Kate turned one month on August 26 (a couple of weeks ago). Can't believe she is already 6 weeks old! At her one month appt. she weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches. She still is a little peanut, especially compared to Addie at this age. Addison was 10 lbs at one month! That's hard to believe since Addie is a skinny thing now.
Kate was wonderful for the first weeks of life. She had trouble going back to sleep after I nursed her in the middle of the night, but other than that was a breeze. She definitely is more laid-back than Addie already. Kate got a shot at her appt. and she cried briefly and then was quiet. Her sister has a temper on her and acted completely different. At around week 3 or 4 Kate was becoming a whole lot fussier and wasn't even getting good naps in during the day. Yes, I have learned to survive on much less sleep and a daily cup of coffee. :) I eliminated milk from my diet since that seems to bother babies the most if they are having issues. If you know me, this is a BIG deal! I love milk and I love cereal! I tried to watch other items in my diet (leafy veggies, etc.). At her one-month I talked to the doctor about it all. Even after trying suggestions the doctor had she wasn't getting better. She would sometimes scream, push her legs out and just acted extremely uncomfortable at different times in the day, including 4:00 a.m. We put her on Prevacid for acid reflux a couple of days later and it has improved! The following week should took solid naps and even went a couple of nights of 8 or so hours of sleep! Hooray! She has had a couple of bad nights the last two nights so I think she is still pretty sensitive to what I eat, but will hopefully outgrow this soon.
Kate is finally starting to smile at us and it melts our hearts! She is so alert during her wake time and is staying awake for longer periods. Addie still ADORES Kate! Every morning when she wakes up or when she gets home from daycare Addie immediately wants to know where Kate is so she can kiss her. Addie loves on her a little too much and we joke that Kate will have nightmares of blonde curly hair all up in her face for years to come!
The month of August has been incredibly hard! We have dealt with the adjustment of a newborn in the house (especially one with tummy issues), Jeremy's business picking up (which is a great thing but hard to juggle with our current family situation), our power going out for 4 days (we stayed at my brother's house until then and had to replace our freezer food yet again), Jeremy getting in a fender-bender in our Volvo (not his fault and just a minor accident), my wonderful grandmother being put in hospice care and then eventually passing away and then Jeremy's uncle dying unexpectedly (both funerals were on the same day at the same time but one was in West Virginia while the other was in Louisville). Needless to say it has been a tough month and we are praying for a calmer September, especially since I only have a few weeks left until I go back to work. What doesn't kill us makes up stronger, right?
Funny story: When I was telling Addie about my grandmother passing away, she asked, "So, she died?" I said, "Yes, honey, she is now in heaven." And then Addie asked, with a really funny look on her face, "Did she get squished?" Ha! I think that is because she just watched "Princess and the Frog" and something like that happens to the firefly in the movie. Definitely adds humor to a tough situation.
Enjoy the pictures below from Kate when she is exactly one-month old (I didn't get a chance to edit them). Seeing her sweet face reminds of us God's blessings during trails!
She has already changed so much since these pictures. I don't think these look like her much anymore. :)
Sleepy girl
Who me? So funny!
I LOVE this photo of her after a bath!