1 month already!

It's hard to believe that Mia is already 1 month old!

At her check up, she weighed in at 10 lbs 12oz and 22.5 inches long. Both these measurements put her in the 95th percentile. Her head measurement was 37cm which is the 50th percentile.

She has started to give us genuine smiles that absolutely melt our hearts! She even giggled for Daddy last week! (She has giggled in her sleep while sleeping on Mommy's chest before too.) 

She is holding her head up quite well and loves to look around the room. The pediatrician remarked that she physically, she is more like a 2 month old. Several times in the last week, she let us know that she preferred to be in a sitting position to laying down. We brought out the bumbo seat and she has enjoyed sitting in it several times. She can't sit in it for long periods because she can't hold her head up that well yet but she does manage a few minute stints at a time. She tracks toys 180 degrees when we're playing and will track Mommy when I leave the room and am talking. She does much better at tummy time than Emma did and loves scooching across a blanket and seems to attempt to roll over. (She rolled over 2 times the first week of May, but it was more the position that I put her down in than her actually rolling over.)

Since she was born, she routinely, clasps her hands together and frequently attempts to suck on her fingers. Her movements are getting more fluid, but her hands still jerk out of her mouth pretty quickly. When she was first born she would not have anything to do with a pacifier. Unfortunately, she had an intense need to suck which resulted in us using our pinkie fingers as pacifiers for several hours a day. She started to take a pacifier on April 24th when she had a very painful diaper rash.  

During the first week of May, we noticed that her eyes started to change color from the newborn steely blue to a bluer blue similar to Emma's. 

She is still waking about every 2-3 hours during the night and still isn't sleeping by herself and prefers to bury her head in the crook of our arm similar to an ostrich hiding.   When we do lay her down, her preferred spot is in the bouncer in a bathroom with a fan on. Generous friends gave us a sound machine which has helped her at night as well. 

This kid goes through a gabillion diapers. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but only a little) Like all babies, she has gas and poops. A lot. Literally, some days we were going through about 3 to 4 diapers an hour. Whenever she gets angry and cries, she poops. If she sneezes, she poops. If her tummy rumbles, she poops.  Also, the poor girl gets so uncomfortable some times with gas it breaks our hearts.  

Mia had her first sick appointment on April 25th for a very severe diaper rash. A combination of very sensitive skin and her an active digestive system resulted in a bad rash that wouldn't heal. After about a week of prescription ointment and using cotton balls and water during changes, we started to see improvement and Mia is much happier during diaper changes. 

Emma loves to give Mia hugs and kisses. We're not sure if Mia appreciates them as much as Emma loves giving them! Several times, though, Emma has been able to quiet Mia down during diaper changes or if one of us is busy cooking dinner. We're sure that Mia will come to love hanging out with her sister as she gets older.

Although Mia can go from calm to ANGRY in about 2.5 seconds, she generally is much easier to calm than Emma ever was. I can hold her close and tell her softly that Mama has her and she quiets down pretty easily. (Unless it's gas related, which is a whole other ballgame)

We both remarked earlier this week that Mia seemed older. She is definitely more aware of her surroundings and has even begun making baby sounds while we're changing her. This just started in the past day or two and was most prominent today. (5 May)