Jessna is 1 month old!

On May 6, 2011 at 7:59am, our lives changed again forever!  Baby Jessna Josine came into the world and our hearts melted.  From the time we found out that we were pregnant, we named this little one Baby Surprise and for many reasons.  I didn't know I was pregnant until I was 13 weeks!  Read this POST for that story.  Also, we chose not to find out the gender just like we did with our firstborn. So Jessna was truly a surprise!!

This month has been a series of adjustments and transitions for our family.  Having baby #2 has been challenging and I knew that coming in.  First, since my parents couldn't be here for the birth to take care of Shrade I had to find someone to watch him for a few days.  Thank goodness for sacrificial friends!  Also, upon bringing home a newborn, I still have my toddler to care for.  It's been difficult juggling mealtimes, playtime and general daily duties.  I pray for strength each day!  The only thing easier about having a second child is knowing what to expect, the rest is hard.

birthday photo

Since I had such a rough time nursing Shrade, I really wanted to try harder with Jessna and so for the first two weeks I devoted myself to establishing my milk supply.  It's a lot different than bottle feeding and sometimes I feel that I'm a milk machine and that I can't really do much, but I know it's worth it to give my daughter the best!  It's such a special bonding time and I pray that I can continue as long as possible.

4 weeks old

So I have worked to establish somewhat of a routine.  Jessna takes really good day naps and feeds 8 times a day.  She is starting to have a really fussy time in the evening which keeps her bouncing between daddy and I.  Thankfully she only wakes up once in the night, but sometimes doesn't go back to sleep after feeding some nights.  That leaves me thoroughly exhausted the next day, but of course, I need to keep going for Shrade.

I love that friends have provided meals for us this month.  I don't know what I would have done without them.  Also, my husband was take off the first week after Jessna was born and my MIL came to visit for the next week and did a fabulous job entertaining Shrade.  She also babysat both kids so Jeremy and I  could go out on a date!

This is what Jessna does at one month:
*Eats every 2-3 hours (eats 8x a day)
*Sleeps a lot during the day
*Cries when hungry and can be a little fussy in the evening
*starting to hold head up
*making "o's" with her mouth
*gets up only once in the night
*weighs 8lb 8 oz, 21.5 inches long

She doesn't have a lot of awake time, but this next month I know will increase.  I plan to do some "baby learning" with her to develop her areas of growth.

I just love holding my little girl and last Sunday we had a wonderful open house/baby shower and received some really cute clothes.  Can't wait to dress her up!

Also, as I've been perusing pictures for the baby books, I am finding how much Shrade and Jessna look the same at birth.  It will be interesting to see if she looks more like older bro or different.

Jessna

Shrade