Emerson, you are one month old already! Mommy can't believe how fast time has gone and how big you have grown!
This month: It's been a busy one with all the holidays! For the first week of your life, we didn't do too much besides take you to your doctor's appointment but we did have lots of people come visit us.
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| Your first bath! You really did like it even though it doesn't look that way! |
Your second week of life was a little more exciting! We had 4 Christmases that we made it too and of course you were the center of attention!
First was the Steidinger Christmas.
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| Emerson and her cousins all born within 13 months! |
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| Gift from Grandma & Grandpa |
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| Adorable boots crocheted by Aunt Erinn! |
Next was the Leman Christmas.
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| Emerson and her cousins all born in the last year! |
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| One of your gifts from Grandma & Grandpa - a doctor set! |
We also had the Eisenmann and Gerber Christmases both on the same day. You did great at every Christmas and enjoyed being held and oohed & ahhed over!
We didn't take you to church on Christmas day, but we did that next Sunday, just before you were 2 weeks old! Some might think you were pretty young to be out and about already, especially in the winter, but I was feeling fine and was ready to be out and about! We just kept you wrapped up in a blanket and didn't pass you around. Thankfully, you have stayed healthy!
Last Thursday we had your shower. It was a bit of an ordeal due to the weather. We cancelled it one time due to snow and bitter cold and then rescheduled later that week, except that day the weather wasn't much better due to strong winds and bad visibility. However, we decided to go ahead with it, even though there probably wasn't going to be a good turn out. We switched it from the fellowship hall to Fairview haven basement. And surprisingly enough there was a very good turn out considering what the weather was like! You got soo many nice gifts and there were lots of people 'showering' you with love!
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| The committee did a wonderful job of decorating and serving! It was so cute! |
Since it was just me and you at home most days, I had plenty of time to work on taking your newborn pictures! It was lots of fun and very time consuming! You did pretty well at cooperating but it took a few tries! My mom came over one afternoon to take the pictures of all 3 of us!
Sleeping: The first 2 weeks of your life, you slept pretty much all day everyday. I noticed on your due date that you were beginning to be awake more throughout the day, and from then on it's been more and more! I love to see your big eyes wide open and the silly faces you make. You take about 3-4 naps during the day...sometimes more. You definitely sleep more when you are held a lot, especially on Sundays. If you are tired during the day you can sometimes be cranky and I will have to hold you until you are close to falling asleep. Then if I lay you down you will usually fall asleep the rest of the way, but sometimes it will take a few tries.
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| Spending time with daddy...learning how to study! |
At night you have given me a few 6 hr stretches but usually you wake up every 3-4 hours to eat. You do really well at falling right back to sleep after you are done eating. Sometimes you will cry out a few times after I lay you down and I might have to hold you for a little bit but for the most part you go back to sleep really easily! We swaddle you at night time but I haven't decided if you really like it or not. Most of the time your arm will find it's way out and you sleep fine like that too.
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| Mommy loves to cuddle with you! |
You don't have much of a sleeping pattern yet, but I am surviving with whatever time you give me!
Eating: You have done very well eating from the very beginning. As soon as you were born and I got to do skin-to-skin with you, you latched on right away and filled that little belly of yours! You have continued to do really well with breastfeeding. At night time you will usually eat around 10 min on one side and a little less on the other and you usually eat about every 3-4 hours.
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| Adorable hat and blanket that Aunt Leann knitted for you! |
During the day you usually like to snack a little more and so you don't always eat on both sides and if you go more than 2 hours between eating, I wonder if something is wrong! Some days you will want to eat almost every hour! Those are the days I don't feel like I do anything but sit on the couch and hold you all day (which I don't always mind!) So far you have just been breastfeeding, but I hope to start pumping some and working on feeding you with a bottle so that once I go back to work, you will be used to bottle feeding!
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| Adorable hat that Aunt Karla crocheted for you!! You have lots of talented Aunts! |
Development: Since you were so little, I worried a little bit that you wouldn't gain weight very well but that has never been a problem! At your 2 week Dr appointment you weighed 6 lbs. I weighed you at 3 weeks and you were 7.2 lbs, and I weighed you at 1 month and you were 8.2 lbs! So far you are gaining about a pound a week!! I hope that will slow down a little at some point or you won't be my little girl for long!
You wore preemie clothes for a little over 2 weeks and then stayed in newborn clothes the rest of the month. I can't believe how big you have gotten in just a few short weeks!
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| You sometimes like your swing and sometimes not! |
Personality: It's too early to really tell, but I will say you have a very healthy set of lungs. You don't always give much warning before you start to cry and there's not usually much escalation, it's just loud from the start! However you do calm down very easily. All it usually takes is for someone to pick you up or change your position. If you're hungry, tho, that can be another story depending on how hungry you
really are! And you really don't cry all that often, so I am not complaining!
You have lots of cute faces that I love to watch, especially when you are just waking up or are getting tired. You smile often, which I love and I hope you continue to smile a lot once you start to smile at people "for real!" Sometimes you even giggle when you are smiling! (I think it really is just a reflex that sounds like a giggle and sometimes happens at the same time you are smiling...but it's still really cute!)
You love your hands! When you are awake they are constantly moving. Sometimes when you are sleeping, I will find you with both of your arms sticking straight up in the air! You must have had your hands up by your face in the womb because that seems to be a position of comfort for you.
Weekly Pictures:
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| 1 week old |
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| 2 weeks old |
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| 3 weeks old |
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| 4 weeks old |
We are so thankful for our healthy little daughter and are very excited to watch her grow into the girl God has created her to be! She is such a blessing to us already!
