Elle's first month of life was hectic for me in general. Adjusting from two to three kids. Ben starting kindergarten just two weeks after her birth. A difficult recovery for me. But for her specifically, things went rather smoothly. She takes after her brother, Jackson in the sleeping department. From about day four, she was sleeping at least a five hour stretch at night, usually waking up just once a night depending on bed time. Nursing has gone well pretty much from day one, I'm using the shield again, so I'm trying to keep up with pumping so I can last longer than I have in the past. Her little arms move like crazy and she clutches them towards her chin, so I have to pry them away to get her to latch on. But other than that, it's been easy breezy. The difficult part has been keeping the milk in her little tummy. Because of this she is also struggling to pack on the pounds, but all my babies have been beans so I'm not too concerned at this point.
Ellie girl has been surprisingly strong. After just a few days she would life her neck up and stare me right in the eyes when laying on my chest. Which is her absolute favorite place to be and favorite position to be held in. Laying up on my chest, with her little face peaking over my left shoulder. Oh and I have to pat her back or she will remind me with a sweet cry. I'm afraid that I am spoiling her a little bit in the holding department, but she is just the sweetest little button that I can't help myself. Besides she is a great sleeper, nighttime and naps, so she gives me enough hands free hours when she's doing that.
She enjoys her paci very much as you can see and sucks the heck out of it. It is so funny to hear how hard she goes at the thing. Elle also has taken to bottles beautifully. Probably because I use a shield when nursing, but even if I didn't I wouldn't stop until she figured it out. I have to have my kids be able to take a bottle. I seriously don't know how some mom's exclusively breastfed. I'm not saying that I supplement with formula (although I'm by no means against that if necessary), I just in addition to nursing, like to pump and bottle feed my babes. I like this for several reasons. I like to be able to measure how much she's getting. I like to give daddy and her brother the opportunity to bond with her through feeding. And I like to be able to grab a bottle for times when I know it will be just easier to feed her that way instead of having to nurse her (brother Ben has fed her many times in the car while we are on the go).
Oh Elle you are so loved already. You have three boys who dote on you and a mommy who can't get over her excitement of having a girl at long last. Your nicknames include Ellie, Momma Girl, Sister Girl, Baby Sister Girl (what Jackson calls you), and Little Girl (what Ben calls you). You are just the sweetest addition to our little family.
Precious!
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