One Month Old

Claire is one month old tonight!

We're not going for a one month checkup, so I can only approximate her weight at around 8-8.5 pounds. She has looked bigger to us this past week, so we think she just had her first growth spurt. She still seems so little, wearing newborn diapers and swimming in most 0-3 month or 3 month clothes. She mostly wears newborn or 0-3 sleepers, and I went out and bought her a couple newborn-size outfits so she'd have something besides sleepers to wear in her first couple months! (I think we stayed home more when Kate was first born, plus it was the dead of winter, so I think she just wore sleepers most of the time, or I was more tolerant of clothes hanging off of her.)

Claire eats every 1-2 hours during the day and the wee hours of the morning, but has slept up to six hours at night. She did this last night, from 11-5, which was quite nice for me! She likes to be held most of the time when she is awake, so I often carry her in the sling when I need my hands free. She'll nap for hours in the sling, but generally not so long in the crib or pack & play. I recall Kate napping well in the pack & play, and lounging happily on blankets on the floor—Claire doesn't seem to like laying flat, even at an incline like in the bouncer or swing. She misses the womb, I guess, preferring the coziness and fetal position of human arms or the sling. Swaddling seems to help when she's in the crib, limiting her leg movement, though she prefers to have her arms free.

She's not very into the paci yet, seeing it as a sorry substitute for the beloved boobie, which I think she would hang out on all day if she could, just dozing in and out and snacking whenever she felt like it. She'll take the paci a little, but it barely seems worth it, given the fact that she can't keep it in her mouth for more than 20 seconds before it falls out and that Kate steals it from her, sometimes even swapping it out for one that has just been in her own mouth! Designating separate pacis or washing between users is impossible with Kate, so stashing them out of Kate's sight is the best option so far.

I'm surprised I've found this much to say since Claire's not really "doing" much yet! Just eating, sleeping, and sitting pretty! As you see in the pics above, I bought the Sticky Bellies set (1-12 month stickers for these kind of photographs) and will photograph her with the sticker and with her bear each month. I would say "I can't believe it's been a month already," but thankfully, the month has not seemed to fly by! It feels like we've had her forever, not just four weeks, but I fear the next month will fly by, and before I know it, I'll be going back to work. I'm enjoying the days with my little angel, and while I love her being small, I'm excited for all the growing and developing she will do in the months ahead.