arden - one month

I wrote this whole post, and I thought saved it to my drafts.  Finally came to add the photos and everything but the first snippet is gone.  I could definitely cry right now.  It is hard to come by time to write! So I'm rewriting it, as best as I can.

Damn you time.  Just like that a month has flown by.  I must have known I'd have another baby after Thea.  While I can't wait to see what each new day brings, I'm definitely mourning every day that goes by.  Arden looks more like a 'real baby' than a newborn already!

Because her weight gain was great at our follow up weight check (up to 7lbs 7oz) Arden didn't have a one month appointment. Based on our ever inaccurate guess with our home scale, she was right around nine pounds at one month.  She is definitely filling out more and more, maybe just not quite as fast as Thea did.  HA.  Her limbs are too long for a lot of her newborn sleepers, especially if I try to put the mitts over her hands.  But 0-3 and 3 month clothes are so dang baggy.  We just opened up size one diapers because she has been leaking out of the newborns.  But it seems to be a brand issue more than anything.  All of my kids have used Pampers but they don't seem to be working for Arden!

For the most part nursing is going fantastically.  She nurses roughly every 2.5-3 hours throughout the day.  Sometimes she is fussy between then, but I try to keep from feeding her too much because she spits up so much.  So so so so much.  But she seems to be gaining weight just fine and isn't screaming all the time or anything, so I guess we'll just roll with it. We haven't tried a bottle yet, but I'm not having high hopes of it going well.  Just like all the other girls she isn't amused by the pacifier.  When I try to put it in her mouth she starts gagging and acting like I'm killing her.  Better get on the bottle thing before it is too late...

Sleep has been (knock on wood) not too shabby.  Much like our other children, it is hard for Arden to settle in for a nap during the day.  There isn't any just snuggling to sleep, and holding her or having her on my chest doesn't necessarily keep her asleep.  However when she wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night she goes back to sleep with little to no effort.  And by some miracle the sweet girl has already been giving me a few 5.5-7 hour stretches at night.  I don't know where this magical child came from, but I think I'll keep her.  I had hoped maybe I'd actually start a child on a flat surface so we wouldn't have the dreaded rock 'n play to crib transition, but if I lay her down flat she either just plain wakes up immediately, or spits up, wakes up, and gets the hiccups.  So we're sticking with what works at the moment and she is swaddled in the rock 'n play next to my bed.

I'm going to try not to constantly compare Arden to Thea, but my gosh, Arden is a much easier baby.  Not only was sleep pretty awful with Thea, and she was fussy much more often, she also screamed bloody murder every time she was in the car seat.  Sure Arden can be fussy, but she tolerates being in the car seat really well, and over all is just calmer and more easy going.  Between that and me getting a reasonable amount of sleep, (and a lot of help from my parents) this whole baby thing just seems so much easier.  It is glorious.  Without the help of my parents I no doubt would not be fairing near as well, but they are keeping me sane and us well fed.  :)  So very grateful for them!

In her first couple weeks of life, Chris compared Arden to a sloth, and the description was hilariously accurate.  She was fairly alert from the beginning, but all of her movements were so slow.  When she would turn her head or move her eyes, it was at a snails pace.  Once he called her a sloth I couldn't help but laugh watching her while she was awake.

Arden must have been born in the wrong month.  That baby doesn't like to be cold in the slightest.  When I'm having a hard time getting her to settle in for a nap, I stand in front of a space heater in our bathroom and sway.  It is like her kryptonite.  She often cries when someone with cold hands touches her.  She also seems fairly content when getting a bath, until you take her out and she gets chilly.  Sometimes we snuggle with big fluffy blankets and she really seems to like it.  I mean, whats not to love about big fluffy blankets but still.

Her sisters most definitely adore her.  I think Elsie says "Arden is sooo cute," at minimum ten times a day.  Ryann and Thea tell me she is cute too.  They have all been fairly helpful with her too, if I ask them to grab a diaper or a burp cloth, things of that nature.  They also enjoy holding her, however everyone has become a wee bit nervous about getting spit up on.  Elsie was holding her one afternoon and Arden spit up all over Elsie's hand.  I thought Elsie was going to throw her for a second!  She recovered quickly though.

Arden, sweet sweet baby girl, I am so thankful God sent you to me.  My heart needed you so much.  Me, your dad, your sisters, we are so happy you are a part of our family.  We love you so very much.

miss arden rae

Miss Arden Rae

7 pounds 2 ounces  |  20 inches

January 12th, 2018  |  1:04pm

I apologize for not sharing sooner, I know most people who still occasionally read the blog also follow me on instagram (the blog killer of the universe).  But some of you do not, so here you go!  Miss Arden Rae was born on January 12th at 39 weeks after a successful elective induction.  I'm working on writing out her birth story, but until then, labor was mostly uneventful, delivery was intense but uncomplicated, and I couldn't be more in love with our new precious little one.

I first came across the name Arden from a sweet little girl in Elsie's dance class when we lived in Kansas City.  It was different, but not absurd.  We considered it when I was pregnant with Thea, but obviously opted for Thea instead.  During this pregnancy we toyed with several names, Gemma, Harlow, Genevieve, Penelope... but ultimately we loved Arden the most, and I love the fact that it currently isn't anywhere close to the social security top 100.  Her middle name, Rae, is after my mother.

With as much help as my mother has provided over the years, and even more so now as we have brought home baby number four, I think she earned a namesake.  :)  Both she and my father have been amazing, taking and picking up children from here and there, cooking, watching the big girls, helping with lots of tasks.  I feel like we've almost seamlessly transitioned to a family of six, all because they have been so helpful.  We've had other family and friends lend a hand or a meal as well, and truly it has made such a positive impact on this post partum period.  I'm so grateful.

The girls are all very much in love with their baby sister.  Thea acts as if she has always been a part of the family, and while there have been a few trying moments, they have been very very few.  She has been incredibly helpful when I ask for something (a diaper, wipes, burp cloths), and has basically continued on like nothing has changed.  And honestly any poor behavior she has can easily be chalked up to the fact that she is two and has old sisters who don't always model the best behavior.  As in, she has the eye roll and the "uggghhh MOM" down.  Oy.

Arden has been such a sweet little baby.  Evenings are the fussiest, and so far no dice on her just laying down and falling asleep on her own.  Typical of our children.  What on Earth do I do to ruin them from the get go?  She has given me a few nights with amazing stretches of sleep in her three weeks of life, and nurses like a champ.  And spits up like a champ too, also typical of our babies.  But more on her in less than a week when she'll already be a month old.  Hold me.  Time is going way too fast.

It's crazy to look at our family pictures now, and know this is it.  This is my family.  No more wondering and waiting how our puzzle will be put together.  It is complete.

photo by Adrienne Maples