Adelaide’s One Month Update

Where to begin! Being a new mama has to be the best job I have ever had! Adelaide turned one month old on March 12, which seems just unbelievable. The first month was filled with really high highs and several low lows. One thing I’m super grateful for is not struggling with postpartum depression. Aside from a few moments of pure frustration and pain, I have felt in really good spirits.

I’ll start this off with my biggest struggle, breastfeeding. My milk didn’t come in until about day 4 or 5 postpartum, so Adelaide’s weight did drop from 7lbs 6oz to 7lbs 3oz at her first doctors appointment. The first week home went pretty well and I had minimal pain for the condition my nips were in. I attributed the poor condition of them to this being new for both Adelaide and I. We both struggled a little with her latch, but she has always been a persistent little girl and loves nursing. Looking back my biggest regret during that first week was not unlatching her and relatching her when I felt pain. Instead, I just dealt with it and let her damage my nips pretty bad. The whole second week would consist of me trying to heal them, which eventually did happen and we got to nurse pain free for about a week. During the forth week, things started to feel really off and her latch progressively got worse, so I started investigating her mouth. To my surprise, the poor girl had a lip tie. I also made a very rookie pumping mistake; pumping on the higher settings is not necessary, but only causes more damage. At one point when I began a pumping session, my nip began to bleed so aggressively that it drained into the bottle. I also struggled with severe engorgement and still struggle with a forceful letdown/oversupply and if I’m not careful it causes her to choke and cough during feeds. There are so many things with breastfeeding you can’t prepare yourself for and no number of articles or books, or advice can either. It’s such a personal experience that’s learned as you go.

Adelaide’s First Doctor Appointment

With her lip tie, we dealt with a lot of gas issues because her poor latch caused her to swallow air as she nursed. I quickly found out infant gas drops weren’t going to work for her, so we spent extra time burping her, more tummy time and regularly gave her gripe water which definitely seemed to help. On March 15, we took Adelaide to a pediatric dentist who did a lip tie revision with a laser and it made an immediate difference. It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch my baby cry because of pain, but she’s improving every day.

Lip Tie Revision

The next biggest problem we struggled with was a rash on poor Adelaide’s bottom. This began about week three. It was so bad that she had an open sore that we could not get to heal. We had tried multiple diaper creams and nothing seemed to help. We eventually stopped using wipes and strictly washed her in the sink during diaper changes, which seemed to cause less irritation. We eventually switched back to Water Wipes and Pampers Aqua Pure wipes and haven’t had an issue since. I’d say she has a sensitivity to the Huggies Natural wipes we used during week 2-3.

As far as Adelaide’s sleeping goes, she sleeps really well at night and goes down without a fuss. We’re not yet on a rigid sleep/feed routine, but she usually feeds 3-4 times between 10pm-8am. I typically give her a bottle of pumped milk just before I’m ready to go to bed. She drinks more from a bottle because it’s less work, meaning a fuller belly and a longer stretch of sleep for the both of us. One thing during this newborn stage I swore I’d never do was co-sleeping. But you just can’t predict what will work for you and your child ahead of time. Typically, I allow her to fall asleep on my chest or laying beside me then transfer her to her cuddle cove beside our bed, but some nights she stays in our bed all night. We’ve mastered side lying nursing which is helpful in keeping her from getting too aroused during nighttime feeds and she falls back to sleep like a dream. We will likely start the transition to her crib around three months, but until then I’m enjoying the cuddles.

As far as milestones during her first month, she’s getting stronger by the day with lifting her head and focusing on objects near her. She spent the whole first month in newborn diapers and clothes. At her one month doctor appointment she weighed 9lbs, 10oz and was 22” long.

Favorite Products During The First Month