Gwendolyn, Month One

With my first pregnancy, I managed to write blog posts each trimester but I didn't keep up with the month-to-month pictures as much, because, well, LIFEWITHANEWBORN kinda scrambled my brain. With pregnancy #2, I didn't write many pregnancy updates because, well,  LIFEWITHATODDLER. So, I've determined to try to write monthly updates for Gwendolyn so that she can't look back and say I favored Latham more. Gotta find new ways to show these kids that I love both of them equally. Here goes!

Gwendolyn Catherine is an adorable baby. She's so gorgeous. I'm just going to list a couple of things about her this month.

Head/neck strength: Amazing! Even fresh from birth, she was holding up her head and showing neck strength. She's continued to progress. I probably don't do tummy time as much with her as I should, but she seems to tolerate it well and has pushed up and lifted her head up a few times. Yay for her!

Eating: This girl is a champion eater. With Latham, there was so much stress; I had to use the nipple shield--he was't latching well--he would eating for hours at a time because he was eating so slowly. With Gwendolyn--wow!--30 minutes after she was born, the very first time that I tried to feed, she latched and latched well. She's been latching well and eating amazingly well. She feasts for 5-10 minutes and just gobbles all my breastmilk down. As a result, she's packing on the pounds. At birth, she was 9 lbs, 5 oz and, one month later, she weighs 10 lbs, 10 oz. I'm so grateful that she eats well and quickly.

Sleeping: This category terrified me more than any other. She hasn't been too bad. She'll get up twice at night, feed rather quickly, and go back to sleep. Getting her to go down initially to sleep has been harder, and she certainly doesn't ONLY stick to the two-times-a-night routine. But it feels more manageable than with newborn Latham. These last couple of weeks after a 6/6:30 wake-up and morning routine courtesy of the toddler, Adam has taken Latham to daycare, and Gwendolyn and I snuggle, feed, and then sleep until 9 or 10 am sometimes! That's nice when it happens. But with Latham changing from daycare 5 days a week to 3 days a week, that might just be a luxury that isn't often repeated.

Mood: Most of the time, Gwendolyn seems pretty content and chill. During Latham's bedtime routine (around 7:30/8), she seems to get the most fussy. That's not great timing, especially if I'm alone with the kids. When she does get fussy, her little face will just break down in tears and, oh, my heart just shatters into a million pieces until I can fix whatever is making her sad. She LOVES snuggling/sleeping on Daddy's chest. She is interested in this world--fans, lights, loud noises from the toddler, movement--and it's great to watch her examine the world.

Acne: She got the baby acne right at week 3, but it's gone away for the most part. It's typical, I know, and didn't harm her, but I'm glad that it's going away. I guess I'm superficial like that.

Connection to Latham: Her big brother LOVES "Baby Gwendon." I think she's more fascinated by him--he does make a LOT of noise and seems not to have an indoor voice at all (it's all LOUD VOLUME over here). He likes to hold her, though we do give a lot of supervision during those times. He likes to try to give her the pacifier and will say "it's okay Baby Gwendon" if she cries. When Gwendolyn and I pick him up from school, he always stands by her stroller as his classmates come up to see the baby. He shows her off but warns all of them "You no touch da baby. She MY baby Gwendon!" It's very sweet. I'm excited to see how she interacts with him in the next few months. And I certainly hope he keeps on loving her!

Month One has been a success! We love our little princess!  :)