Saturday, October 6, 2012

Happy One Week, Sophia!



Sophia is one week old today! It's flown by but it also seems like she's been with us forever! I won't say that our family feels "complete," now, because I really feel like more kids are in our future (but not the near future, ha!) but it definitely feels like this is how our family is supposed to be for now!




I can't describe the love I feel for Sophia. Maybe "expectant love," would be the best fit for it. I love her SO much now, but, after spending the last year and a half with Grace, I know how much my love will grow every day, and I look forward to each and every moment together with Sophia, because it means my love for her will get even that much more. Does that make sense?

Clothes: She wears size one diapers and is in newborn clothes. Sophia is bigger than Grace was, so though they have the same clothes, Sophia is already filling them out. I learned the first time around that I don't like dressing my newborns/infants in "real" clothes, I like keeping them in sleepers and/or long sleeves and pants. It is such a sweet time and I cherish these early days when she can wear footie pajamas!


Food: Sophia is breastfeeding well. She latched on correctly just minutes after birth and has had a healthy appetite ever since. I'd like to be on a strictly 2 1/2 hour schedule, but, honestly, it doesn't happen like that since life is pretty busy. We are getting nice, long feedings in every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day and she can go 4-5 hours at night between feedings. She nurses for nearly 45 minutes to an hour. My milk came in on day 5 and was very painful for about 24 hours but seems to have gotten better. I've been able to pump once and was excited to see good results. I hope to establish a small stash early on this time, so that I can get out and about in the weeks to come.

Sleep: Oh this is so different than with Grace! Sophia is a good sleeper, really, she is. But she has her nights and days reversed and she has some serious gas issues, even with a prescription for it. Poor, sweet, baby girl.

She typically eats for 45 minutes to an hour and then is awake for 30 to 45 minutes more in her 3 hour cycle. She doesn't get really sleepy after eating and it takes a little bit of walking her around to get her to fall asleep during the day.

Another difference is that she does not HAVE to be swaddled. Grace had her startle reflex pretty bad and so if we didn't swaddle her, she didn't sleep. Sophia naps during the day unswaddled, unless she seems too alert or overstimulated. We try to keep a "routine," in place, where she nurses, is burped, diaper changed, swaddled, and then put down, but, with my mother in law being here we are more relaxed with how that goes down.

At night she is sleeping in 3-4 hour chunks after being fed, but out of the three sleep cycles at night, the middle one usually has her alert for 2-3 hours. 





Miscellaneous:
*Sophia has a very "Lamby" cry. That's the only way I can explain it. It's really cute and I'm surprised at how this time around her crying doesn't bother me as much. Second child? Yup.
*Sophia HATES to have a wet/dirty diaper and she hates it even more to have it changed. Most of the time that's why she cries, if it's not gas pain, but even a drop of pee makes her upset, so we are changing diapers constantly.
*Sophia has alot more alert times than Grace did. She likes to look around and is staring at faces alot right now.
*Her umbilical cord fell off today, at one week old. She'll get her first bath tomorrow!

6 comments:

Justine said...

Congratulations on Sophia's birth!! :) She looks so much like Grace!!! :) I pray you're all able to get some good sleep!! :) How is Grace handling all the changes and things?

Emily Powell said...

LOVE all the differences. I love my Georgia but I hope her and our next child are nothing alike! ha!

Rachel and John said...

Awesome! I can't wait to have a newborn again!! I bet you love having your MIL there. My mom said when she had her second (my brother), my nana came to stay with her for 4 weeks and when she left my mom cried and cried! She thought who will do the laundry, and shopping and cooking? But she managed just fine!

Lyndsey said...

Wow, a week already! I hope you are feeling great and Miss Grace is loving her little sis! I'm really hoping you'll do an adjustment post so I can look back on it when our time comes :)

Callie said...

Oh, she is so sweet! She and Grace look so much alike - you can tell they are sisters. I hope she gets her days and nights straightened out soon!

Alison H said...

Precious!!! I miss you so much!