It seems like yesterday when I delivered her. Gosh, can you believe it? Time flies. It has been more than a month since her arrival on September 7th. Nevertheless, the journey of the first 30 days with my beloved Annakate has been challenging yet rewarding.
A newborn like Annakate is so fragile and she relies solely on me to live on each day. Living in the new world might seem terribly scary to her as she was so comfortable in my womb for 41 weeks. Oh well, my precious Annakate is indeed a heart warmer which I obviously would not trade these precious moments with anything else. Whatever moans and groans of childbirth afterpains can be miraculously forgotten by simply staring at her.
Truth to be told, if someone said I was a confident mother, he or she is dead wrong. I was a complete nerve wreck and absolutely nervous about everything. The first month of Annakate’s life feels like a whirlwind. Mike and I will freak out when she scratched her angelic face with her fingernails. I would cry when she cried during the first two weeks. I turned monstrous when I couldn’t calm her down. I went bonkers when she would not want to sleep at night. I wailed like a baby when she was having cluster feedings which caused me to have super sore (overworked) breasts. There was a lot going on and it is no kidding why some mothers develop postpartum depression (PPD).
I would tend to ask myself a bunch of silly questions. Is she drinking enough? Is she gaining enough weight? Is she moving enough? Is she too hot? Is she too cold? Is she okay with this diaper? When is her next poop coming? Why is she spitting up so much?
My tears would stream down my cheeks when Annakate spits up constantly. I got so worried about her spitting up and only to find out that, reflux (spitting up) is common in new babies and this condition usually goes away after the first few months. I felt a huge relief to know that the muscles of esophagus are not mature in newborns which causes milk to flow up. As long as there are 6 to 8 wet diapers and a bowel movement daily, I should not be worried. In addition, she was not losing any weight. As of today, she weighs about 9.5 pounds (4.31kg). She gained almost 1 pound since her 17-day old check up.
Generally in the first 30 days of Annakate’s journey, she doesn’t have alot of control over her movememnts but she is learning to turn her head from side to side. It can be jerky and quivering when I carry her upright. She is also rapidly learning how to interact with us and responding to our voices. She definitely recognizes us by turning her head towards our voices and her sensory skills are picking up for sure. Sometimes, Mike would give her some tummy time and she could lift her head up for more than 2 seconds before she buries herself into his chest.
But hey! All these challenges and hurdles of the first month is all about learning and slowing down enough to rest, recover, and get to know my baby well. By the end of the first month, we will be surprised at the changes that have occurred in Annakate and to find out we passed the first month challenge – to be a confident parent.
Oh boy, I have talked typed too much. I have uploaded a youtube video which consists of photos and videos taken to capture those precious memorable moments of Annakate’s first 30 days as a newborn. I hope you enjoy the video as she is simply too adorable to be missed out.