One Month Big!

It's Stella's one month milestone! She made it... we made it... and we're all happy! Well, mostly... I'll cover that later. :) As of today, she's actually 6 weeks old (what? I've kinda had my hands full! :) and so much has happened over the last short (well... long) 6 weeks. One thing I've learned about myself this time around is that I really don't do the newborn stage very well. The first time around, I had no idea what was to come, like after the newborn stage, so I just went with it and was so excited to learn at each stage that it all does get easier and more fullfilling. This time, already knowing these things, I find myself thinking, "Oh I can't wait til she's giggling and rolling over and blowing us razzberries!" Newborns, while snuggly and sweet-smelling, are basically just that... and while I love this baby girl more everyday and try to just soak up these early months, I'm looking forward to the coming stages of her baby life. But for now, we've got SMILES! She shoots us a few every now and then and they help affirm that she really does love us despite the hefty amount of crying that she does! Ha! They really are heart-melting. I think babies learn to smile at just about the time you think you're going to lose it... 5 ish weeks for miss Stella bell.

Tuesday marked Stella's 6 weeks. Since then, she has totally mellowed out (knocking really hard on wood over here ;). Up until then, she spent a good share of her days pretty irritable and fussy. And evenings were much worse. I originally thought we were dealing with a colicky baby, but I have since concluded that her immature belly and the reflux is probably the culprit. She is just a firecracker (remember me saying that she came out screaming and crying and crying and crying at delivery? yep, still a firecracker :) and gets fussy easy... I mean I guess? Who really knows. I took her to the pediatrician earlier this week because I've heard this reflux can be some nasty stuff for babies and I just needed a little guidance on how I can make her less miserable-acting. I'm still nursing, and being that I've already been nursing longer this time than I did with Ava, i'm pretty much a rookie at this so I thought maybe it's something I'm eating that's bothering her tummy. Thankfully, Dr. Brown said, "Eat whatever you want." He doesn't advise changing my diet because only a very small amount of what I'm eating crosses over through my breastmilk, and basically this is just something she will grow out of around 3-4 months. I did cut back on dairy... sadly... so we'll see how she does. I'd rather not have my baby take medications if I can help it... but I also don't want her to be miserable. So, there's our last 6 weeks in a nutshell. OH, and sleep. It's getting better. :) She now sleeps anywhere from 9p-3a and sometimes 9p-5a. I cannot be anymore thankful for that!! She gets up around 6:30-7:30a for the day.

Stella weighed 9 lbs 5 oz at her one month well visit! That's up 3 lbs since her 3 day old visit! She's 21 & 1/4 inches long, which is one and a quarter inches longer than last month. Amazing how fast these babies grow... no wonder she's fussy! Really, I think we're coming off a week long growth spurt and that's why she has been more mellow the past few days. She went from 9# 5 at her one month appt to 9# 15 oz at her appt this week!! Another reason I"m not worrying about this "reflux"... its not stopping her, she's growing like crazy!

Another daddy's girl...

Lil papoose :)

One Month Big!!

Calming the fussies in the Moby wrap. It really does help :)

Taken today... 6 weeks old. She loooves her swing...and so do we. :) Check out that hair... I love it!