Elisabeth is 1 Month!

Happy 1 month birthday, Elisabeth!
Elisabeth is one month old today.  The past month has just flown by!  She is already getting so big and is not really my little newborn anymore.  Here are some things about Elisabeth’s first month.

• Elisabeth slept a lot her first few weeks at home.  She is sleeping almost exclusively in her bassinet for naps, except when we are on the go and she sleeps in her carseat.  The only time she sleeps in the swing is at night if I am trying to get dinner ready and she is being fussy.  She sleeps really well in her bassinet at night.  We still swaddle her any time she is sleeping in her bassinet.  Around 2-3 weeks she started staying awake more during the day.  Now she is sleeping for about an hour around 9:00, then 1.5 – 2 hours around 11:00 and again for 1.5 – 2 hours around 2:00.  Then she usually takes a short little nap around dinner time before going to bed for the night around 8:00.
• Elisabeth is a great eater, a welcome change from Carter.  I remember it taking forever to feed Carter even a small amount.  Elisabeth takes after her big sister and eats really well.  She is eating 7 times a day and between 3 –4 ounces at each feeding.  She eats about every 3 hours during the day and about every 4-5 hours at night.
• Sadly, Elisabeth has graduated from the newborn diapers.  She is now wearing size 1 diapers and 0-3 month or 3 month clothes.  She went to the doctor when she was 4 weeks old and weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce.  She is growing!
• Elisabeth is great when we are out and about running errands or at activities.  She usually sleeps the entire time we are out, except for when I have to feed her.
• She is fussy when she has gas.  She is also fussy in the evening right before bed.  I guess she is just worn out from all the activity during the day.  I remember is also being Abbie and Carter’s fussy time. 
• She loves to be outside!  No matter how fussy she may be inside, the moment we go outside she is happy and content!  She loves to be outside in the evening while her big brother and sister play in the driveway.
• She is not smiling on purpose yet.  I can’t wait for her first real smile!  She seems to be very active, just like Carter was.  When she is laying on her back on her playmat she can almost roll herself all the way over!  She still likes tummy time.  I imagine she will be a tummy sleeper when she can.
• We had a scare this month.  On her 4 week birthday Elisabeth started running a fever of 100.3.  Since a fever of 100.4 is considered very serious in newborns, we took her to the doctor right away.  Thankfully, by the time she got to the doctor her fever was down to 99.  The doctor checked her out and did blood and urine analysis.  Unfortunately, the urine sample was contaminated and we thought she had a UTI for several days.  We had to go back to the doctor two days later to get a catheter urine sample.  I hated having to put her through that, but wanted to know if she truly had a UTI.  The good news is that we got a call from our doctor the following Saturday telling us she was fine and did not have a UTI.  I was so happy to hear that!  I think her doctor called me 5 times that week to check on her!  We are so fortunate to have found an intelligent and caring doctor here.  It was a scary four days, but I am so thankful our little girl is just fine now.

We had our first mommy/daughter photo shoot for her one month pictures.  She was very upset in the beginning, but thanks to a few sucks of her paci, I did manage to get a few happy ones.  Happy 1 month birthday, Elisabeth!!