Nora Kay Love ~ 1 Month

Well, just like that Nora has flown right past the 1 month mark!  I know the holidays had something to do with how fast the time went by, but I've also decided that everything moves at lightning speed when you have a toddler & a newborn!  

I'm failing miserable at keeping this blog up to date with our everyday life...but to be honest, it's not all that exciting right now.  We're spending lots of our time at home or with family as we've transitioned back to a life that revolves around 3-hour increments.  It's been quite the adjustment, but life is so sweet and we're loving our new little girl to pieces!  

Even if I can't manage to keep the blog updated with our life, I still hope to do monthly updates...I had them for Elyse, so I can't let Nora down already.  

Weight:  Who knows, but definitely packing on the ounces.  At her two week check she had already made it up to 7lbs from the 6lbs 2 oz she was when we left the hospital.  We've already moved her into size 1 diapers, simply because we had LOTS more of them on hand and I hated to have any newborns left over.  They are fitting her fairly well, so we'll just stick with it.  

Clothes:  She's wearing a combination of newborn & 0-3 month clothes at this point.  Again, I hated to spend much money on any more newborn clothes from what we had for Elyse...so we've moved into the 0-3 month range.  Surprisingly these aren't all that too big, and most of the newborn things were already getting a bit too short!  She's growing like a weed!

Food:  Nora seems to have taken another note from her sister and is eating like a champ.  Literally, this girl is a speed eater...eating her entire meal in NO MORE than 10 minutes!  Normally it's more like 7-8.  I would be slightly worried, but she easily makes it through the 3 hour mark without eating again and she's gaining weight and has good diaper production.  It doesn't hurt things that I'm basically a cow and instead of having a problem with ENOUGH milk...I'm over-producing.  We're currently working on some things to help her out, poor baby girl was choking half-way through every feeding!  Slow down sister!

I did pump just a bit last night due to discomfort and I think we'll be using that to give her her first bottle tonight.  I'll be starting back to work in 4ish weeks so baby girl needs to take a bottle.  And let's be honest...Momma & Daddy would love a quick little date night!

Sleep:  This girl has been wonderful!  She was in our room for the first 2 weeks and after a ridiculous amount of no-sleeping for us, and a refusal to sleep soundly in the pack-n-play...we made the move to her crib.  And things have been pretty stinking fabulous since then. She's taking at least 2 naps in her crib, the others are quick catnaps in her rock-n-play. She goes down between 8:45-9:15 after her last feeding, and typically wakes for 2 more quick feedings through the night but goes back down without much of a fight.  Most mornings she wakes on her own between 6-7am.  I'm certainly not complaining...for a 1 month old, I'm feeling pretty fabulous!

Activity:  Ummm...she's 1 month old.  So not much.  Due to her gas issues, we weren't laying her down much after eating...and then she was quickly going back down for a nap so she hadn't been getting tons of downtime. However, we're transitioning into more playmat time and just alone time on the bed when she's awake.  Most of the time she is perfectly happy for a pretty good chunk of time...which is definitely nice when lunch needs to be fixed or I need to get ready for the day.

She doesn't seem to hate tummytime quite as much as her sister...which is a definite plus!

Personality:  Again, we've had the gas issues which were caused by my oversupply.  This made her seem to be a little more fussy in the early weeks.  However, now that we've found our groove she's a peach!  She's pretty much only upset when she's hungry, but more often it's a sleepy issue as she quickly becomes overtired from being awake too long.  I'm still working on learning most of her cues, but she is becoming pretty easy to read!  We're starting to get little smiles here & there, which seriously warms my heart.  I can't wait for her to start interacting and loving on us!

Likes:
Butt-patting, rocking, swaying, walking...this girl does not want to sit still!  When she gets upset a combination of these things is the only thing that will soothe her.

Pacifier.  We gave her a pacifier in the hospital and have had absolutely no issues.  She's learning to soothe herself with it, and I'm so thankful for that.

Bathtime.  She enjoys a quick warm bath in the sink, with her big sister watching over her.

Her Momma. Let's be honest, at this point sometimes all she wants is her momma. And I'm more than happy to oblige!

Dislikes:  

Diaper Changes.  Sometimes she is more than happy to lay on the changing pad...but other times, man we must be torturing her!

Otherwise she's a pretty chill baby...which I'm thankful for as Elyse likes to get in her personal space quite a bit!  

Elyse & Nora:  Elyse has been absolutely wonderful since the moment Nora was born.  Sure, she has her moments but she's also 3.  And almost all of her behavior is completely age appropriate.  The schedule I have Nora on allows for them to both take naps at the same time which is incredibly nice for Momma!  Hubby & I have a pretty good tag-team going on right now and I'm so incredibly thankful for that.  Elyse wants to help out in almost any way she can and is always concerned when she hears her crying.  She is quick to give hugs, kisses, and even light headbutts to her little sister which is absolutely precious to watch.  And today her new saying is..."Nora, we're sisters and we're friends.  You know that?"   MELT. MY. HEART.  

1 Month Milestones:

First MSU Bears Game--12/20/2014

First Walk--12/7/2014

First Sunday @ Church -- 12/14/14