The Paten Way of Life: 1 month down!

Our first month as a family of 4 (including our dog Toby- you know, the first child...) went relatively smoothly. We all kind of settled into a ~~routine~~ Ava's routine and it really felt very natural, like Ava had always been there. James and I have commented that it's already hard to remember life without her. Here's a brief recap of Ava's first month.

When we left the hospital Ava weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces, but we knew newborns lost some weight in the first couple days. She also was a little jaundiced. We went to the doctor the day after we left the hospital to have a weight check, check her bilirubin, and see how the nursing was going. At that check she had not lost any more weight! Yay! But because she was under 6 pounds they wanted her back in 2 days for another check and another bilirubin blood draw. When we returned she weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces and her bilirubin was steady. Because she was making progress we didn't have to come back for another week, which would be her 2 week check-up. At that time they wanted to see her back up to her birth weight. And she exceeded it! She weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces! Big girl! And we got the ok to just come back for her one month check-up.

James had taken 2 weeks off from work to be with me and Ava and to help us all adjust to life with a newborn. And I honestly don't know what I would have done without him! Even though I had to do all of the feedings, it was just nice to have another set of hands to change her, help clean the house, rock her if she gets fussy, or watch her while I took a nap. After he went back to work my mom came down for several days to help us with this new adjustment. Then Ava and I were on our own! But we quickly settled into a routine and everything has gone very smoothly!

Daddy reads her a story every night

We had lots of visitors Ava's first moth of life! She met her Aunt Tiffany (Ti-Ti) and Uncle Jeff, her Aunt Tasha, many of our friends here in town, her Waits family aunts, uncles, and cousins, and her Papa and Grandma Carol, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Patty even came down to visit her! And of course she was visited by her Grandma and Granpa, Kiki, Aunt Jessica, Uncle John, and cousin Henry, and Yaya Ninny many times! She is a very lucky little girl to have so many people who love her. And we are so blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives that want to help us and love on our little girl!

Ava and Grandma

Everyone asks if we have been getting any sleep with a newborn. And surprisingly it has not been as bad as expected! James and I decided to take shifts on who gets up with her if she wakes up in the middle of the night. We put the pack n play in our guest bedroom (because there wasn't room in our room) and whoever had the shift would sleep in there. And it really worked out pretty well. It ensured that both of us were getting some good sleep each night. And Ava really has been a pretty good sleeper. Even from the beginning she would give us at least 3 hours in between feedings. As the month went on she would sleep anywhere from 3-5 hours at night in between feedings. We really can't complain too much! One of the things we did that I would recommend to any new parent was swaddling her at night. At first we did it with just a blanket, but she was so strong that she could get out of it and wake herself up. So we got the velcro swaddlers and they were a lifesaver! We even swaddle her sometimes if she gets so upset she won't settle down and the swaddle does the trick!

Developmentally there's not too much Ava can do besides eat, sleep, and fill her diaper! Towards the end of the month she was beginning to be comforted by the sound of James or my voice, and to try to turn or look toward sounds. She is a very strong girl and has a really strong grip! Ava enjoyed being in her swing, being in her rocker seat, going outside, and any kind of rocking motion. While she hates being buckled in to her car seat, she loves riding in the car and going on walks in her stroller. She's a girl on the move!

At her one month check Ava weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces (10th percentile), was 21 1/2 inches long (50-75th percentile), and had a 14 inch head circumference (10-25th percentile). She was starting out long and skinny just like her Daddy! And everything else looked perfect! She got her first shots and did great with it- cried when they gave it to her but quieted when I picked her up. And mommy and daddy didn't even cry!

James and I feel so blessed by our precious Ava, and can't believe she's been here over a month now! She brings us joy every day. And now for random pictures! Now that I am just about caught up to where we are now, stay tuned for random updates about our day-to-day life! Have a blessed day!