1month

One Month Old

Etta’s umbilical stump finally fell off, after 29 days! For the last few days it had been hanging by just a few blood vessels and each time I changed her diaper I had to resist the urge to snip it off with scissors. I wondered if it could actually remain there indefinitely (was blood still circulating into the stump?) and I was going to ask the doctor to surgically remove it. Etta’s new belly button is still a bit crusty, but it looks perfectly symmetrical, and well, cute as a button!

Now that Etta had a neat little belly button instead of a scraggly umbilical stump, we gave her a soak in the tub for the first time. My husband was up for a challenge, so he gave Etta her bath while I hovered beside them with the camera. We had a plastic tub which fit into the kitchen sink and allowed Etta to be supported in a reclined position. Etta’s little frog legs kicked continuously and my husband was surprised at how much he had to hold onto her even with the supportive design of the tub. Etta was very alert through the whole process, but didn’t seem afraid. She has a good startle reflex, so I had expected a few tears, but she only cried toward the end, when she was taken out of the water.

One night Etta fell asleep around 11:30pm, whimpered briefly but never woke at 2:30am, and continued to sleep until 6:15am. I contemplated waking her but didn’t want to discourage her from sleeping through the night if that’s what she wanted to do. After pumping my breasts at 3:00am I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was so excited about Etta sleeping so long! I was also concerned, and kept peering into the carriage to check that she was breathing. The next night she’d returned to her "up an hour, sleep an hour" routine.

After several weeks of being bald as an egg on the top of her head, Etta’s hair sprouted overnight. She now has a downy crop of peach fuzz emerging and it appears to be the same color as the hair that she shed: strawberry blonde. She’s also growing eyelashes. They are coming in thicker and are getting longer, and set off her smiling eyes beautifully. Her eyebrows remain just a faint suggestion. I suspect that her eyes will end up a murky hazel like my husband’s and her big sister’s because at the moment they are a deep blue, far too dark to become the pale blue that mine are.

She has gained a lot of strength in her neck this week and now when I put her up to my shoulder for a burp she lifts her head away and shakes it back and forth like the singer Stevie Wonder. It’s quite hysterical to watch and has earned her a new nickname: "Little Stevie." Because Etta holds her head up, it is easier to carry her around. I can carry her upright with one arm now, whereas just a few days ago I had to use my other hand as well to support her neck and head.

Etta had her 1 month well-baby visit this week and she weighed in at 10 pounds 2 ounces, and measured 23 Ľ inches long. She has a nasty rash on her face, head, neck and chest which the doctor assures us is normal and related to "baby acne." The pimples on Etta’s nose have disappeared – now it is the rest of her body that is covered in spots!

Etta has discovered her hands. She opens and closes her fist while looking at it, though I’m not sure if she realizes that she is making it happen, or if she just happens to be doing it and it catches her eye. She is also content to lie on her back and bat at a roly-poly toy with her hand for up to a half hour! She coos, laughs, and smiles at the toy, and will follow it with her eyes as it moves about.

Etta is growing and changing so quickly. By the end of the month she weighed 11 pounds and had grown into most of her outfits that are size 3 to 6 months. It is exciting when she grows into something new, but it’s also sad because she has outgrown many of the gowns and other tiny clothes she wore in her first weeks. Etta is really fattening up and finally looking like a bouncing baby instead of stick-legged old lady. Her thighs are filling out and her feet are getting some padding, too. Her hands are looking more appropriate, though her knuckles are still prominently bony.

There are things about her that I love that I never want to forget, like the way she purses her lips when she’s concentrating. I like how her pointy ears hug the side of her head, and how soft and pliable they are. I love how her tongue quivers when she laughs or smiles broadly – I wish I knew how to do that! I love how she snuggles into me when she’s sleepy, and sighs in contentment. And this sounds terrible, but I like how she throws her arms and legs out suddenly when she’s on the changing table and startles, because it’s one of the few newborn reflexes that remains. She’s almost two months old, and not a newborn anymore.