I can't believe that Caroline has already and only been here for one month. I remember this with the other two too... it feels like she has just arrived and yet always been a part of our family. I love it and am so thankful for this sweet newborn time full of sleepy snuggles.
Because of all the sicknesses going around, our pediatrician recommended that we not come in for our one month appointment. But based on our at home estimates Caroline weighs 10 pounds! She is long/tall but is getting little rolls and chunkies around her upper thighs and under her chin. And I think half of that weight has to be in her cheeks! They are so pudgy and full and I love it! She is definitely a good lil nurser and I'm thankful for that. At first, we were a little worried that she might have reflux because she was having some episodes of projectile spitting up which caused her to lose a lot of what she ate. Thankfully, it never seemed like it caused her discomfort, it was just kind of scary and unnerving for me, not to mention disgustingly messy! But these episodes have started to subside and I think it was just a matter of me needing to burp her more frequently and aggressively while nursing and her adjusting to how fast my letdown can be. Plus, this past week she has also successfully taken a few bottles which has given me some much needed freedom and a little rest!
We feel so blessed that so far Caroline has been an easy-going, patient baby. She is already smiles easily and looks with fascination at her big sister and brother and the mobile above her swing. She coos when I brush her hair and loves the warm bath water. She prefers to be held and snuggled but also loves her swing and kicking her legs free on the floor. She really has been such a sweet and good baby so far and both George and I are very thankful!!
One of the obvious differences between Caroline and her siblings when they were babies, is her head full of dark brown hair. I love that it is dark like mine, especially since Ainsley and Bailey's hair has always been much lighter brown with pieces of blond. A friend commented the other day about how long her hair is and when I was looking at her later that day, I was struck by that same thing. It is several inches long in most places, which got me wondering how long she had been growing hair while she was in my belly? Did she have hair already at her 20 week ultrasound? At 30 weeks? Hmmm... But having so much hair does come with its own set of challenges because it gets greasy and messy so quickly! This wee one has already has her fair share of bad hair days and bedhead moments! But mostly I'm just glad that she didn't lose all her hair before the newborn/family pictures that we had taken a few days after she turned a month old.
Another difference from the other two is that she doesn't like to be swaddled as tightly as they did. When Ainsley and Bailey were her age we had them swaddled in little burritos with both their arms down most of the day and definitely all through the night. But Caroline fights the swaddle and it makes her more aggravated then calm! So we have been swaddling her loosely at night and parts of the day with one arm out and she is a much happier camper. She also doesn't love the paci as much as I remember with the other two. She still takes it on and off during the day but so far it isn't a necessity for her to fall asleep like it was with my other kids. All this may change, but so far this just looks like fewer "habits" to break down the line!
Several people have asked what transition has been harder, going from one to two kiddos or two to three kiddos... and while we are still in the process of transitioning, the hardest time has honestly been in the fall of 2011 when Ainsley was about 2.5 years old, Bailey was about 6 months old and I was having intense back pain and George tore his achilles and had to have surgery. That was the time when every day was a struggle of exhaustion and pain and that was when we both dreaded the weekend! Compared to the memory of that time, going from two to three kiddos has felt like a breeze! :)
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