Our Christmas Card 2011

{via Tiny Prints}

Avery at One Month

Avery is one month old!  Here's what she's up to...

Weight:  10 pounds, 3 ounces (75th percentile)

Length:  21 5/8 inches (75th percentile)

One month checkup:  At our monthly checkup Avery got the Hepatitis B shot and screamed bloody murder.  I'm not sure who it hurt worse though, Avery or her mama.  I cried like a baby too.  The doctor thinks she may have some reflux issues, so we are elevating her a bit.  I'm still off of dairy and soy for the meanwhile to see if that helps with the colic.  Colic is so hard to deal with.  The child screams nonstop.  I'm actually looking forward to her being a little older and for the colic to subside.      

Sleep:  Avery is doing very well at night.  I nurse her around 10 pm and put her right to sleep in her crib.  She wakes up around 3:30 to nurse again and then usually sleeps until around 7.  There have been nights where she has slept a lot less (or maybe even more).  She must be swaddled with white noise playing in the room.  I change her quickly and nurse her all in the dark.  It helps her to stay very sleepy.  

Days aren't as great.  She fights naps like a champ.  It takes up swaddling her and rocking her in the FP Rock 'n Play sleeper to get her down for a nap.  She doesn't nap terribly long unless we are in the car and out and about.  Yesterday I took her to Nordstrom for lunch with my best girlfriend and mom.  She slept through our entire lunch and proceeded to scream the rest of the time in Nordstrom.  Now, I am not one to have a crying baby out in a public place but my mom was there and walked her outside and calmed her down while I got some shopping done.  

Eating:  Avery is a healthy little eater.  Sometimes she wants to nurse every hour and it's hard to keep up a supply.  I've started to supplement a bit of formula because sometimes she is so hungry she will scream until she gets food.  The doctor put her on Alimentum formula for fussy babies with milk sensitivity.  This is only a supplement and not for her main nutrition source.  She is still hurting me a bit when she nurses.  I hope this resolves soon because mama is sore! 

Play time:  Avery loves to lay on her activity mat and watch the hanging animals.  Sometimes I see her try to swat at them.  She is tracking very well with her eyes and is able to see a lot more than she did several weeks ago.  She likes to look at pictures in books and even a baby flashcard app I put on my iPhone.  She loves her Boppy newborn lounger and will move her arms and legs all around when she lays on it.  Although she seemed to like her swing a lot in the beginning, we don't use the swing much.  She will cry very quickly if we leave her in it for too long.  

Scariest moments of the month:

• We called 911 for her last weekend.  I was nursing her at my parents house and she started to choke and didn't catch her breath very well.  My mom grabbed her to get her to burp and she stopped crying and was very still.  Scary!  We think it went down the wrong way and it took her little body a few moments to get herself back together.  The paramedics came to listen to her and said she sounded okay.  Later on she spit up some bloody mucus, so needless to say my sleep was shot that night.  
• We use an Angelcare monitor and it went off last night three times.  I don't think I've ever lept out of the bed faster than I did at 1 am.  It was terrifying.  I ended up sleeping (sort of) in the nursery chair so I could be with her and so my husband could get sleep without me freaking out every five minutes.  My theory is that she was in such a deep sleep that her movements weren't detected.  I called Angelcare customer service and I've set it up to the highest sensitivity level and they want me to call back tomorrow and let them know how tonight goes.  

Best moments of the month:  

• We've enjoyed watching Avery grow over the past five weeks.  She is a joy, a very loud joy, but a joy nonetheless.
• Taking her to church.
• Cuddling up with her on these chilly fall days. 
• We have taken her out a lot because A) mama needed to get out of the house and B) I like for her to be out and used to the noises around her.  
• Halloween and Thanksgiving were very special having our sweet girl with us.  
• We even took her out to a Christmas tree lighting downtown but the night ended early because Miss Fussy wasn't having it.  
• At the Hanging of the Greens service at church Avery got to hang an angel ornament on the tree.  She was so sweet and good for most of the service.  

Christmas Tree Lighting 

Thanksgiving

And we learned that headbands aren't quite her thing.  Oh well.