Isla: One Month Old!

We've officially got a one month old!  Wow that month went super quickly.  Not necessarily easily, though.  Isla is a big sweetie!  But it sure is challenging balancing a newborn with two energetic toddlers.  Way harder than I remember it being when we brought Eleanor home and Ben was two.  I'm so thankful Ben has school a few mornings a week to give him an outlet.  We've started to brave venturing out (libraries mostly) on off days because we all go stir crazy spending all day in our family room together.  Ben and Eleanor LOVE Isla, and they love giving her kisses and hugs.  They love helping get her nuk and diapers for me.  Eleanor is always trying to give her toys, and blankets, etc.  They occasionally want to hold her, but not too much since she usually gets kind of mad/fussy when they do.

Speaking of getting kisses and hugs...Isla has her first cold.  :(  Thankfully just a stuffy nose, but for a newborn trying to learn how to nurse it can get frustrating.  She does not like the saline/bulb syringe but we have to do it to clear her out.  It makes naps and sleeping a little difficult too.  At her doctor appointment she said she's full of boogers, but thankfully her ears look good still.  Praying she does not get an ear infection!

Isla has been eating about every 2 hours around the clock.  It's kind of tiring, but she doesn't eat very long (like 5-7 mins max).  But her doctor said she must be getting enough because she is growing well so I don't need to worry about her short feeds.  We've tried a bottle twice this week, and she did okay - had like an ounce each time.  At night she will usually do one or two three hour stretches.  She's in a bassinet next to our bed, and likes to be swaddled.  Naps during the day are still all over the place.  She sleeps a lot still.  Normally she'll have an awake period in the morning, and then again in the evenings (like 6-9pm-ish).  Awake times tend to be fussy times, but she's starting to have more happy awake time.  For naps Isla loves to be held, but I've been trying to put her down a little more so I can get a few thing done and spend time with the big kids.  She does fairly well in the swing and boppy lounger.

I'd say the toughest time is the evening, when Brad and I are both exhausted from the day and Isla has her awake/fussy time (I think it's called the witching hour with babies...).  Isla takes a nuk thankfully, but we have to keep putting it back in and doing lots of rocking/shushing/swaying/butt patting.  Isla's doctor said today that one month is usually the peak of fussiness, so in a couple of weeks things should be getting easier.

Isla is starting to give some awake smiles (not many at all yet) and some small coos and gurgles but not many yet.  She does like to be flat on her back and look around when she's awake, and she's also fairly entertained by looking at lights, so I will walk around and hold her upright so she can look around.  She likes that too.  :)  Overall she doesn't cry very much, but she often wakes up if you try to set her down when she's sleeping.  She really likes to be held.  She also likes baths, but not getting out of the bathtub (who can blame her?!).  No baby acne or balding yet either, and the doctor today said she is just a perfect baby! So far everyone who's seen her says she looks like Bennett or Brad....no one has ever said me!  At her one month appointment, Isla got a shot which she did not like.  She is 21 inches long, which is the 43%, her head circumference is 36.3cm, which is the 42%, and her weight is 9 pounds 3 ounces, which is the 48%.  Her growth curve looks great so far!

Ben and Eleanor at 1 month: