Adalyn Grace - 1 Month Old

My good friend told me the other day, "the days are long but the years are fast." I would have to agree with this 100%! I can't believe Adalyn is going to be one month old this week. But at the same time it feels like I gave birth to her forever ago.

Adalyn is much more alert these days. She loves to look at herself in the mirror (uh oh) in her gym and she loves to watch the monkeys on her swing. She also follows mom and dad's voice wherever we go and studies our faces continually. If we leave the room she lets us know - she does not like to be alone. She is going through some tummy issues and that has been extremely hard. It's very difficult as a parent to know what the best thing to do for your baby is. At the end of the day, I want her happy and above all, comfortable and healthy. The pediatrician thinks she has reflux so we have been prescribed prilosec for her. The two days we used it she was a much happier baby and was not grunting or straining in pain. Yesterday I stopped to see if I could try a different recommended method of probiotics and she was in a ton of pain and cried most the night. So today I am back to using the prilosec. I guess you just need to go with your gut and what works best for you. Let's hope this works for our baby girl. Poor thing... (and sleep deprived parents). :)

The last month has been life changing and I have learned so much about patience, frustration, happiness and love. More than I have learned in my whole lifetime. So when I reflect on the last month there are a ton of things this rookie has learned and I thought I would pass on my informal, unprofessional advice for those of you expecting. I wish I had known the below...

1. Labor is no joke and the healing process is extremely important. So take your time and allow your body to recover.
2. When you are staying in the hospital post labor, use the nursery at night for your baby so you can get some rest. You won't have that luxury when you go home.
3. Have different size pads handy for the post stages of labor. You will want thicker ones at first and thinner ones for later on.
4. Breast feeding is HARD and will take time to get the hang of it. Hang in there...
5. Have storage bins on hand to store the breast milk in the freezer (make room in your freezer now).
6. Have breast milk storage bags ready. I like the "up and up" Target brand b/c they lay flat. Which is another thing - lay them down flat and stack on top of each other. Otherwise they will freeze with the milk on the bottom making it harder to store.
7. Breast milk will spill on you and your sheets and your blankets - basically on everything, every day. Get used to it.
8. Make sure to have boxes of breast pads handy for leaking. Lots of leaking...
9. Laundry is never going to be done. Ever. Just do it as you can.
10. The house will be a mess and that's okay.
11. Take help when offered and if someone offers to make you food - take it. That's a lifesaver.
12. Careful for spicy food since it could irritate your baby's tummy.
13. Pampers Swaddlers are the best. Adalyn blew out of her "up and up" brand diapers so I would avoid those. This is just me...
14. Have nipple cream handy. This was crucial in the first week!
15. Make sure you are stocked on gripe water and gas drops. Both are very helpful for gassy/fussy babies.
16. I would recommend using all pajamas (sleep and plays) that have zippers. The ones with buttons are fine if putting the baby in them during the day but at night you want the zippers since you will be in a hurry to change the baby and get her/him comfortable fast. Buttons in the dark with a crying baby is a nightmare.
17. If your baby has a dirty diaper in the middle of the night when you are going to feed, change the diaper between switching breasts so you can avoid waking her/him up and she/he can go right to sleep after eating.
18. Forget the "routine" in the first couple of weeks. I tried to keep her to a schedule right away and realize that really doesn't work. I would wait and let her/him adjust to her/his new surroundings.
19. The baby blues are real and you are not going insane. I cried multiple times a day the first two weeks. Over nothing. Over everything. Over exhaustion. It goes away. But if it doesn't, do not be afraid to talk to someone.
20. Being a mom is the most amazing and most challenging job in the world. There is no right way of doing it. Loving your baby is the #1 most important thing. Everything else will get figured out.

Below are some professional pictures of Adalyn my good friend took. She is growing up so quickly already. :)