Sabine: Month One

Dear Sabine,

Today you are one month old. I'm not sure how I'm going to do these monthly things for you, but so far there isn't too much to say, certainly not as much as there is to see. Since I can't stop looking at you and taking your picture, I guess the best way to start is with photos.

To get you to calm down we often bounce you on
the yoga ball. Sometimes you're a fussy baby,
but the funny thing about being a second-time
parent is that I have learned to read your cues
and most of the time as long as we are willing to
bend over backwards, we can set your world
right again.

You are so strong! The way you lift your head
and just keep it there is amazing.

I love all your parts, but one of my favorites is
your little nose!

Lots of smiles all the time. I know they're not
supposed to be real yet, but who can argue
with this cute picture? Maybe they were just
practice smiles in the beginning, but now they
seem to be real.

Oh my God with the spit up! For about a week
you didn't spit up, and then I had to go and say
it out loud. Now you spit up about four times
for every feeding. You're just like Jacob was in
this regard. It's actually pretty funny to get spit
up on constantly. We pretty much both smell like
sour milk all the time.

This is a little birth mark on the back of your
left knee. It wasn't there right at birth, but then
appeared. We thought it was a bruise, but within
a few days it turned red.

You're just so stinkin cute! Always with you head
bobbing around, or shimmying yourself into
nursing position...you're awake a lot of the day
and always looking around at things, grunting
moving about.

Other things: You love to be swaddled and snug...for a few days there it looked like you were going to like your car seat. Nope. You scream your head off just like your big brother did. I guess I should say half the time. The other half you're either sleeping or the motion of the car actually does calm you. Maybe this will increase as time goes on? I can't stand to have you crying like that so I'm constantly pulling over to the side of the road and taking you out for a breather.

You hardly sleep during the day, it's mostly cat naps when someone is holding you, but then at night you are able to sleep on your own and go back to sleep pretty reliably after eating. It seems your father has gotten his way as far as the sleeping goes. Eventually the daytime cat naps turn to longer naps and yet longer still so that it appears you've given yourself an early bedtime and then up for the day at 6am! It's 10:30pm, you and Daddy are up in bed, dead to the world. Jacob is my sleep equal - he wandered downstairs looking for company after Daddy fell asleep. We're downstairs waiting for the banana muffins to come out of the oven, a little midnight snack before our night owl selves finally retire to bed.