(Pictures of our 1 month old, taken with my phone's camera, at Nana's house in Indiana)
Dear Jocelyn,
You were one month old yesterday. You had quite the day. First of all, you were one thousand miles from home, in mama's hometown in Indiana. Also, you got to spend time with two of your Great Grandmas. You were a little fussy for Great Grandma Snyder, but she still said "she's so sweet" again and again. You fell asleep in your carseat leaving Grandma Snyder's and snoozed during the very short ride to Nean and Pappy's. You weren't overly thrilled when I tried to get you out of your carseat and give you to Nean, but she had the magic touch and managed to calm you down again. We had a nice visit.
(Not sure what happened to the rest of this post, I will attempt to recreate it later.)
Okay, I'm back. It is now the 24th of October, just a few days late. As I look back over the past month, I am struck with both the "how has it already been a month" and the "how has it only been a month" feelings. Definitely a month I am thankful for, and here are some things that stand out.
For a little girl who lives 1000 miles from your family, you have actually gotten to meet a lot of your family. Nana was able to come visit and so was Aunt Christa. Uncle John, Aunt Marissa, Uncle Evan, and Aunt Bri were able to spend a few days with us in Florida too. Then, in Indiana, you were able to meet Papa, Allison, Grandma, Grandpa, and all of the Youngs and Roses. (Of course the Great Grandparents too, but those were mentioned above!) You have been loved and adored by all who have been able to meet you. Everyone comments how precious, sweet, beautiful you are. You frequently get called a little doll by strangers and family alike. Aunt Julie and Uncle Bronson both mentioned how they couldn't help but notice how cute you were when they saw the first picture after birth.
I am figuring out some of the things that you like, and I think this is making you somewhat happier. You have always been a fairly alert baby, and you are getting more and more so. Your awake time is getting less painful for all of us. One night I was able to calm you down by moving my hand down from the air to your belly, saying "boop, boop, boop, babababababoop." You seemed to like this. You also seem to like having your legs moved in a "running" motion while on my lap. Tonight I sang a "do run run run, a do run run" to you while I did this. Sometimes you like laying with your tummy across my arm, facing down or outwards. You do like being rocked, swayed, patted, and bounced. You like these things a lot. Rocking in a rocking chair is becoming a big favorite of yours, and patting your back while rocking just sweetens the deal. You like being held out from the body, facing the person who is holding you. You especially like this if the person will bounce you while holding you this way. Grandma Emens would have been proud; you definitely approve of the "bottom pat" method of child calming. You love movement - either in your carseat or your stroller. Pretty much a car ride guarantees a great nap. If you are fussy or tired, jostling you is the way to fix it. I am beginning to think we may have doomed ourselves by naming you "Jocelyn" - both with your behavior in and out of the womb - but we'll cling to the fact that you also have provided us with much joy and we'll allow that to redeem the name.
Speaking of joy, you seem to be smiling on purpose. I realize this is early, and who knows if it is "real" or not, but it is defiinitely becoming more frequent. You gave dad a smile before we left for Indiana, you smiled really big at Mike Emens and I during Grandma Emen's funeral, you smiled at both Nana and Grandma during the trip, and you also smiled for Grandma Snyder. Dad was able to receive a welcome smile when we returned from our trip today. Hopefully this is a sign of more and more happiness to come. We hope you like us.
I love to kiss your cheeks. They are so soft. I love love love to rub my cheeks against yours and soak up your newness and your softness. Papa commented as he rubbed your head that you seem to like these touches as much as we do; it really calmed you down. Your "brand new" softness is fading, but it is being replaced by a squishy chubbiness that also makes me happy. In addition to the cheeks, you are beginning to work on an impressive set of chins.
If the cheeks and chins aren't enough of an indication, by all other accounts you seem to be off on a great track with nursing. You are gaining, peeing, pooping, gulping, and doing all the other things that a good eater should do. I am very thankful for this. Sometimes you refuse to eat from the second side, but, in general, you seem satisfied in those times. You still have some "in pain" moments during nursing, but maybe things are getting better. I am thinking that it is gas pains - not acid reflux or milk intolerance.
You have taken a pacifier some. You got it for the first time while Aunt Christa was here, and it seemed to coincide with your initial "pull away from me in pain and refuse to latch on" period. You quickly lost the pacifier privilege. However, things have gotten better with that, and I did let you have the pacifier more on our trip to Indiana. You did find your thumb a few times in this first month of life. We'll see how all of that ends up.
You aren't a great sleeper, at least you aren't great at putting yourself to sleep. As I mentioned before, you would prefer us to bounce, walk, pat, or rock you to sleep, or you would prefer a quick car trip to lull yourself off to dreamland. Once asleep, you will stay asleep okay, but you aren't currently stretching out your nighttime feedings yet. You eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, pretty much day and night. This is fine with me, but I would prefer that you realize the glories of nighttime sleep and stop having awake periods during the night. Probably 5 of 7 nights, you refuse to go back to sleep after one of your night feedings, and you stay awake to party instead. You will be fairly content if you are held, but not so much if we try to encourage you to take the party back to your bed. You also have a tendency to sleep for long segments during the day and then be awake for long segments, not the eat, wake, sleep cycle that "they" say you should.
Your brother and sister love you, even if they express this by touching your head a lot, picking you up and carrying you to me because "you're crying," or just repeatedly saying "she's so little." Most of the time, you love them. However, it does seem like having them constantly in your face, especially if you are already on edge, can really drive you nuts. We are still working on how to live in harmony as a family of five.
You did great on both plane rides to and from Indiana. You didn't sleep the whole time, but you didn't cry the whole time. A passenger in the row behind us didn't even know you were there. Thank you. Thank you for joining our family. Thank you for making us the "Sharbaugh Five." We are enjoying getting to know you. You have a wonderful daddy, and his wonderful support is part of the reason that I'm as upbeat as I am as I type this. I hope you will think you have a wonderful mommy too. You do have a mommy, at least, that loves you very very much, and will continue telling you that as long as I am able.
Happy First Month,
Love,
Mama
Love,
Mama
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