One Month Old!

Surely I must be sleepwalking dreaming because I cannot believe Kathryn came into the world a whole month ago!  Yesterday, officially, was her one month birthday.  We did not have cake.  We had some spit up, 6 poopie diapers, a doctor's appointment, and no naps.  We know how to celebrate!

 

At her one month appointment, she weighed in at 7lb 12oz.  I feel certain that this is the only time in a little lady's life that eager anticipation is had for the scale to keep climbing.  Since her last weigh in she has put on an ounce a day.  She also grown 3 inches in length, measuring at 21 1/4 inches! 

She is responding more and more to us and her environment.  I moved her swing in front of the Christmas tree because she loves the lights.  Her swing has a mobile that moves in a circle with a mirror in the center and I've caught her watching it a few times.  She is all smiles these days!  She started smiling at 2 weeks old and will give us these huge grins!  She is also really strong, kind of a ninja baby.  But I keep telling myself that she isn't stronger than me [yet].  She always has to be moving in some way, and gets bored easily in the baby any baby apparatus that we attempt to occupy her with.  We ordered a really cool play mat so I can't wait for it to arrive.

Our pediatrician noticed an issue with her hip at her first meeting with him, and after a month it is still there so tomorrow we are having an ultrasound done.  I'm not really sure what the problem could be exactly, but I know that she may have to wear a brace for a few months.  Please say a prayer for her if you don't mind.  We have been blessed so much more than we deserve with a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.  We know that in all things we will give thanks to the Lord.  I'll update on the situation as soon as we have results.  It may turn out to be nothing.

Now that we've made it through the first month, I feel like we can make it through anything.  We've had some tough days and even tougher nights [especially since she doesn't like to nap], but we are so happy to be Kathryn's mom and dad. 

She is actually napping right now but I expect her to wake up ready to eat any moment.  I can't complain too much about her not napping though, because in general she is in bed before midnight and sleeps 4-5 hours.  Then we wake up, eat, change her diaper, and she sleeps another 2.  She eats every hour [sometimes twice] but the good news is that we are pretty much off formula.  Once she reached her birthweight I wanted to phase out of using it but I was going to let her do that on her own.  Over the weekend she went from having 4-5 bottles a day in addition to nursing to having one or none.  It is exhausting feeding her so much!  The lactation consultants and pediatrician in the hospital told me to feed her every 3-4 hours...DOESN'T WORK!  We are all so much happier and well-rested now that I nurse her on demand. 
 

On Thanksgiving it was just the 3 of us.  We had a great day of just relaxing and enjoying Justin being home for a few days.  She took a couple naps which allowed us to put together our little Thanksgiving meal.  We also pulled out our Christmas decorations and got those going.  It was a great day!

Today I had one of those moments when I realized that it was lunch time and I was still in the same clothes I had worn all day yesterday--with a few spots of spit up, mind you-- and had yet to brush my teeth.  Yuck.  I'm all fixed now, though, don't worry. ;)  Dinner is actually in the oven...it's amazing what I can accomplish when she naps! 

I can't help but share a couple funny pictures---enjoy!