The Lovely Years: Lottie: {One Month}

Lottie –

You are one month old! There are days where I can't believe it's only been one month because it feels like you've been with us all along :)

According to our measurements at home, you are 9lbs, 2oz and 21-1/4 inches long. The last time you were officially measured at 2 weeks & 4 days and you were 8lbs, 6 oz, and 20-1/2 inches long. You were our biggest baby at birth, so I'm interested to see how quickly you'll grow over the years.

You are still in newborn clothing, but they are getting too small. 0-3 month outfits are still a little big for you yet. You are still wearing newborn diapers for now, but will probably switch within the next 2 weeks.

You eat every 2-1/2 to 3 hours during the day, and 3 to 4 hours at night. As of right now, mama is exclusively pumping because her supply is still going! We were supplementing with formula before her milk came in. Now, you are exclusively on expressed breast milk in a bottle! Mama's goal was 30 days, so we'll see just how much longer the supply will last. You seem to have some tummy issues, but it is hard to tell if that is due to your food or your immature digestive system. We've wondered about reflux, but so far you're not having enough trouble with it that it's a cause for concern. You spit up from time to time, but you don't do it a lot. You like your milk warmed like your sister. Just like both of your siblings before you, your feeding style is “baby shark” feedings, and we have to move your hands out of the way. Luckily, you're usually happy again once the bottle is in your mouth :)

You sleep for 2-1/2 to 4 hour stretches most of the time. You're a good sleeper, and can handle lots of noise {#thirdbaby} You haven’t taken to pacifiers just yet, which can make it harder to soothe you at times. You like to be held to our chests to be calmed. You only wake up at night if you’re hungry, wet, or have gas.

You were our first baby to like sponge baths! You didn't cry at all until we moved you to your special baby tub. You cried the first time we put you in the bathtub, which is the opposite of your siblings! You are definitely showing us that you are your own person. After a few baths, you've calmed down, and only cry when you're going to the room to get dressed after the bath. Honestly, you're probably just cold.

So far, you like the swing, being held against our chest, being held 75% of the time, having your head and back rubbed, white noise, and having a full tummy! You despise being cold, getting a pacifier when you want a bottle, gas bubbles, being alone, and being tired.

You did not pass the newborn hearing screening in just your left ear at the hospital. Thankfully, we were able to be seen at Hearts for Hearing within a few days, and you did just fine with their test! Your nerves in the left ear were just a little more immature than on your right side, but it wasn't anything that concerned the audiologist. We will have one more test at 6 months just to cover our bases since your big sister has a history of unilateral hearing loss. We're not super concerned that something with pop up, but we're in good hands if it does :)

Some things I want to remember about you:

You can lift your head pretty well already. You get the hiccups about every other day. When you get mad or cry loudly, you have a build up to crying. You'll put your tongue to the roof of your mouth, get pink in the face, then start wailing. Luckily, you only cry like this when you're really hungry or having some tummy troubles. You ride in the car ok. Usually you fall asleep once the car is moving and music is on. If you are close to a feeding, you'll cry pretty loudly until we get to our destination. You went to church for the first time when you were exactly 6 days old. We have only gone to church and the doctor's office. Otherwise, you have not gone out of town yet. You won't celebrate a holiday until Halloween. You haven't smiled just yet, but you're getting really close! Big sister loves to get in your face, but you don't mind too much. Big brother either wants to pat your head or screams/cries because you are making noises*. Don't worry, he'll get over that someday :) Overall, both of them love you and are happy you're in the family!
*By noises, I mean any little grunt or squeak. If you're actually crying, he either runs to your side, or runs away crying

Lottie girl, I'm so glad you are here. Some days, I can't believe we are a party of five. You are a wonderful baby, and we can't wait to watch you grow and learn more about who you are! Love you dearly my Lottie Pop!

And some outtakes:

{Raise your hand if you just want to sleep}

{Chewing on that hand}

{Making spit bubbles}

{Big yawn for a little girl!}

{Mama, I'm tired. Are we done?}

{Big siblings in on the action}

{This is such a depiction of our life right now}
{David is being goofy/smiling, Lottie is on the verge of spitting up, and Jillian is semi-rolling her eyes}