One Month!

Gabriella is 1 month old!

Weight: 10 lbs., 13 oz. This is an estimate.  I weighed holding her and without her and then did the math.  At 2.5 weeks, she weighed 9 lbs., 7 oz.

Length: 22.25” This is from her appointment when she was 2.5 weeks old.

Head Circumference: 14.75”

Diaper Size: Newborn.  We’re just finishing up the newborn ones that we have and then we’ll switch to size 1.

Clothing Size: 0-3 months.  She was just about too long for newborn from the beginning.  She needed 0-3 month sleepers right away. She was able to wear a few newborn separates in her first week.

Nicknames: She is called Gabby most often, along with variations (Gabby Girl, Gabby Jane, Gabs, etc.).  Caleb calls her Abby and Baby.  She sometimes gets Lady Jane or Little Miss, as well :)

Health: She hasn’t had any health issues!  She started gaining a lot of weight quickly and she hasn’t had tear duct issues like Caleb had.  She did have one “scare” (that wasn’t really a scare).  She had a deep sacral dimple, so the pediatrician sent us for an ultrasound. Caleb had this too, but we avoided an ultrasound with him (I think we kind of said no to the doctor because she said it was borderline and he was moving fine, etc.).  Gabby’s was deeper than Caleb’s, so we decided to go ahead and get it looked at just in case, but all was fine!

Gabby on the left and Caleb on the right

She's definitely chunkier than he was!

And I definitely need to use my camera and not my phone 

for Gabby's pictures from now on ;)

Sleep: Gabriella is beginning to do a long stretch at night.  She’s often going 6+ hours after her bedtime feeding.  So, she’s sleeping at least 5 hours straight and I’m getting around 4.5-5 hours.  It’s so nice!  She has spaced out her daytime feedings to about 4 hours apart.  I then do her bedtime one after 2 or 3 hours, which I think helps her go a bit longer overnight.  She’s having more awake/alert time during the day now.  She’s really chill, just watching things :)

Diet: She’s just nursing.  She eats really well.  Early on, I had salsa and then Gabby seemed to have tummy-troubles the next day.  So, I eliminated salsa for the first month.  I just tried it again (technically in the second month) and she woke up in the middle of the night projectile spitting up.  So, I’m done with that again for a while!  I’ll try it again sometime, probably in another month, and see how she does.  

She's definitely eating well - Check out those cheeks!

Loves: She loves snuggles!   

She loves her swing! This was interesting to me because it took Caleb a lot longer to like it.

She loves being on her tummy.  This happened pretty early on with Caleb too.  He slept much better when he could roll onto his stomach.  Gabby is already a good sleeper, but I think she’ll like sleeping on her tummy too!

Dislikes: She is such a content baby, it’s hard to even think of dislikes… She cries when she has a wet diaper, when her tummy is upset, and when she’s really tired.  When she wakes up to eat, she’s just grunting – not crying or anything!

Milestones: She is just starting to give us little smiles and smirks.  Caleb was smiling a lot by this time, so I expected it sooner with Gabriella because she’s not nearly as fussy as he was.  We’ve decided that Gabby is just more even keeled.  Caleb had extreme ups and downs :)

She has been rolling from her back onto her side since she was born.  One time she made it onto her belly, but I think the incline of couch/blankets helped her!

I just love her! Such a beauty <3

Baby Gear Love: Fisher Price Rock & Play!  This is what she sleeps in every night, just like Caleb :) 

The Boppy is super helpful with nursing, although I don’t feel nearly as attached to it as I did with Caleb… I’m guessing this is just because I’m more used to nursing this time around.  

We LOVE the SwaddleMe again! 

Gabby loves our swing, which is from the Bright Starts Playful Pals line.  We got the travel swing, which is nice to be able to fold it up and put it against the wall.

Random Thoughts: Gabby likes the MAM pacifiers too, but she isn’t as attached to them as Caleb was. 

I’m excited to see her growing into her personality over the coming days/weeks/months.  I just love getting to know our kids <3  It’s really different having a more calm baby.  I’m sleeping more and not feeling overwhelmed with screaming all day like sometimes happened with Caleb.  I really love watching a relationship starting to develop between her and Caleb.  C is always concerned about Gabby, giving her kisses and her binky, etc.  And Gabriella will smile for him!

Mama Update:  I gained a total of 33 pounds during the pregnancy.  That was exactly the same amount I gained with Caleb!  I was hoping to not gain as much, but it definitely increased more quickly when I went on bed rest this summer.  I was still really bothered by it, but not as stressed as I was during my first pregnancy.  I guess I feel more confident that I can lose it this time around, since I did last time.

At 1 month out, I’ve lost 17 pounds and have 16 more to go.  I think I’ve actually lost a little more than that, but my weight seemed to be running higher on the day I weighed in.  Again, I’m not super stressed because I think I’ll lose it eventually, even if it’s slower than last time.  I’m looking forward to starting to walk at the Y for the first time in like 4 months!  (I have since gone to the Y twice.)

I’m generally feeling SO much better than I felt during my pregnancy and SO much better than I felt after giving birth to Caleb.  I have had a much easier time recovering this time, which is helpful since I have a toddler to take care of too!  Also, Pete was able to take off about 2 weeks from work.  This was a huge blessing; we’re so grateful for the way this worked out!

Gabriella's first Sunday in church!

Clearly Caleb is a handful...

Overall, we’re adjusting well to our new life :)  Caleb is a handful, like a lot of two year olds.  He just loves Gabby and I love to watch the way he cares for her.  I can’t believe Gabby is sleeping as well as she is and I sure hope it lasts ;)  It’s really helping with needing to be on my game during the day.  We just love Gabriella and, once again, it’s hard to imagine/remember what life was like without her.