It's hard to believe that it has already been a month since you entered our lives and turned our cozy little family of three into a bustling family of four.
After so much anticipation, we were all thrilled to finally meet you (no one more so than your big brother Jackson)! This past month has been wonderful. And completely exhausting. And overwhelming, at times. (Even with lots of help from Daddy and Grammy Mary). I am convinced that you are the sweetest baby ever, but there has been a bit of a learning curve juggling the needs of two little kiddos. I think we're already getting better at it, though, especially now that you're sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night. How lucky are we?! It's amazing how much easier it is to function with a decent night's sleep.
The trickiest part of the past month has been making sure that you're getting enough to eat. You weighed a healthy 8 pounds, 4 ounces when you were born and 7 pounds, 12 ounces when we left the hospital. When you were weighed a few days later you were down to 7 pounds, 9 ounces. The doctor was a little concerned at this point, but since my milk had just come in he figured that you would start to catch up and that we could just confirm at your two week appointment. Over the next couple of weeks, I made sure to nurse you at least every three hours during the day and every four hours at night, unless you showed signs of being hungry sooner. All
seemed to be going well, so I was pretty confident that we were on the right track when we went in for your two week appointment. By this point, they like babies to be at least back to their birth weight, so I was shocked to find out that you had lost even more weight! You weighed in at only 7 pounds, 6 ounces. The doctor said that my milk supply was probably not enough and said we should start supplementing with formula right away. She also recommended that I see a lactation consultant.
Long story shorter, you and I met with the lactation consultant twice and confirmed that I was not making enough milk to feed you completely. I was so disappointed. I'm taking herbs and pumping, as much as I can, to try to increase my supply. We've also been instructed to offer you bottles of formula or pumped milk after each feeding. (Which you have been graciously accepting!) Once we started this routine, you finally started to gain weight. Yay! I'm not sure if my supply will ever catch up, but at least we figured out a solution for now. Your newborn clothes are getting pretty snug, and according to our scale at home, you are now up to 9.5 pounds! You're even starting to get some squishy little cheeks!
Besides eating, you have spent most of this month sleeping peacefully in our arms and the arms of extended family and friends (and occasionally in your swing or pack and play). When you're awake, you love watching your big brother who is more than happy to entertain you by singing songs or telling stories. He is absolutely smitten.
Although he was so incredibly excited for your arrival, we expected that there might be some backlash once he realized how much of mommy and daddy's attention you would be taking. Well, we were wrong! So far, he has been just about the best big brother a little girl could ask for. Every time he looks at you he says, "I love my little Isabelle" or "awe, she's so cute!" He thinks you are so amazing that he even told me he wants me to grow 10 more Isabelles and asks daily if I'm growing another baby. (I haven't had the heart to tell him that this won't be happening anytime soon, if at all).
It has been fun to watch Daddy interact with you, too. He is already extremely protective of you and is afraid you're going to be a heartbreaker with your dark hair and big beautiful eyes.
Not only do you have your big brother and daddy to protect you, KG had also taken on that responsibility. He is follows you around wherever you are and gets a little anxious when people he doesn't know well hold you. It's really sweet!
Even though it has only been a month, it's hard to believe that you
weren't always a part of our family. You are such a blessing. I can't
tell you how lucky and honored I feel to have you as my daughter.
Happy one month, sweetie!
Love, Mom
