as pink as could be, I was so thrilled. She was healthy! She was here! She was ours! Somehow pregnancy and even birth feel a bit disconnected for me from the fact that a real live human is coming home with you at the end. I had a sense of “so…what do I do now?” after KLC’s birth. But this time, I felt an immediate joy over the adventure of getting to know a new child of God as her parents.
Low: When LF was around 3 weeks and I had been parenting for a full week alone, after my mom left, I had some down days. I felt quite lonely. I reached out to both local friends and friends elsewhere, and that has helped. I listened to a podcast describing different types of loneliness, and I am sure I was suffering many of them that day, but what was hardest for me that day was feeling alone in my experience. Many of my local friends are done having kids, many have picked up part- or full-time work, and most have their kids in school for much of the week. It was helpful to reach out to friends around the US who I know are parenting in a more similar way to us. I say these things with no judgment for the decisions others have made but as an explanation for the sense of being alone.
Without further ado, here is our sweet LF. I have been writing haiku for her most days as a reminder to slow down and savor this time.
For comparison with the first two babies:
P.S. I’m categorizing these posts under the heading “Blanket Baby” because her monthly photo prop is this beautiful crocheted blanket from Aunt A. Aunt A, my sister, is the third child in our family. After learning we were having another baby, Aunt A took it upon herself to make LF something special since third babies sometimes get a bit neglected when it comes to personalized things. Aunt A taught herself to crochet to make this blanket! She skyped with me to show me the blanket around the time of the due date, and it was transported here (with some intervening drama) by T’s colleague from Texas. Thank you, again, Aunt A!!!
T and K, etc. 