Maddie is one month old already

Length: will update after your one month check up!

Weight: 10lbs 11.5oz (oh my!)

Milestones:

• You seem to have started focusing more when you look at things and it's fun to hypothesize what you are looking at!
• Up to sleeping during the night at about 4 hour increments.  Sometimes it is more (yeah!) and sometimes it is less
• You have gone one full night in your crib in your own room.  However, with the intense heat these past few days, we moved you back into our room because we cannot quite figure out why your room is SO hot!!!  But you made it one night.
• You are up to size one diapers already and grew out of newborn clothes a few weeks ago.  Luckily we wore all the cute stuff before you grew out of it!
• Speaking of - you are wearing most 0-3 or 3 month stuff and some 3-6 month, depending on brand
• Haven't started losing any of that hair yet - waiting.
• And your belly button fell off right after you hit 2 weeks - which for some reason felt like forever.
• Got your first bottle from your dad at 2 weeks and one day and have gotten one everyday since.  Trying to not make the same mistake we did with your brother!

Things you like:

• Eating.  My sweet girl, you love to eat and are good at it (aka efficient!).  You are gaining weight like it's your job (which really it is)...and well surpassing the standard 7 oz per week (last week you gained 11 oz).  You go between 2-3 hours during the day and then 3-4 hours at night.
• Being held.  You love being held and snuggling and sleeping on people.  Yes people.  Mainly mom, but you will sleep on Nana and your dad too
• The Ergo carrier.  This is your love.  Whenever you are fussy or upset, this does the trick.  I love it too and we go to the store in it as well.  I just can't wait until it's not so hot (for both of us!)
• Your brother - I have more details on this below, but you are very interested in him!!
• Pacifier - we thought originally that you weren't a fan, but after your ride on the stretcher and you got the vanilla flavored pacifiers...and that seemed to do the trick because you like them a lot and it keeps you satisfied when you want to suck after only an hour or so.

Things you don't like:

• The bath - last night was the first time you didn't scream bloody murder during your whole quick bath.  But you are not quite a fan - not sure if it's the cold or the water.  But it will get better!
• Car seat - this is one that is very different than your brother.  Not that he liked it...but he slept in it most of the time.  You seem to be the opposite and it wakes you up and causes you to scream bloody murder.  The pacifier does help! This is also why we use the Ergo when we go shopping/run errands.
• Swaddle - oh man.  This is just like Charlie.  You are like a ninja and seem to get out of all of them.  We tried to keep one arm out to see if you like that.  You do, but you wake up more.  Enter the woombie.  Yep - we got it for Charlie and he hated it, but luckily we kept everything we impulse bought for him because you seem to love it. 

Special memories:

• Of course bringing you home was amazing.
• We have had a couple all family meals out - Stroud's and the Big Biscuit...which your brother made quite interesting and you were perfect.
• Watching you and your brother interact!!
• Seeing your cousins just love on you so much.  They seriously think you are the cutest!!  Can't wait for you to start interacting back with them!!
• Getting to meet Great Grandma Bruns on her first trip down to KC in many years!!  Very special.  She was so in love.
• I wouldn't say the ER visit was a "special memory"...but it sure was a memory of your first month.

A note to our girl:

This first month has been quite the whirlwind.  From your surprise arrival on July 4th to your first few weeks and even a trip to the ER - you have for sure kept us on our feet.  Pair that with your brother getting quite the attitude, your parents have been busy and are tired.  But guess what else we are?   Just so in love with you.  You are just a wonderful baby.  The time of day we struggle with is just when it's time for you to go to bed...which really varies...but you just do not want to be swaddled and really don't want to go down to bed.  The good thing is that once you get to sleep, you do pretty well - so we are not complaining!

Your brother is just smitten by you.  From day 1, you have been "My baby Addie" to him and even thought we try to correct him over and over again by adding that "M", he just sticks to his own little nickname for you.  So we'll go with it.  He loves kissing your head and your feet.  He proclaims to everyone when you cry that you are "hungry!!!!" and then also tells everyone that you eat on "momma's boobies".  He loves playing with you on the play mat and has tried to pick you up a few times now - so we keep our eye on him.  Don't you worry!  But I'm positive that he will look out for you for the rest of your life just by the way he's treated you this first month.  He can literally go from a wild 2 year old tantrum to when he gets by you, calm and kisses you and then back into tantrum.  He's in love too.

You seem to be pretty smitten with him too and have started looking at him when he's around and yesterday you watched him in the car seat on the way to the doctor.  It was pretty funny.  Now if we can just get him to learn to lean over and stick your pacifier back in.

Pretty much we just love your snuggles, your smell, your hair, your sweet hands and feet and sweet baby coo noises.  You are the best cuddler and I'm soaking up all the moments we have just the two of us before I have to go back to work.

We love you so much and are excited to see how you continue to change and grow as the months progress.  You are such a sweetheart!!

Love,

Your parents

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Just for fun - here is Charlie and Maddie's one month side by side picture.

They look NOTHING alike in this if you ask me! 

And just because we did this with Charlie's one month pictures and it's cruel...but seriously funny, I had to put the outtakes.  This time, it was a lot harder because I did this solo.  Yep - Jimmy was putting Charlie to bed, so it was just me and Maddie.  And let me tell you - getting a one month old that is actually REALLY good at holding her head up given her age is REALLY hard.  However, she was a trooper and seriously didn't even cry.  Who is this kid!??  She just sat there looking at me like I was a crazy person.  She might be right.