Jensyn – 1 Month Old

Unless God has something amazing in store for us, our family is complete.  Keith & I agreed on that before Jensyn was born, and I was perfectly fine with that.  I just knew, when pregnant with Max, that we weren’t finished.  A little someone was missing from our family.  Now we have our sweet baby girl, and I figured that I’d feel “done”.

Well, I did.  In the last few weeks of pregnancy, much as I tried to enjoy those kicks and bumps, I was ready to never do it again.  When I was in labor, I was sure that we were never doing this again.  Even for the first two weeks of Jensyn’s life, I was positive that I’d never want to do this again.

one of her first pictures

I told Keith that I’d probably be sad around the time Jensyn turned one, that I’d probably have a time where I’d regret it.  Confession: it didn’t take nearly that long for me to change my mind!  (And a lot of people probably aren’t surprised by that, right?!)

one day old, in Daddy’s arms

We are finished, though.  With that in mind, we’re trying to savor every bit of Jensyn’s newborn days.  Even Keith admitted that he’s been holding Jensyn and thinking, “We’ll never have one this little again.”

It’s the right choice for our family, but we are definitely trying to cherish every little baby moment!  It just goes SO fast!

That said, here’s Jensyn’s 1 Month post…

Jensyn isn’t having a 1 month pediatrician visit.  Dr. Brewer says that “experienced parents” really don’t need to bring in their 1 month old unless there’s a problem.  (Experienced? Just because we’ve had 3 babies in 3 years…?  Ha ha!)

Jensyn was last weighed on Good Friday, just shy of 3 weeks old.  At that time, she weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz and was 20 inches long.  I’d have to guess she’s a little over 8 lbs right now.

She still fits in NB diapers, although we’ll switch to size 1 when the small pile of NB diapers are gone.  We’re also using Bum Genius x-small diapers at home during the day.  We’ll have to move to Bum Genius smalls soon just because she’s wetting too much for the x-small’s absorbency!

Jensyn is reaching the limit on some of her newborn clothes.  We could probably start using some of her 0 – 3 month clothes soon.  (She’s wearing her 0 – 3 “Baby Sister'” shirt as I write this, and it actually fits her.  When she was born, it was really big on her.) Some NB clothes still fit fine, but some of the pants are getting too short.  Maybe if the weather ever gets warmer, they can be capri pants!

She’s a quick nurser – much faster than Alex, but not quite as speedy as Max.  She goes for over 4 hours many nights, but she makes up for it by nursing every 1.5 hours or so in the evening.

We’re debating whether to start giving her an occasional bottle or skip the hassle of it.  Nursing may keep you tied to your baby, but pumping and preparing/heating/washing bottles is a pain.  We’ll see what we decide to do.  (I’m guessing we’ll just skip it.)

Jensyn is the first of our babies to like a pacifier.  It calms her so quickly!  Alex’s fingers work, too, if no pacifiers are around… ;)

From the time she was about a week old, Jensyn has been sleeping from 11pm – 2:30am or longer.  She’s often going until 3 or 3:30 now.  She’ll then nurse and sleep until 6:30am or later, nurse and go back to sleep again.    I’m a lucky mama!  (We’ve had a few tougher nights, where she wakes every hour or two, but I really can’t complain.)

We swaddle her at bedtime, then she seems most content on her side.  She doesn’t fight the swaddle, but I often find her fingers peeking out of the swaddle in the morning.  It’s cute!

This little girl loves her sleep!  She often sleeps so much during the day that I question if she’ll sleep at night.  She’ll wake for 20 minutes here or there throughout the day, but sleeps most of the day.  She’s starting to wake a little more often throughout the day, but I’m still amazed at how much Jensyn naps!  She’ll usually be awake, fussy, needing to be bounced and cuddled, and hungry from 8 – 11pm.

It’s ironic – the boys go down for a nap at 2, and Jensyn wakes up for an hour.  The boys go to bed at 8, and Jensyn wakes up for the evening.  I wonder if they’ve devised a plan to be sure that Mommy stays busy?! ;)

daytime nap – she really finds some funny positions

She isn’t a huge fan of the swing, although she did sit in it for quite a while on Sunday without complaint.  She’s pretty good about sitting/sleeping in a bouncy seat for a while during the day.  Usually, though, she’d prefer to be held when she’s awake…not that we always can or do! :)  She doesn’t care to lay under her play gym yet, but she’s still kind of young for that.

I’ve only used the sling twice – once at home and once at the Easter Eggstravaganza.  Jensyn loved it both times!  She’s just such an amazing napper that I haven’t needed to use it much!

Jensyn will track things with her eyes, and often she’ll turn her head to see something nearby.  She’s starting to look right at me more and more often when I’m holding her.  I’m waiting for that first “real” smile.  (Keith thinks Jensyn might have smiled at him this weekend, but he’s not 100% sure.)

A few random pics with the Wisconsin relatives…

cousin Kathryn Aunt Diane

cousin Matthew

a little sibling time on Alex’s bed…

Sweet baby girl, it’s so hard to believe that a month has gone by already.  It’s so fun to have a newborn in the house again.  The work, the hassles, the sleeplessness?  It’s so worth it!  I know that soon you’re going to be a big girl - walking, talking, and finding mischief.  I’m going to soak up every bit of this special time with you.  Love ya, Sweet Pea, and I’m so, so glad that God chose to bless us with you!