What to Expect: Month One

Today is the day my precious angel turns one month old to the date (31 days). It is crazy how much she has grown and changed already. The last couple weeks have been absolutely amazing. I am so beyond blessed to have such an amazing daughter. I thank the Lord every day! :)

But on to the topic of this blog...

I am sure many of you have heard of the book "What to Expect the First Year."

The book breaks down each month of the first year and explains what to expect (obviously). And at the front of each chapter there is a breakdown of things the baby could or should be able to do. Each month I want to compare Cote's progress to what the book recommends. I believe it will be a great way to share her growth with everyone, which by the way is incredible. She is growing every day! It’s a beautiful thing to watch!!

Anyways...

According to the book:

By month one, your baby...

...should be able to:

lift head briefly when on stomach and flat surface

focus on a face

...will probably be able to:

respond to a bell in some way, such as startling, crying, quieting

...may possibly be able to:

lift head 45 degrees when on stomach

vocalize in ways other that crying (e.g. cooing)

smile in response to your smile

...may even be able to:

lift head 90 degrees when on stomach

hold head steady when upright

bring both hands together

smile spontaneously

Well, I am very pleased to inform you that my Cote Bear can do ALL of those wonderful things. I am amazed every single day at how strong she has become and how alert and responsive that she is. She can even support herself on her legs with a lot of help of course. This little baby is beastly! ;)

She has also really begun to display her personality! When I first brought her home she was very calm all day. She slept a lot and was on a pretty regular schedule. However, this last week or so Oscar the Grouch has taken over. I believe it is a growth spurt, but Miss Cote only sleeps at night and mid-day and only with me holding her. If she is awake she wants to eat all the time. If she is not doing either of those things she has been pretty fussy. It’s slowly getting better, but things have been wild.

Actually, today had gone well. As long as she is not too hot, which has been hard in this weather, she is pretty much a happy camper. She smiles, makes sounds, stares out the windows, watches TV, and talks to mommy!! It’s hard to believe there is such personality in such a little person!

I cannot wait to continue to watch her grow and progress. Some more things that have been tried out this month were bathing, pacifiers, bottles, and vitamins.

When it comes to bathing... OMG! This little girl loves to have her hair washed. We haven't done a submersed bath yet, but when I hold her head under the faucet she seems completely at peace. I have never seen a face like hers. She seemed completely blissfully, happy!! It was amazing!!

As for pacifiers... let’s just say she does NOT like it!! I waited till about week three to give it to her because I did not want to mess with her nursing abilities. Every time I try to give it to her she gets a look of complete disgust and then gags herself. Secretly I have to say it makes me happy that she is not interested. I am pretty out on pacifiers while nursing due to my fear of nipple confusion which brings me to bottles.

I had to introduce her to bottles for a couple of reasons. One reason to introduce her to bottles now is so that she will accept them later on when I go back to school. The other reason I had to give her a bottle was because every time I tried to give Cote the vitamins she needs, she would choke. It was not pretty, so to kill two birds with one stone I put her vitamins in a bottle I pumped fresh each night. It was working beautiful, but I have stopped on the vitamins while we get through this slump.

Hopefully, things will all get better with tummy, and she will continue to blossom!!

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