Mostly the Kids: Ellen, 1 month (6/11/2011)

Dear Ellen,

I love how sweet you are. Sweet E.P., as Jessica says. With your brother, my first child, I really took those quiet newborn moments for granted. Now that I have a source of comparison, namely a very active toddler, I can appreciate how still, quiet, and cuddly you are. I love that you will gladly spend the day in my arms or lap or chest, snoozing away.

Daily Activities and Playing: Your first smile was at 4 weeks, but you don’t do it all of the time yet. You mostly sleep during the day, but also spend time in the bouncer and swing occasionally when awake. You don’t love to be on your tummy yet since your neck strength is still developing, but you do like to lay on your back and look up at your toys hanging from your play mat, or at the alphabet cards on the wall by your crib.

Sibling: For the first two weeks after you were born, Ian still went to “school” during the day while Daddy and I stayed home with you; this arrangement definitely made the transition to two children much easier! From the beginning, Ian has wanted to hold you and give you lots of hugs and kisses.

Eating: From birth, you have nursed every 3 to 4 hours, eating 7 or 8 times per day. I have not had to do much “scheduling” for you because you are almost like clockwork! Occasionally, I would let you sleep a little longer and stretch the time between feedings to about 5 hours. You gradually dropped the 7^th and 8^th feeding this month as your sleeping patterns changed.

Sleeping: At 2 weeks, you started sleeping in longer intervals, 4-5 hours at a time. (Perfect timing since Daddy went back to work!) The long stretch was sometimes at night, and sometimes during the day. You don’t seem to nap very well on your own during the day, however. You will fall asleep in my arms, but then wake up when I try to put you in the swing, bouncer, or in the crib/pack and play to sleep. Many times I hold you through an entire nap. Most of the time I don’t mind, but it can make handling Ian a challenge at times.

Special Events: You had your first photo shoot when you were 11 days old! Gram, Aunt Jessie, and cousin Beckett all came over and we spent the better part of the day taking the photos. It was a challenge trying to coordinate the different baby feeding schedules, but eventually Jessie got all of the photos taken. They are beautiful and sweet, and I decided to use them for the birth announcements.