Where has the time gone? Its been 1 month since our baby girl (Allyson Honor Hank) entered the world and I have a feeling that this time around everything is going to fly by twice as fast as it did with Bode. I’ll try to write about my birth story when I finally get a few extra minutes but until then I decided I’d try and do a monthly post on Ally’s stats to see where she is at with her growth. I wish I would have done this with Bode, not to be able to compare my babies but to just remind myself of our first time going through all of these exciting milestones.
Sleeping/Feeding
We had some struggles with feeding in the beginning, I wasn’t making enough milk the first few weeks and she wasn’t up to her birth weight at our first weigh-in. The doctor recommended some supplements (Mothers Milk and Fenugreek) along with pumping after every feeding and feeding her the bottle of breast milk that I pumped at that time. This was a lot of work and after day two we decided to supplement with a little bit of formula (with which she really didn’t take much in because she was spitting up most of what came out of the bottle) but by the time we got to her 2-week checkup she was back up to being within 2 ounces of her birth weight. The doctor was much happier with her progress but scheduled a 1-month weigh-in just in case. I stopped supplementing the formula about a week and a half ago and she has been on 100% breast milk ever since and has successfully gained weight. As far as sleep goes, I was finally able to let her wake me up at night and she has been going to sleep around 1030pm, waking up at 230am and then again at 6am. Our feeding sessions in the middle of the night last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending if she is burping well since I’ve had some difficulties with her spitting up. But during the daytime she is pretty efficient. She loves to sleep in our arms but I’m trying to avoid the bad habit (however I can’t help myself sometimes because she’s only this small once) Ally sleeps in her rock n’ play and occasionally in the bouncer. I’m hoping to have her transition to the pack n’ play in her room starting next month but it will all depend on what type of sleeper she is, so far I’m predicting the transition should be smooth but I will know more over the next month.
Miscellaneous
I thought I’d start off this section by saying Bode is such a good big brother! You can tell he really loves his little sister and can’t wait till she’s big enough to play with. Even though he is typically a pretty rough and tough kid, he has been extra gentle with Ally and she really loves to watch him. Ally had her first bath this month and we captured it in pictures. She didn’t like it one bit but it was fun having the experience as a family (Bode even helped!) She is a very different baby than Bode was because she is a lot fussier. However, she is also much stronger than Bode was probably because her head is so tiny, and we are amazed at how well she can hold her head up and how alert she has become over the past 2 weeks. I love just watching her expressions as she sleeps, always wondering what she is dreaming about!
Funny Moments
I thought this was a great addition to my monthly posts but unfortunately I can’t think of anything at the top of my head for the 1st month. I’m sure there are plenty of funny moments that involve sleep deprivation I just can’t remember them as I’m writing this post.
Diaper size – newborn
Clothing size – newborn
Nicknames – Al, Ally, Boo Boo, Squishy
Birth Hair color – brown 1-Month Hair color – brown (starting to get the receeding hairline)
Birth eye color – grey blue 1-Month eye color – dark blue
Birth Weight – 7lb, 2 ounces 1-Month Weight – 7lb, 12 ounces
Birth Length – 20 inches 1-Month Weight – N/A
Nicole Hank 