jude, 1 month

caveat: this blog has quickly turned into being all about jude. i suppose it follows the classic middle-class american blog trajectory: blog about your adventures, then about your dog, then about your home remodel projects, and now about your baby. oh well, such is life!

i know keeping a proper baby book is unlikely to happen for me, so for now, this blog will serve the purpose of helping me remember her milestones and moments.

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age: 1 month

weight: 8lbs 1.5oz

length: not sure, she was 21" at her 3 week appointment.

diaper size: newborn or size 1.

clothing size: 0-3 months primarily, with a few newborn things still fitting.

nicknames: jude bug, juno, babykins, critter (only brandon calls her that last one, but he calls all kids under 3 critters).

health: after we got home from the hospital with this little one, we ran into major issues with breastfeeding. i'll spare the details, but it was rugged for her and for me. i spent a lot of time pumping and feeding her with a syringe, which had me comparing the experience to raising a stray kitten. she kept getting fussy, so i thought maybe we were overfeeding her with the syringe, since we squirted it into her mouth (as opposed to breastfeeding where she would moderate when she was done). turns out, we were starving her--totally unintentionally and i, gladly, have no mom guilt about this mistake. she dropped from 7lbs, 11oz at birth to 6lbs, 9oz on day 5 so it was a rough start at life. we have overcome this issue and she is eating like a champ now!

sleep: she has a pretty consistent 5 hours at the start of the night, but the 2-6am period is a little unpredictable. she has slept 7 hours in a row a few times and that has been glorious!

diet: she breastfeeds 8-9 times a day and has her early morning (somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30) feeding from a bottle with brandon. i am so glad she is taking the bottle without issue because i really love to be able to stay in bed in the morning! i think brandon enjoys getting to participate in the feeding process too. 

baby gear love: she simply wouldn't have survived the first month if it weren't for having a nipple shield. i didn't even know these existed prior to her precipitous weight plummet (see above), but this little piece of silicon saved her from the unintentional starvation she experienced in her first week of life. 

loves: the swing, being swaddled, skin-to-skin time with dad, mimicking a woodpecker when she gets too hungry, and bath time. this kid is also clearly an introvert (hmm, wonder where she gets that?), as she requires a fair bit of alone time every day.

dislikes: change. diaper change, clothing change, position change, etc. she recovers from her annoyance quickly, but she makes her annoyance known.

milestones: she is starting to be more interactive with brandon and i, which is really fun. 

random notes: this girl is completely unfazed by the giant, rowdy dog who adores her. he loves to sneak licks, especially when she is in the swing and at the perfect height for him to nuzzle his way up to her. i guess because harvey has always been part of her life, she doesn't know to be perturbed by his kisses.

also, her eyes are a steely blue and i am eager to see what color they will turn out to be. there aren't any hints of brown, but i'm not sure they will stay as they are now.