You turned one month old two days ago. To celebrate that auspicious occasion you decided not to sleep. At all. All you wanted to do was nurse constantly. I'm not sure it was as fun as you thought it would be. By 11:00pm you had dark circles under your eyes and you were looking pretty worse for wear. Thankfully you finally passed out and slept for five hours straight.
I think you would have slept all day yesterday but I had to interrupt your nap time to take you for your second doctor visit. And Ada, I was so proud of you! Though you screamed your head off when I had to undress you and the whole office could hear you, I didn't care because my dear girl you had gained 1 lb. 5 oz. since your last visit and you now weigh 6 lbs. 6 oz.!
Relief flooded through me. I had been afraid earlier in the month that perhaps I just wasn't making enough milk for you. We had a poopy scare when you went 48 hours without having a bowel movement (yes I'm telling the whole Internet about your bowel movements, I'll pay for your therapy later) and I was sure you just weren't getting enough nourishment. Of course this was after your doctor had told me to only let you feed for 10 minutes on each breast. I'm not sure I trust him. After the 'scare' I started letting you feed as long as you wanted to on one side and then if you still acted hungry after burping and diaper changes I'd switch you to the other. I guess we showed him because you started pooping like a champ again and look at you now with your chubby thighs!
You've gotten taller as well. You grew a whole inch and a half! Despite your leaps and bounds in the growth department your clothes still don't fit you. Everything is too big for you, my tiny baby. The doctor says you're still on the small baby scale. That's OK, though. You'll catch up I'm sure and in the meantime your Nonnie is sending an emergency package of preemie and newborn clothes. All those cute 0-3 months clothes will just have to wait.
You are perfectly normal in every other way. You grab my and your Daddy's fingers and hold on tight and stare at us for long periods of time. You love looking at contrasting dark and light patterns. You hate having your diaper changed and will let the whole world know it. You've got quite a set of lungs on you and when you get really mad you shriek. Seriously, you shriek. You love to hang out and stare at the Curious George stuffed animal that your Papa got for you.
You make some of the funniest faces that make me laugh out loud. Sometimes you look like a little old man, sometimes I think you look like Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle (I know you won't know who that is, maybe I should find a picture for you), most of the time you look just like your Daddy, but lately I've been able to see a little bit of me in you.
I've given you two nicknames, Ada Potato which was too obvious, and Ada Zee which cracks me up every time I say it. Your Daddy has started calling you Ada Zee too so I think that one will stick.
We don't have you on a set bedtime schedule yet since I'm basically feeding you on demand - and frankly I don't know when we should. Last night you slept for 6 1/2 hours before you woke up to eat and then you went back to sleep for another 3 1/2 hours. I don't know if that's because you were still exhausted from your celebrations on Thursday but I'm not going to complain about it. I'm following your lead for now. Except if you try to pull the no sleeping during the day thing again - we might have to have a talk about that.
Your Nonnie went home last week after spending nearly a month with us. She cooked and cleaned like a champ (I don't think I've ever had so many clean clothes at once, I had to buy more hangers!) but more importantly she held you and rocked you and sang to you and told you stories and showered you with love and kisses. Your Daddy and I weren't sure what we were going to do once she went home. Heck, we're still not sure what we're doing. We've only had one home cooked meal since she left and I've only had one real shower. We miss Nonnie! But we're getting the hang of it.
There's so much more, little girl. You've packed a lot into this last month and I can't even list it all. We love you more every day and your Daddy and I can't wait to see what the next month brings.
Love,
Mama
3 comments:
Ada Zee. I didn't get it at first, but then I read it out loud, and it cracked me up, too! I love it! That's definitely the "sticky" one. She's getting cuter and cuter. Can't wait to meet her! Oh, and about the bedtime thing? I have only 2 words for you: BABY WISE (at least I think it's 2 words. Maybe it's BABYWISE. Either way).
Happy 1st month little Ada.
Your Papa laughed out loud when I read him your nickname too. I will see you and your Mommie soon. Love and miss all of you!!
Devo,
I didn't make it past reading the back cover of Baby Wise before I started feeling icky. Then I read this review from someone I've come to trust:
The ideas in this book are dangerous to your child's health, January 22, 2003
The AAP recommends against using the Ezzo's methods. They say that following the steps as outlined in this book could cause "failure to thrive" syndrome in infants. The Ezzos are not doctors, and have never tested their methods or had their "studies" peer-reviewed. In fact, the fundamentalist church they started teaching their classes in actually renounced them because ther baby-raising methods were too severe and dangerous to children's health.
It is especially alarming that the Ezzos recommend using physical pain techniques to "discipline" infants as young as 6 months old. This is unconscionable, and in most areas of the world is considered child abuse.
If you are interested in a more Christian way of parenting, I suggest _The Baby Book_ by Dr. William Sears, noted pediatrician, and his wife Martha Sears, R.N. They are both Christians and have 8 children. They emphasize love, bonding, and positive, firm discipline.
If you like to put your babies on a schedule, the "baby whisperer" book uses some of the same scheduling ideas the Ezzos do, but is much less extreme (and won't harm your child physically).
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