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Since I know these days are precious and fleeting, I'm going to blog about each month of her first year (and possibly beyond). Some of the things fellow mommy bloggers out there on the internets have suggested posting about include the following:
Weight, Height, Health, Sleep, Clothes/Diapers (Sizes), Diet, Baby Gear Love, Nicknames, Milestones/Firsts, Likes, Dislikes, Things I Don't Want to ForgetStats: Callie was 8 lbs. 3oz., and 21 inches when she was 2 weeks 5 days old. I need to figure out a better measurement method because we don't have another doctor's appointment until the end of October! She's gaining weight and getting bigger though.
Health: She's had a blocked tear duct that comes and goes since a few days after we brought her home, which we treat by putting a warm washcloth on when she's sleeping. She's also been pretty gassy, which we manage with gas drops. And she spits up after almost every meal, so we try to keep her upright for 10 minutes or so after eating and always carry a burp cloth!
Sleep: The first night we brought her home, we didn't get any sleep at all. She was up screaming, wanting to nurse until 4am, when I finally just laid down with her, let her nurse, and we both fell asleep. I felt like the worst mom in the world because I had broken the cardinal rule of "back to sleep" AND I supposedly endangered her life by falling asleep with her next to me, but we were kind of at wits end by that point.
That was the worst of it. For the first two weeks, she was up every 2 hours to eat, then by week 3, up every 2.5-3 hrs with MAYBE one 4-hr stretch here and there. She was also sleeping in her co-sleeper next to me on our bed until her 1-month birthday. Then we put her in the crib. More on that next month! I was a bit crazy those first two weeks. After I got used to the sleep deprivation, it got a little easier to deal with. In the earliest days, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed in the wee small hours of the morning. I just considered it a win if she went straight back to sleep after eating. It took 2-3 weeks to get her adjusted to being awake during the day and sleeping at night.
Clothes/Diaper size: Calista is wearing the size 1/2 diaper from Costco and still fits in all of her newborn clothes, with the exception of 2 footie pajamas Babies R Us brand. Apparently those are super tiny. Gerber and Carter newborn clothes fit best. Cherokee newborn clothes are still too big!
Diet: Exclusively breastfeeding. I started to pump at 3 weeks, so I've been working on building up a supply so we can have a night on the town, or I can have 2 drinks instead of one, or Bryann can take over a feeding.
Baby Gear Love: Both Bryann and I get good use out of the ErgoBaby with the infant insert. We've both worn her in the Moby wrap, too, but the Ergo is soooooo much easier to get on and feels more supportive, too. It was a spendy item, but worth the $$!!
We also couldn't live without the SwaddleMe blankets because she managed to houdini her way out of the blanket swaddles. We put her in it to sleep at night, and also whenever she's fussy during the day. As soon as she's swaddled, she calms right down.
Pacifiers... The pacifier went in her mouth after the marathon nursing session on night three, even though every book and website says to wait until 3-4 weeks. She has a very strong sucking reflex and I couldn't be held hostage for another night of nursing. We call it "the plug". When she's super fussy, we swaddle her and put "the plug" in, and she calms right down and usually falls asleep.
Callie also started to nap in her gigantor swing. She even tolerates it when she's awake which is a lifesaver for me when I'm home alone and I just need to put her down for a few minutes.
Lastly, she's slept very well in her co-sleeper. We had it on our bed for the first month, and we just transitioned her to her crib for her 1-month birthday (more on that next month,) but we still keep her in the co-sleeper in her crib.
Nicknames: (This is a dangerous category, because with me, the possibilities are endless) Baby, Wiggle Worm, Baby Bird, Fussy Face, Stretchy Face, Stretchy Moo (she stretches a lot!)
Favorite Songs/Lullabies: Nothing's Gonna Harm You, Baby Mine, Enter Sandman, and a few personalized ones such as Baby Burrito and Burp it Out.
Milestones/Firsts: Makes eye contact, opens her hands and stretches out her fingers, lifts her head up and turns it from one side to the other (sometimes she appears to be trying to fling her head off of her body,) and I THINK we're starting to see some social smiles!
She also attended her first book club meeting with the girls, her first Wine & Dine with the group of friends that is practically family, and made her first batch of beer with her Daddy - a pumpkin spice Ale that Bryann called "PumCallie Ale"!
Likes: Being held, being swaddled, rocking, bouncing, being sung to
Dislikes: Having clothes put on or taken off her, being put down if she's not TOTALLY asleep
Things I don't want to forget: She does this stretching thing when she's done eating or when she's just waking up that just kills me. It's hard to describe her face, but she's done it since day 1. She purses her lips, furrows her brow, throws her head back and arches her back, and brings both fists up to just under her chin with her elbows straight out. I need to try to get a picture of it someday. It's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
I also don't want to forget how it feels to hold her while she's sleeping, with her face against my chest, or nestled in my elbow crook. She's so precious, and content in those moments.
And the bonus category for the first month post only...
Things I'll need to forget before I have another baby: The week where my hormones went crazy and I cried several times a day, every day, or the way it feels to only ever sleep an hour at a time, or the frustration at wanting to go back to sleep SOOOO badly at 4 am, but Calista just wants to be awake and social, or trying to get her to stop crying after 3 straight hours of her fussing. Or how difficult breastfeeding was for the first 2-3 weeks, dealing with tight latch, bleeding nipples, and mastitis.
So far I have no regrets though. We muddled our way through, and it got better just like everyone promised it would. The moments of cuteness and the smiles we're starting to see make it aaaallll worth it.
More pictures to come!
