Tayls of Life, Love, & Babies: 1 Month Old

Saturday, December 12, 2009

1 Month Old

Our sweet baby is one month old today! I can't believe that it has been a whole month since I was in the hospital having her...yet it seems like a lifetime ago without her. She is continuing to change so much - she is looking around and focusing on objects more and more. It is her favorite thing to do right now to just be held and walked around so she can look at different things. Some of her favorites are looking at the ceiling fan in the living room, looking out the window or at the Christmas tree lights, or at her singing cow. She loves this stuffed cow that sings "Old McDonald Had a Farm"...really weird. They say that babies primarily see in black and white so I think that the big cow spots are interesting to her. The song seems to calm her down too. She will track a rattle or other toy with her eyes back and forth. She started having tummy time a few days ago - it is either a love or hate thing at the moment, depending on her little mood. We'll put her on her tummy in her pack and play and sit her cow next to her to look at. She'll stay there for a good five or ten minutes before getting upset. She even turns her head from side to side while on her tummy and can roll from her back to her side!

She is doing much better with having her diaper changed and a little bit better with bath time. She will rarely cry anymore when we change her diaper, but still screams bloody murder when we change her clothes. The past few baths she has tolerated much better than before - probably crying less than 50% of the time. She sort of enjoys being in the warm water and I think that she would much prefer to be submerged up to her neck and then left to relax by herself. Being the slippery little ham that she is...that probably isn't safe :) The actual washing part, especially her face, is what she does not enjoy. After her bath I wrap her up in a towel and she is instantly happy. We go upstairs and I put a diaper on her and then lotion her up - after that, she stays naked and I wrap her up in a fuzzy blanket for a while. Have you ever tried to dress a sticky lotioned baby who hates to be dressed in the first place?? Not fun...so we wait to let the lotion sink in a bit before getting dressed for the day. She is more than happy to be naked wrapped up in a blanket :)

Sleeping is continuing to go pretty well. She is still sleeping in her crib and swaddled for about 3-4 hours at a time (usually more like 4 hours lately) so I will typically get up twice at night...I am looking forward to the days (not sure how soon this will be) when she will only have to get up once or not at all during the night. No no, I should never wish her baby days away...they are going quick enough!

I am enjoying my maternity leave, if that's what you want to call it. I am really getting into the swing of things managing the animals, cooking, taking care of and spending time with Gabi, as well as getting some stuff around the house done. When I first got home from the hospital I couldn't imagine how I was ever going to get anything else done besides care for Gabrielle, but I am slowly getting a handle on it all! Nick is very busy at work lately - going in early, staying late, and working on the weekends. It is obviously great that work is so busy, but hard on him and us at the same time. He actually reads this blog to keep up on what is going on at home :( Even though work is crazy right now, the first thing he does when he comes home is pick Gabrielle up and spend time with her.

Here are some recent pictures of the little angel :)

Merry Christmas!