Austin Family and Children Photographer, Magan Blasig

Tags: Everett Hayes, Everett Three Months, Foster Care, Foster Daughter Returned to Bio Family, Life After Foster Daughter Returned to Bio Family, Third Month Baby Likes and Dislikes, Third Month Home With Baby, Three Month Baby Eating Schedule, Transitioning Out of Swaddle

July 17, 2014 - 3:28 pm

Christine - You’re doing a great job, mama!! You are wonderful with E!! And I completely agree with your entire post! It’s very hard not to compare yourself or your children and when that happens usually defending yourself or your methods is quick to follow and then it seems to go downhill from there! Let’s just all get along and raise our kids the best we can! =D
July 17, 2014 - 8:43 pm

Amanda - Magan, you’re doing such a great job! No matter how frustrating or tiring it gets, at the end of the day Everett is happy, healthy and very much loved! Any one of us will tell you that. We all love you and we love E! You’re not wrong about how it feels to be compared or have your baby compared, it’s awful, and it hurts and makes me angry. And it’s not easy. Cash was a breeze for a while, now he’s angry and over-tired a lot of the time because he won’t sleep. It has me at the end of my rope. But I know that someday, no matter how far off that day is, it will get better.
July 17, 2014 - 9:53 pm

Kimberly - You’re doing fabulously. And I love your truth here. How much better the world would be if we all were kind. Or even encouraged strangers more often. This line of thinking in regards to comparisons also carries over to single life. Smh. It’s like people think there’s something wrong or feel compulsive pity for single folk. It’s one more thing I have to stay true to myself with and strive to not be offended by. My new line of thinking is, “Does it bother me when I’m by myself? Then it shouldn’t bother when others are around.” It’s a hard process for us highly sensitive folk, but we’ll get there.

Jun 26 2014

Everett: Month Three

Everett Third Month 01 Everett: Month Three

Things Everett Liked/Did in Month Two:

Airplane. She loves being lifted over our heads and raised in the air. She holds her body tight and rigid and looks down at you with big, wide eyes and a bright smile
She began blowing bubbles and started making the “baaaa” sound as she would try to blow bubbles. Up until this point, her sounds have been very aaaahhh sounding with the occasional times it sounds like she’s saying a “maaaa” sound. I don’t associate that “maa” sound with her trying to say “mama,” but moreso figuring out the different consonants she can say.
Everett loves being outside and often falls asleep when we’re on walks. She’s unsure of the wind and blinks rapidly when we’re walking on a windy day, sometimes getting fussy so I have to put the umbrella down farther to block the wind.
She began to like touching and grasping objects. When nursing, she loves to hold onto my shirt or hold onto a blanket when she’s in the carseat. I learned the blanket trick would help her feel calmer in the car so I typically always have an Aden + Anais muslin blanket on hand for her. Later in her third month, she really began to enjoy pulling toys up to her mouth, particularly a little elephant we have. She squawks at him (best way to describe the sound, I swear) and likes to gum the teething parts.
At the end of three months (three or four days before she turned 4 months), she began giggling while we were shopping in Sears. Dustyn was talking to a salesperson and I was hiding and making silly sounds. She just released the best giggles. I was thankfully able to get a video of those first little sounds. My hands have never moved so fast trying to whip out my phone.
She drools constantly, blows bubbles, and babbles often — has a raspy sounding voice.
She loves watching and smiling at other children, especially H.
She discovered her tongue. Her hands are constantly near her mouth, little fingers covered in drool. I took her to the doctor because I thought she had a cold and I was told everything she was experiencing was “teething.” My mom says I got my teeth really early, but so far, none for Everett. Maybe she’ll just be one of those babies that experiences the symptoms for a looooong time before one pops through.

Things Everett Disliked/Was Uncertain of in Month Two:

Her swaddle. I ordered the next size up in her swaddles. I tried swaddling her with one arm out, alternating the arm each time so she’d get used to a little bit of freedom. This method worked well for a few friends of mine, but Everett was really bothered by it. She would still jerk that one little arm and wake herself up. I would go back to swaddling both arms thinking she just wasn’t ready. At an appointment she had a few days before she turned four months old, our nurse practitioner, Gwen, recommended that we quit the swaddles cold turkey and stop replacing her pacifier when she dropped it at night. (This was another source of wakefulness during naps and nighttime as she put two-and-two together that she didn’t have it if she woke up.) So we did. We stopped swaddling her and for two days, things were a little bit rough, but it was a much, much easier transition that I’d build it up to be in my head. I was expecting it to take AGES for her to adapt, but she really has enjoyed the freedom. (Gwen said if they’re breaking out of the swaddles, they’re wanting to work on their motor skills development so it’s time to say adios. So glad we did!)
She didn’t mind being held by other people, but seemed to like to know where we are when she’s with someone else. This is definitely more of an uncertainty, not a dislike. She also really likes facing outward when she’s being held so she can observe and see other people; I find that a lot of people tend to want to snuggle her close to their bodies and she’s just a baby who likes to see the world. Once that adjustment is made, things are pretty a-okay.
Still not the biggest fan of tummy time. She became a pro at rolling from her stomach to her back, but cannot go the opposite way (back to belly). You’ll see in the photographs how agitated she gets when she’s on her belly too long. Silly girl!

Her Eating Schedule:

She continued eating every three to four hours. I tried being a little more relaxed about it as opposed to having a written schedule. I spent a few weeks during the third month not eye-balling the clock and letting her take long naps if that’s what she wanted to do. I noticed that her nap times were great – super long – but there were days she would only get in four feedings instead of five and those nights she seemed a little more restless and she would wake up earlier than normal, 5:45 instead of 6:45 or 7:00. At the end of the month, I returned to a more written routine with nursing her around 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm for her to be in bed by 7:30pm. I mostly just made sure her days were consistent; my alarm clock was set for 7am so if she wasn’t up by then, that’s when I’d wake her to begin our day. Her bed time is nearly 7:30pm every day unless something comes up. She’s like clockwork – she begins to get fussy if we’re pushing her too late in the evenings because she’s ready for bed. However, if she’s napping and she wakes up at 10:15 and not exactly 10:00, I let her sleep. Her first and last feedings are the two I’m most rigid about.

Personal Notes:

Many people have described her as “very happy and calm.” She’s very go-with-the-flow and happy and smily 90% of the time. Unless she’s hungry or we’re pushing nap time, she doesn’t have a care in the world.
She still cannot wear shoes (her feet are too small).
She mostly wore size 0-3 month clothing, but because the weather is undeniably warmer, I took out and let her start wearing 3-6 month outfits. Some of the straps on the tops fall off her shoulders and I’m using smaller bottoms left over from other outfits, but it’s been really fun getting to see her in bright, summery colors. (I wish my wardrobe could be replaced as frequently as a child’s is.)
It was an incredible joy to celebrate Memorial Day WITH our baby girl this year; last year we found out on May 27th, after spending the day celebrating with our friends.
Mother’s Day was a little bit bittersweet. For someone who has been a foster mom, how do I categorize this day when that little girl isn’t with us (all the time), yet I’m spending it with my first biological child? I just had to think of it as my “First Mother’s Day with Everett.” It was amazing, however, that we got to spend that whole weekend with H. We went swimming, took her to see cows on my parent’s property, and let her feed fish. That little girl absolutely LOVES the outdoors and I love being able to let her have the freedom to roam and explore. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, and H’s mom was so sweet to think of me and give me a really sweet Mother’s Day gift.
I’m terrible at remembering to put Everett’s amber teething necklace on her every day. Terrible. I tend to leave it next to her little bath or take it off in her bedroom when we’re preparing for her bath and…well, I’m just not consistent. She’s a huge drooler when she doesn’t wear it so you’d think I would learn, but this is just something I need to get better at doing. I do believe it helps.
Seeing her in the crib without her swaddle makes me feel…sad. It’s a sign of a milestone we’ve hit and something that’s in the past. She likes the freedom and the option to move. While we were swaddling her, as it got warmer, we were only putting her in a onesie inside the swaddle. I felt like I had all of these adorable pajamas we weren’t getting much use out of because I didn’t want her to be too warm. Well, they’re for sure getting used now. Inevitably every morning she spits up on the pajamas she’s wearing during her very first feeding of the day. It’s like she knows if she does that, she gets to temporarily be a naked baby.
We saw both the appearance of a pretty significant bald spot on the back of her head (from sleeping on her back in her swaddle and somehow still managing to scoot all over her crib) and the disappearance of her hair this month. It’s still absurd she had as much hair as she did when she was born; I do love her round little fuzzy head very much now though!
Where we are with our foster daughter, H: her biological mom has continued to let us see her every other week. There’s only been one exception so far and that’s because I was photographing back to back weddings the weekend we were supposed to see her. We took H to dinner and spent the early evening with her before returning her home. She still refers to us as Momma (or Mommy) and Daddy. We try to incorporate our names so that she’s aware of who we are; we’ve never been certain if her family knows that’s what she calls us. Now that she’s back home, we’re a little uncertain what exactly is best for her. She’s so incredibly happy when she gets to see us. Every single time I am just so incredibly thankful for that little bit of extra time I get to spend with her and see the little girl she’s becoming.

Everett Third Month 29 Everett: Month Three

no comments

Jun 11 2014

Everett: Month Two

While I have a little bit of time, I’m going to attempt to get caught up on these blog posts! (eep.) I’ve been keeping track of notes in post drafts, but it’s sitting down to look at the photographs I’ve taken that is holding me back from publishing them. One of my biggest complaints about myself at this point is I don’t feel like I’m capturing enough with my professional camera. My darn iPhone already catches her eye. So help me if I’m feeding her and hold my phone. She loses interest in eating and tries to see what I’m doing. (How in the world do these things happen at such a young age??)

Perhaps the reason I’ve been prolonging this post for so long is because it’s probably going to be the toughest for me to write. As I’m sitting here looking through photographs to share, I’m remembering this month more and more. It all boils down to this:

Everett’s second month of life is the month our foster daughter, H, returned to her bio family (just one week shy of us having her in our home for a year).

There are so many beautiful, wonderful, amazing memories I have with Everett. Things I felt so, so proud of her for accomplishing. I felt like I connected and bonded with her more and more. But at the same time, 10 days into that month, my heart just felt like it was ripped from my chest. I was clinging onto the final days with H. Feeling conflicted over how to make her feel as absolutely loved as possible before we said goodbye to her. She didn’t realize what was happening. She didn’t know why we were sitting on the floor singing the ABCs and tears were streaming down my cheeks.

She had no idea.

I was so nervous about what things were going to be like for her, but I ultimately felt like this prayer just wasn’t answered for me. I had been on bended knee praying for this little girl to stay in our home so we could make her a permanent part of our family. And it wasn’t happening. I felt so conflicted that I wanted her to stay because her mom had done all she needed to. Why was it so hard for me to let go of this child when the courts thought this was in her best interest? I cried and cried and cried. And I still am. And I still do. A big, big piece of my heart is with H.

In Everett’s second month, we said goodbye to H. We packed our car with all of H’s things. We attached a little trailer to the back of our car so we could take those things that didn’t fit inside. (I’ll share a photo below. It was quite a site for those also driving down I-35 that day, I’m sure.) We ate all of her favorite things; let her snuggle in our bed more than usual. We held on tight. We took lots of photos, many of which I had teary eyes.

That will forever be one of the hardest moments of my entire life. I’m typing it and remembering it and God, it hurts so bad. I just ache for that beautiful little girl. We dropped her off and there were promises made that we would be allowed to see her and stay in her life. I wasn’t sure if that would be true. I hoped and prayed it would be. I was scared and nervous and sad and heartbroken.

Without friends and family, I don’t know how we would have survived through the days and weeks that followed. I sat on the couch a lot and cuddled and held my beautiful baby girl, E, that I was so immensely thankful for. I clung to her. I happily ate the Tiff’s Treats friends sent our way, and desperately tried to figure out how to piece myself back together. Emotionally, I just didn’t know what to do with myself. Everything else seemed so minor by comparison. I felt like I had completely lost a piece of myself.

Within days of H returning to her family, I told Dustyn that we needed to make the nursery into Everett’s room so that it didn’t become a room I never visited. I felt like I needed to entirely rip off the bandaid and transition Everett into the room so that it wasn’t just tied to every memory of H. I packed up the remainder of her things that we didn’t send. I filled the drawers with E’s clothes, and placed her diapers in the changing table. The toddler bed was reverted to a crib for Everett. At five weeks, we began having her sleep in her own room as opposed to continuing to sleep in ours.

That was not only good for me emotionally, to see that space become hers, but it also helped all of us get more sleep. We were keeping her awake — I’m a tosser and turner, Dustyn’s a snorer. Everett is a grunter and whimpers sometimes while she’s asleep. Our stretches of sleep gradually moved away from five to six hours to sometimes ten hours, and by eight weeks, a full 11 or 12 hours.

I shed a lot, lot, lot of tears this month. Every time I thought about H leaving us, I would break down and cry.

Beginning to pack H’s things was the most difficult thing; I didn’t know what to send, what to keep. I wanted to give her everything. I wanted her to have absolutely everything I could, but it wasn’t very logistical.

Our car packed full of H’s things with this little trailer attached so we could take her cars. She received these as gifts for Christmas and her birthday. :)

We did a little “Who does your baby look like?” game in my mommy Facebook group. I submitted this. The answer was a resounding “Daddy!” :)

The nursery transitioned to Everett’s room.

Things Everett Liked/Did in Month Two:

She began rolling over from her tummy to her back. She began to tolerate tummy time just a little bit more.
She had a little bit better head control and wasn’t so wobbly. She loved peeking over the shoulder of whomever was holding her so she could people watch. She lost a big of interest in being held as snuggly as she did before.
Her activity mat was a continued hit. She began to have better aim when reaching for the objects and trying to grab things.
We purchased this fisher price chair and used it in tandem with the Bumbo. The FP chair gave her a bit more support because the back of it goes higher than the Bumbo does. She loved sitting in it and watching people; she did not use the toys or even care that they were there at this point.
Her swing. She drastically changed from not really caring to be in this thing to enjoying it and cooing while she was in it. I didn’t keep her in there a whole, whole lot, but it was a huge lifesaver when I was pumping and could not hold her while doing so.
She began smiling. A lot. She is the happiest little lady to wake up in the morning. She would see my face when I approached the crib and bust out big, big smiles. Best. Feeling. Ever.
She loved being talked to. And she tried to talk back. She would very happily make lots of ooohs and ahhhs back at me.

Things Everett Disliked/Was Uncertain of in Month Two:

Her two month shots. I mean… that whole process was just a terrible few days. Seriously. Fevers, clinginess, broke out in a rash all over her face. Took her back to the doctor, thought she had eczema, etc. She screamed bloody murder when she got the shots and cried herself to sleep on the way home. BROKE MY HEART.
Her swaddle. Every night she became a swaddle-ninja and would escape. Sometimes she would sleep just fine if her arms moved in her swaddle, and others we’d have to go back in and redo it. That thing was a blessing and a curse.
She hated the carseat. Unless she had a pacifier she wasn’t happy. If we were both in the car, one of us needed to sit in the back with her. We had a mirror and toys for her, but they didn’t seem to phase her. She wanted to see someone, and would often spit her pacifier out when she was happy again, but then that upset her because she didn’t have it anymore. It was a cycle.

Her Eating Schedule:

At her two month checkup, her doctor advised me to stop doing a middle of the night feeding and to send Daddy in to soothe her. He said her weight-gain was on target and she was over the necessary weight to be able to sleep through the night. Dustyn was on board so I stopped going in to feed her and this magically helped her stop waking and we moved to sleeping through the night completely. (Aside from those darn swaddle ninja nights.)
Her doctor also advised me to stop waking her to eat at 3 hour intervals and to let her sleep and wake up on her own, but to not let her go more than four hours without eating. I felt a little bit of freedom in not having to constantly watch the clock as closely, but continued to track everything in an app to make sure she was eating frequently enough.

Personal Notes:

I continued regularly going to wound care two times a week for my open incision. They tried to insert a vacuum pack to help it heal faster, but within hours of having it inserted, I called Dustyn in tears from the extreme amount of pain and discomfort it was causing me. It was more painful to have it in than to be without it. We went to an emergency clinic and had them dope me up on some morphine so I could have it removed. I decided it was best for me to not have that to carry around, even though they said it would potentially help me heal faster.
This month I felt like we got on a good, good routine. I finally began to understand Everett’s cues a little bit more. I could tell when she was sleepy and what she was needing without feeling like I needed to go through a big mental checklist to figure it out.
She wore newborn clothes until about 6 or 7 weeks, then transitioned to 0-3 month clothes. (I cried while packing up the newborn outfits.)
She began to recognize our voices and could figure out what general area we were in in a room, especially later in the month when she was able to turn her head a little bit better.
I began doing walks around our neighborhood, albeit very short ones. My incision still didn’t feel the best, but I was feeling super caged in and needed to get out!
Three weeks after H returned to her bio mom, she was allowed to spend the night with us! That day felt like the best day ever. I was excited and elated and on cloud nine the entire time! I hadn’t been sure if we would continue to get to see her or if those would be empty promises. That relationship is something I’ll continue to write about in upcoming posts as it progresses, but I guess my final note is that despite knowing as a foster parent that we could “lose” her, it was difficult and hard. But as I sit here today, I still wonder if we should continue. We’re inactive right now, but part of my heart still feels like maybe this isn’t the end for us. So all that hurt and chaos we experienced above, and all those tears I’ve shed, they’re not for nothing. That little girl shaped and molded me into the mom I am today. I have some of the best memories because of her. There are other kids that might need us too. I’m not entirely sure our foster care journey is over; this last year wasn’t for nothing. Maybe I felt like my prayers weren’t answered in regards to adopt H specifically, but many others were. Many.

Two Month Stats:

Weight: 11 lbs. 8 oz. (58th percentile)
Height: 22.8″ long (67th percentile)
Head Circumference: 15.2 in. (58th percentile)

Tags: C-Section Incision Opened, Everett Hayes, Everett Two Months, Foster Care, Foster Daughter Returned to Bio Family, Second Month Home With Baby, Two Month Likes and Dislikes

4 comments

Tags: C-Section Incision Opened, Dell Children's Hospital Stay, Everett Hayes, Everett One Month, First Month Home With Baby, Foster Daughter Returned to Bio Family, One Month Likes and Dislikes

June 11, 2014 - 4:15 pm

Katie - Of course I’m in tears reading about sweet H because I know how much you love that little girl and how much we all miss her. I love how open and honest you are in your posts – you show what motherhood is really like and truly about. I’m so thankful to have you as a friend and a role model to look up to in a few months when I enter the world of mommy-hood *hugs* friend!
June 11, 2014 - 11:34 pm

Dianne - Tears here too. Just beautiful. We love and miss H too! xxoo
June 11, 2014 - 11:36 pm

Dianne - And we love Everett too! What a beautiful little doll.
June 17, 2014 - 11:03 am

Ellice Y - Magan, I followed this blog a while back when you shared some of the gorgeous wedding photos you took on Twitter, and today as I was going through Bloglovin, I clicked on this post and began to read. I’m sitting here in tears at work (they are literally rolling down my cheeks–I’m trying to act normal so no one will ask why). Thank you for sharing your story; it touched my heart so much, Magan. I can’t even begin to imagine the many emotions that you have felt, happiness and sorrow at the same time. H is such a lucky child to have you and your husband in her life. And Everett–what a doll! She is such a beautiful little girl (and I can definitely see some of her momma’s features as well as her daddy’s!). Isn’t it amazing how fast they grow and change? I don’t have one of my own yet, but one of my best friends had a little boy in February of this year, and I’m constantly amazed at how much he changes every time I see him.

I enjoyed reading this post, friend. I can’t wait to see more updates from your sweet family

May 06 2014

Everett: Month One

Ideally, I would love, love, love to keep up with Everett’s growth and triumphs and difficulties month-by-month so I can look back on them and reminisce (and possibly cry over how much she’s grown one day in the not-so-distant-future). Since I’m getting a late start, I feel like these first few entries are going to be a little sparse as I try to remember some of the finer details.

(Left): Our tiny little girl in her great big carseat as we were being checked out of the hospital (St. David’s) to go home! (Right): The stork our neighbor’s put in our front yard to greet us when we arrived home!

A lot about this particular post is just…blurry. So much was going on for us in the first five weeks of Everett’s life: the first five weeks of her life were the last five weeks we had with our foster daughter, H.

Let’s talk about a mixed bag of emotions. I’m pretty sure everyone I’m close to (plus complete strangers who had been keeping up with our story via twitter/instagram/etc.) were completely worried out of their minds for me. While I can look back at that time now and see how God’s hand was working through the timing of everything, I definitely wasn’t so sure while I was living through it. Never ever in my life have I been such an emotional mess. Post-pregnancy hormones. Losing-a-child emotions. Sleep deprivation. You name it, I was feeling it.

Everett, just days old, being watched and adored by H.

Oh, and on top of allllll of that, Dustyn got the flu. I got the flu. My c-section incision decided to open up. (Yuck and ouch.) And we spent three days in Dell Children’s Hospital with Everett because her fever spiked above 100.4.

Her first pacifier attempt at Dell Children’s — this was the only time she kept the soothie pacifiers in her mouth. Since then she’s not been a fan.

How tiny she was in her great big bed, hooked up to an IV and tons of other chords. It was so difficult to even hold her because I was so afraid to hurt her.

Everett’s first Valentine’s Day was spent in Dell Children’s Hospital. Scariest parental moment ever.

Had our neighbors and friends not rallied together to provide meals for us and had people not checked in to make sure we were surviving and had my mom not come to basically live with us for a little while after Dustyn went back to work, I DO NOT KNOW how we would have survived. I tried to keep my emotions in check and soak up every single moment of being a brand new mommy to a newborn, something I hadn’t experienced before. But I also tried to be the person that H needed me to be and I wanted her to leave our house feeling loved and taken care of and attended to. Sure, she was 19 months old and might not have been cognizant of those things. But I most certainly didn’t want her to feel unloved or replaced by Everett. I am 99% sure this is something that any mother might experience as they’re about to have biological baby number two or adopt baby number two, but those emotions, they absolutely overwhelmed me.

(Left) Snuggling in the Solly Baby Wrap (Right) Her first smile captured on camera – 2/21/14

How, how, how do mothers do this? How do foster parents say goodbye? How does a mom simply adjust to becoming a mother to a newborn? All of those things can be hypothetically prepared for, but there’s nothing you can do until you’re in the thick of it, trying to take it all in stride. There are photographs of me sitting with my new baby girl, holding her in my arms, on the floor playing with H…crying. We were singing the ABCs. She was happy. She wiped away my tears. But me? I was a complete basket-case desperately trying to hold it together.

2/24/14 — so full of expression! And those yawns! :)

Everett’s first month was a very, very hard one. I loved EVERY minute of becoming her mother and having her there, but if I’m absolutely honest, which I’m going to be, I was so sad to not be pregnant anymore. I missed feeling her in my belly. It felt like this private little connection that we had. And once she was born, time seemed to be going in superspeed, rushing toward the day H would be reunified with her family. I was so absolutely conflicted all the time. What was I supposed to focus on? Was I being attentive to the right little human? Was I doing everything I could? And oh my gosh, I was so tired.

Let’s discuss all the new things you learn as a mom. Starting with the big one: breastfeeding.

My recommendation to any new mom is to call the lactation consultants to your room absolutely every day you’re in the hospital. Seriously. I don’t care if you think you’ve got things figured out or if you’re too shy to show your girls. Talk to them. They’re really good at what they do and figuring out how to feed your baby is not easy. Even though I thought I had a pretty decent handle on things when we left the hospital the first time, I was still healing from all the times she latched incorrectly while we were in the hospital. And then we went to Dell Children’s Hospital. It had been my goal not to have Everett drink from a bottle or take a pacifier for a few weeks so there would be no nipple confusion. Well, when your baby is in the hospital and they need her to take medicine and the best way to do that is by having her simultaneously suck on a pacifier, gosh darn it, that’s what you’re going to do. We broke all my “rules.”

And guess what happened? Serious nipple confusion and lots of breastfeeding backpedaling.

But you know what, we left that hospital (after not really finding out what was happening with her other than being told it could have been viral or she could have gotten the flu, too) and our baby girl was on the mend. Yes, I sat on the floor in the middle of the night trying to feed her, held her in my arms, rocked back and forth, and cried over the pain. Yes, it hurt. Yes, she was screaming. No, I wasn’t enjoying my decision to breastfeed at that point and very seriously considered waking Dustyn up to make a middle of the night run to Wal-Mart to purchase formula.

But my husband – God love him – remembered that we came home with a nipple shield from St. David’s. He brought it to me and I swear that thing saved me from ditching breastfeeding altogether. It didn’t completely take the pain away, but it helped me heal. It didn’t make everything suddenly get better, but it made it bearable. We did have some issues getting her to stop using that thing later on, but we made it through.

That first five weeks, we had H in the nursery. We’d made the decision while I was pregnant to not transition our guest bedroom into another children’s room. What if H didn’t end up staying with us and then the room was unnecessary for a while? Well, that’s where things went with her case. We didn’t need a second bedroom so we kept E in our bedroom in a rock-n-play. Those few weeks were really difficult. I was so used to H’s little sounds and noises, but learning E’s were really rough. It felt like I was just floating from day to day and time was flying by. Seriously… a blur.

Photographs taken by our great and very talented friend, James Dvorscak. My hair and makeup done by Angela Parker of LucieMarie.

But at her two-week check-up, I was advised by her doctor that it was okay for me to stop waking her up every three hours at night and let her wake me up. We went from every three hours to having a decent five to six hour stretch in there. (**Please note that I’m not providing any medical advice here or telling you what to do. I know there will be people who disagree with things I’m going to write about, but I’m journaling our experience, not providing how-tos because I’m not a medical professional.) Getting that little bit of extra sleep felt so incredibly heavenly. Suddenly instead of feeling like we’d just finished the previous feeding and she was eating again, I found myself missing her and really looking forward to that next time we’d get to snuggle up together. I felt like I was a better mom because I wasn’t as much of a groggy mess.

Things Everett Liked/Did in Month One:

Eating. Never have we had to coax this child into being ready for her next meal. I lovingly referred to her as a barracuda in these first few weeks because she was pretty vicious and adamant about eating!
Being swaddled. She loved tucking her little body into a tiny little ball. She kept her arms close by her sides and her knees pulled up tight. Some people say swaddling wasn’t for their child, but Everett loved (and still does at 3 months) that feeling of closeness and security.
Bath time. I desperately wanted to begin a bedtime routine with her from day one, something along the lines of: bath time, change into PJs, last feeding, and read a book. BUT, I was advised not to bathe her but maybe once or twice a week so we’d try our best with this and just wipe her down on those off-nights. We were given the 4Moms bathtub and it’s absolutely amazing! She loved sitting in the bathtub, kicking those little feet, but man alive! Getting out, where it was cold, and then being changed into PJs was terrible!
Her Fisher Price activity mat. Near the end of the month we took this out of the box and she would stare at the little birds as they circled by and occasionally a hand would make contact with one of the toys hanging down. I don’t think she knew that she was controlling her arms, but the music and visual stimulation was great for her!

Things Everett Disliked/Was Uncertain of in Month One:

Clothes and diaper changes. Goodness – every single time we would change this baby girl’s diaper or clothes, you would think we were hurting her. She would scream and scream. Eventually the diapers got better and that stopped being as much of an issue by the end of the month, but clothes? No way, no how.
Her wubanub pacifier. We’d heard great, great things about the soothies pacifiers. We immediately bought her two of them when we got home from the hospital (Dell) and try as we might, this little girl does not love them. (Even now.) She keeps it in her mouth for a few seconds and pops it out. Her favorites are the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature pacifiers.
Falling asleep in the rock-n-play. This little lady would happily fall asleep in our arms. She loved it. As soon as we’d start that downward descent to put her in the rock-n-play, all bets were off. Her eyes would pop open and the process of soothing her would start all over. This didn’t really seem to improve until we transitioned her to her actual crib (at five weeks).
Her carseat. Once those straps start wrapping around her little arms, Cryfest 2014 begins.
Her swing. It took some getting used to on her part to enjoy being in her swing. We got the 4Moms Mamaroo, which we love because it’s quiet and doesn’t take up a ton of space, but she definitely enjoyed being held more than swinging for a hot minute during that first month. (Especially after 6PM until her bedtime – she preferred being wrapped up in the Solly Baby wrap with me than being in the swing while we ate dinner.)
Tummy time. More appropriately called torture time. There’s photographic proof below of how much she despised it.

Her Eating Schedule:

Until two weeks, she ate every 2.5-3 hours.
At two weeks, her doctor advised us to let her wake us to eat after her bedtime feeding (which we tried to make around 7:30pm every night). This would mean she would eat at 7:30 PM and then she’d sleep 5-6 hours, wake around 1:30AM and then maybe wake again at 4:30AM, and finally be up for the day around 7:30AM. During the day we were told to keep waking her throughout the day so she’d learn day from night, would eat the majority of her calories during the day, and it would break her sleep cycle to help her regulate. That being said, I fed her every three hours during the day.

Personal Notes:

My incision opened up about a week after having Everett. I don’t know the exact date or how or when or why. But it happened. And fluid happened. Oh, and tons and tons of pain. I was going to the doctor for myself multiple times a week during this first month. I was referred to a wound care specialist three weeks post-partum so they could treat me and help my wound heal “faster.” Ha. For the first two weeks of seeing this specialist, I went to appointments three times a week to have them pack the incision. The following week transitioned to twice a week.
I need to get better about taking more photographs with my “real” camera as opposed to just defaulting to my iPhone. I feel pathetic when I look back at the few number of photos I took with my professional camera. Sigh.

One Month Stats:

Weight: 9 lbs. 6 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 21″ long (39th percentile)
Head Circumference: 14.6 in. (61st percentile)

And so much for being a woman of few words. Apparently I had a lot to say, as I’m sure I will for month two! Until next time…

1 comment