A Month Gone By...

Though it doesn't seem like I have done much, the past month has still been busy and has just flown by.  Being at home full-time with a newborn is a whole new kind of work!

I am trying to set "small goals" for myself - if I get out for a dog walk and do one other thing, I consider it a pretty productive day (e.g. fold laundry, cook something, get some groceries etc).  Definitely a change from my busy job, and my personality in general as I am very much about using time efficiently.  Though it can be monotonous, it is very rewarding and I'm sure this stage will just continue to fly. 

The carriers I have are pretty helpful when she doesn't want to be set down and I want to do something that requires two hands (like making breakfast....which usually doesn't happen until closer to lunch time these days)

 

Evelyn continues to grow at a pretty quick pace.  We had a doctor's appointment when she was 3 weeks and she was up to 8lbs 0.5oz (birth weight was 7lbs 1oz).  I'm sure she is getting close to 9 lbs now - all that milk is definitely giving her chubby cheeks and legs :)

 

She is still eating very well.  I have started to pump milk now and we are working on introducing a bottle slowly - I have a dentist appointment in a couple weeks to get a crown (will take about 2 hours), so am hoping that she will be okay with a bottle by then. We've tried a couple different bottles and think we've found one that she is reasonably happy with.  

Her sleep pattern has been fairly consistent still (she is very good to me and I usually end up having to get her up in the morning around 9 am...not sure how long she would keep sleeping if I didn't wake her).  I'm sure that will change soon enough though.  During the day she is fairly content, but definitely gets a little fussier in the evenings from about 7-10 pm.  It seems like all she wants to do is eat during this time (or really just suck, as there is only so much food a baby this little can hold).  She won't take a pacifier yet either, so I sometimes feel a bit like a human pacifier.  

This is one of our strategies for calming her in the evenings - Craig is finally working out his arms :)

The weather has been pretty decent out, so I usually get out for a walk most days - we had a week where it was about -15C, but she seemed to be okay all bundled up (I wish I could go out in the winter in this get-up and have someone push me around).  

One of Craig's co-workers got married on November 15th - we weren't sure how that would go, but Evie did great at the ceremony and the dinner.  The couple had their dog as the ring bearer, which was pretty cute - I know if Craig and I were to get married again, there would definitely be dogs in the wedding party :)

Evelyn is much more aware of her surroundings now - she usually has a couple 1-2 hours periods of being awake and alert and you can tell she is looking around (usually at lights, or very light or dark objects).  She still isn't looking in our eyes or smiling yet, but hopefully that will come next month.  She does follow objects back and forth with her eyes though and will turn her head in the direction of sounds - so we know those senses are working well.  She still enjoys her sleep a lot though - she loves sleeping on my chest.  It gets uncomfortable after a couple hours, but is still one of the best feelings and I know it won't last long so make sure to get in lots of baby snuggles daily.  

The dogs also like to sleep on our laps when they can get a spot

Breaking out of her swaddle - She cries when I swaddle her initially, but then falls asleep really quickly. I have found that when she isn't swaddled she wakes up much easier, so I will stick with it at night as long as I can.

Cuddle time

We finished our prenatal class this past week as well.  We took a 10-week course that is timed so that most people have their babies around week 6-7.  It was an interesting format and overall a pretty good course.  The first half was more content heavy and focused a lot on labour and delivery, postpartum recovery, breastfeeding and newborn care.  The second half included more discussion, people sharing their birth stories, and questions about newborns.  It was good to connect with some other parents, and there are a few people that I've connected with afterwards and I'm sure will continue to do baby-friendly activities together over the next year and beyond. 

We got some pictures with the babies in her class (only 5 of the 9 babies made it to our last class)

This baby was about a pound lighter than Evie - pretty crazy the difference it makes at this age

The babies behaved surprisingly well when we laid them on the floor

We are looking forward to having some visitors in the next couple weeks - my parents are coming this week and then my sister the following week.  I think they are all pretty excited to meet Evie in person (virtual meetings just aren't the same), and hopefully we can find time to get out and do a few fun things around the city as well. 

Well, back to feeding and changing this little sweetheart :)