One Month Old

We have loved getting to know Adara this past month.  Her dad frequently describes her as "awesome."  She is a very cuddly little girl and often makes various squeaking sounds to let us know if she is comfortable, uncomfortable, and everything in between.  Due to her little noises we are pretty sure Rio believes we have brought home a squirrel.  He pointed at her one of the first days she was home and frequently gives us looks like, "Really, a squirrel in the house?!"  So we have started calling our little love "squirrel" on occasion (or pterodactyl...and sometimes she cries when she is really upset and sounds like a machine gun).

Adara's personality traits seem to be a good mix of her mom and dad.  She is a very serious baby (dad) and frequently looks concerned (mom).  She loves to be as warm as possible at all times (mom).  She enjoys her sleep (dad) and eats vigorously (mom).  She is also a very strong baby.  She took right to tummy time and right from birth has been able to demonstrate incredible neck control.  She lifts her head by herself and can also get up on her knees when she is doing tummy time.

Having a little nap after a good nurse. 

Already a Red Sox fan!  Daddy is so proud!

Adara smiles.

Clothe diapering is so cute and has been a breeze.

A makes tummy time so stylish.

Out of this world stimulation!

"Mommy, stop playing dress up!"

She inherited her mommy's ears.

We don't know where she got her HUGE feet from and LONG toes.

Baby mullet.  The party is def in the back.

Those lips from your daddy.

Beautiful dark black eyes.  We are still waiting to see if they will change color.

Halloween banana costume thanks to Henry!

Trip to the pumpkin patch!

The biggest parenting challenge so far has been breastfeeding.  My milk supply took forever to come in.  Breast feeding was also incredibly painful for me.  I had cracked and bloody nipples.  In fact, when the lactation consultant saw my nipples she thought one of them was slightly inverted until she realized I just had a chunk missing.  Luckily, they are healing and feeding has stopped being the most painful thing ever.  

The other challenge with breast feeding is that you never know how much milk your child is getting which can be scary.  Adara stopped pooping at around 2 weeks.  We made a doctor appointment and they checked her weight.  She was still not back up to her birth weight.  We had a follow up appointment and realized that in one week Adara had not gained any weight.  I started pumping like crazy and would supplement with my pumped breast milk so I could better monitor her intake.  Also, one of my good friends gave us some of her breast milk to help Adara out.  I think this had to be the greatest present ever because it is the worst feeling in the world to have your daughter screaming at you in hunger and to have no milk (we also had to use a little bit of formula).  Having a happy and healthy baby was more important than feeding a strictly breast milk diet at this point.  But having other breast milk in case of emergencies made me feel SO much better.  And less stress helped my milk to come in I am sure. 

To make nursing that much harder Adara would frequently flip me off  while I was wincing in pain.  I almost gave up breastfeeding altogether but I am so happy I stuck with it!

Adara is now at 8 pounds 8 ounces.  She is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height.  A little super model baby.  Long and so lean.  She is still in her newborn clothing but some of her outfits are getting kind of tight in length (definitely not width).  I am working on continuing to try and fatten her up.

Adara Rose we love you so much and this first month has been very special.  I can't wait to watch you grow (just don't do it too quickly!).  xoxo