Clara at One Month

Our Clara-Beara is one month old. I can't believe it! Here's a snapshot of her little life:

1. You are a fabulous eater. You nurse like a total champ and - joy of joys!!! - you actually take a bottle once a night from your dad which makes your mom very, very, VERY happy. You do have a tendency to get your arms in the way and end up sucking on your wrists sometimes.

2. You are already a great sleeper, especially at night. You are still so little that you sleep most of the time, but you tend to be awake for an hour or two in the morning, a little in the afternoon and a lot from about 7:00 - 11:00ish in the evening (but this is when you are at your fussiest). Best of all, you figured out your days and nights within just a few days of being home from the hospital - you wake up 2-3 times a night and you just eat and go immediately back to sleep. That's the best your parents could hope for out of a one month old.

3. Unfortunately, you are a noisy sleeper. You grunt and squirm a lot while you sleep. This can be a symptom of reflux, but you still do it even though you are on medicine although not as much. I think you will end up in your own room relatively soon.




4. You sleep the best when you are in someone's arms or laying on someone's chest. This is fantastic for Mommy's and Daddy's psyche but not very good for the dirty dishes or the unfolded laundry.

5. When you can't be in our arms, you love to be swaddled. It is still a requirement if we have any chance of you actually sleeping somewhere other than on your parents.

6. Mom and Dad each have their own trick to get you to calm down. Daddy is the master of the "colic curl" and Mom snuggles you in her arms and pats your bum. A lot. She's getting some sort of repetitive stress injury but it's worth it.

7. You are not a huge fan of your bouncy seat but you actually really like your swing. That's convenient because we have it set up in the dining room. We can usually cook and/or eat and/or watch your sister dance and keep you happy at the same time.


8. You also are really happy when you are laying on the pad on your changing table. Not necessarily getting your diaper changed and not just laying around anywhere. On that cushion. Your mom has been known to take the pad off the changing table and carry you from room to room in it.

9. You are a very mellow baby. Pretty much as long as we keep you fed and swaddled, you are happy and/or sleeping. Other than that hour or two in the evening, you almost never fuss. At all. Which is good because...

10. We take you out a lot! I don't think any other one-month-old has been on as many adventures as you have. You have been to the pool, a couple parks, the grocery store, the mall, restaurants, the planetarium, all kinds of errands, two different conservatories, and even a playdate. We've had tons of fun together already!