Hazel Faye: 1 Month

Our sweet Hazel baby is 1 Month Old!  My I forgot how quickly the days run together when you have a newborn.

Weight/Length: 8lbs 6oz

Diapers: NBN

Clothing: NBN

Eating: Breastfeeding 8-10 times a day

Sleeping: 2-4 hour stretches

I haven't typed her birth story up but when I do I'll hyperlink it in her next monthly update!

Hazel is pretty easy going (like her sisters before her).  We don't get much awake time with her at this point so we haven't seen her little personality just yet.

SLEEP.  Damn it's so funny how you block out certain phases with raising children or downplay them later on.  For the life of us, my husband and I couldn't remember the newborn sleep deprivation with Scarlett.  Good thing we blocked it out.  I AM SO TIRED.  I think it's the awful combination of being a night shift worker, not sleeping but 1-2.5 hours at a time while pregnant and now breastfeeding a newborn every 2-3 hours but I'm dying.  This sleep deprivation stuff is kicking my butt this go around.  Thankfully my husband is willing to stay up a little the first half of the night so that I can catch a good 4 hour stretch.  I pump at like 7pm then he wakes me up at 11-12a to switch off BECAUSE little miss doesn't quite have her nights/days figured out yet.  Yippee!  I know it will get better, but in the midst of it, it sucks.  Also when you are on your third baby you definitely don't have the luxury of sleeping when the baby sleeps because two other humans depend on you as well.  We have had the incredible luck of having two great sleepers before so hopefully our luck holds out for one more baby.  Each of our kids starting sleeping through the night around 6-8 weeks so fingers crossed!

BREASTFEEDING.  I advocated big time this pregnancy to not have my c/s until 39 weeks, no earlier.  As a labor and delivery nurse I know first hand that the closer to 40 weeks gestation a baby is born the better the breastfeeder they are.  They're more awake at the breast, stronger suck, better latch and more efficient at the breast.  This was the main reason why I begged my OB to let me go an extra week being pregnant.  Crazy reason, right?

She latched great right away and she's been a pretty rockstar feeder.  On our third day in the hospital she caught a cold and was congested for about 2-3 weeks afterward.  Because of that we think she didn't transfer the milk very well and she didn't put on weight like we wanted.  Luckily it cleared up, she got better at breastfeeding and the weight started to come back on!  The weight gain is always a struggle with these breast fed babes in the beginning!  She didn't get back birth weight until week 3, but we made it there eventually!

The older girls just love her.  Poor Scarlett went through some Mama withdrawl our first week, but I can't blame her for that.  We solved it by giving her some one on one time and really carving out some attention for her those first few weeks.  She asks to hold the baby and will say "Ahhhh Baby" while she scrunches up her little nose. Norah has been smitten since minute one.  She's the best helper and baby holder.  She asks DAILY to hold Hazel, talks to her like I do ("Oh baby you want your milk? It's ok, Norah's here!")  It's pretty adorable.  I love the 4 year age gap.  Unfortunately it's the fall/winter season so RSV/Flu is rampant.  We've established rules with the older kids to not touch her face/hands, NO kissing the baby anywhere and "hand tizer" for all when we leave/enter the house. We've kept her healthy this far, I hope we can get to March without any hospitalizations!

In the hospital we celebrated her first Thanksgiving!  Nothing too eventful, but it was great to get us all together for a few hours, even if we were still in the hospital.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Then we celebrated her first Christmas right before she turned a month old!  Such an exciting month!  Of course, little Hazel slept through both, but was still involved just the same.

First pic with Santa

Christmas Eve Hike

Christmas with cousins

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy some pictures of Hazel's first month with us!

Happy due date, Dec 3, 2019

First blow out!

Maka time

2 Weeks Old

First Ped appt at 1 week!

First sponge bath, she loved the head scrub

Big sister came with us to her one month appt!

We always knew we wanted at least three kids and I love it that she's finally here.  Our family feels full and filled with love, loud noises, and so many little hands always asking to hold the baby. We are pretty overwhelmed right now but as these seasons do, this will fade.  Kit and I will get stronger.  The baby will get slightly less needy and we'll adapt.  Right now we're living the life of diapers, baby cries, toddler messes and preschooler games.  Life couldn't get any better.  Welcome to our family Hazel. We just love you!