Claire: 1 Month

Age: One month

Height:21.5 inches

Weight:We don't go back to the doctor for a while so we just guessed this one.  On average babies gain about an ounce a day at this point which would make her 8 pounds 10 ounces.  We tried getting on our scale with her and subtracting our weight but we got all kinds of crazy varying numbers.

Head: I forgot to measure this. oops

Milestones: Claire is alert more frequently now. She follows us with her eyes and loves looking at the lights (especially on the Christmas tree). Her neck is also really strong. Often, she'll be laying on our chest, pick her head up and look right at us. 

Sleep: What is that? :)  She sleeps but wakes up to eat about every 2 hrs (sometimes less. rarely, she goes up to 3 hrs). She sleeps best on us. If I try to put her in the bassinet, she doesn't last long. I usually spend most of the night in the rocking chair in her room.  I feed her and we tend to fall asleep while I'm burping her. I wake up and think about going to bed but realize she's probably about to eat again. Then the cycle starts all over.

Best Moment: So many good moments! Bringing her home, meeting family, watching Matt love on his baby girl, when she smiles.. She brings us so much joy.

Worst Moment: The first 2.5 - 3 weeks of nursing was torture. Nothing can prepare a woman for that.. even though I spend much of my work day coaching and assisting new mom's to do this.  Thankfully, we have turned the corner with this and gotten the hang of it. There were many times when I was in tears and thought there was no possible way I could feed her again. But I'm a pretty determined person. I had made up my mind we were going to do this and we did. We are. :)

Health: She is growing and happy! When we left the hospital, her bilirubin was borderline (= she was a little jaundice). We followed up with the pediatrician and they had to prick her heel. It was still high but we didn't do anything other than let her eat, eat, eat. We followed up 2 more times and she had to get poked again :( It resolved without any treatment and she's doing great.

Eating:  Like I said earlier, the first few weeks were quite challenging.  But Claire is a great eater. She LOOOVVEEES to eat actually. She nurses about every 2 hrs. We're starting to have some longer stretches here and there and she's getting more efficient too. 

Teeth: None. Thank goodness!

Likes:  She loves laying on Matt's chest and listen to him sing. If she's fussy, that always works! He sings in a deep voice. On Christmas, he pulled up carols on you tube and went through several of them with her. 
She also loves car rides. She passes out everytime! For the most part she's a pretty happy and easy baby. She only cries when she's hungry and that's pretty often but she's not a fussy baby in general.
She loves looking at the lights on the Christmas tree. Her eyes get sooo big and she's glued. :)

Dislikes: She's not really a fan of baths yet. She's getting used to them but still makes it known that they aren't her favorite. I think once she gets in the real baby tub, she might like it better. Right now we're still just doing a quick sponge type bath in the pink basin from the hospital.

Extra comments: Claire had a great first Christmas! She got a cabbage patch doll from Pa & Cookie that is bigger than she is. Matt Santa got her a glow worm and a princess play mat.  Nanny Santa also stuffed her stocking at Nanny's house full of cute things (bows, books, a Suzie doll, etc). Aunt Jamie & Uncle Hunter got her some cute clothes. Pa & D's gift went straight into her 529 college savings account! YAY! And Mom (aka great grandmother) helped out with nursery bedding and decor while she was in town visiting!  Despite us declaring this a "low key" Christmas, family couldn't resist spoiling her with some goodies.  Thank you to everyone!