Baby's First Year: Week 5

on December 28, 2009 at 12:16 PM

Meet starburst1680, new mom to Kathryn Grace. We're joining her each week on the rollercoaster ride of motherhood, right up until Kathryn's first birthday.

Week 5:

New This Week

She seems to be staying awake more during the day and is starting to talk more. It's neat to hear her make intentional vocal sounds while looking at us rather than just the grunts and squeaks we have been hearing since she was born.

Baby's First Christmas

We went to church Christmas eve and Kathryn did really well! We sat in the main chapel, not the "cry room." I was pretty sure I was going to have to get up at some point to feed her but I didn't. She let out one cry the whole time and that was before Mass started. She slept pretty much the whole time.

To Kathryn, Christmas was like any other day, though she did love looking at the Christmas trees and lights. At first we thought it was just the lights on the trees but she likes to look at our tree even with the lights off.

Celebrating Christmas as a mom this year actually didn't really feel that much different because it felt like Kathryn has always been here and she fit right in.

Challenge of the Week

We're still waiting for her umbilical cord stump to fall off. The skin attached to it is getting smaller but still hanging on. This morning, I noticed a little blood at the bottom of the stump. I wiped it off and am keeping a close eye on it. If I see any more I'll call the doctor. Perhaps it just got snagged on her clothes.

We are also still trying to figure out her sleeping at night. We start the night in her pack ‘n play. She still won't sleep there for more than an hour or two at the beginning of the night. After that, I move to the sofa so she can sleep in her swing.

Last night she slept for seven and a half hours straight in her swing! I don't know what to do to get her to sleep that long in her pack ‘n play or crib, though. Once she has slept in her swing for a couple of hours and woken to eat, I put her back to sleep in her pack ‘n play and she will then sleep there for three hours or so.

We're celebrating starburst168's first year with baby, so thanks for keeping your judgments about her parenting choices to yourself!

How did you celebrate baby's first Christmas? Do anything different from the norm this year? What did your baby like best -- the tree, lights, church?

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Previous Weeks:

Week 4: Sleeping Less, Not More

Week 3: First Giggle

Week 2: First Outings

Week 1: Meet Mom and Baby

About the author Cynthia Dermody

is The Stir's Managing Editor who has trophies in her home for her skills at the Irish Jig. She makes cupcakes with as many fattening ingredients as possible, doesn't comb her hair for months at a time, and was probably a faerie in a former life.

Filed Under: baby first year, health, milestones, sleep

Comments (3)

bossystampa

on Dec 30, 2009 at 4:33 PM

Looks like our little girls are days apart! Are you following any sleep/eat programs (we are reading and working through Baby Wise)? How much time does she spend awake? Are you planning on going back to work? Thank you sharing your journey - nice knowing there are others with the same things going on!

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athenax3

on Dec 31, 2009 at 8:46 AM

aww, she is beautiful! and only three weeks younger than my new son! I enjoy reading this, it sort of helps me compare you know? (not in a bad way, just a checking to see if that's normal way, lol) My little guy is and has been a pretty good sleeper, but we had to start letting him sleep on his tummy- though we know they advise against this and I was up every two miniutes checking on him, he sleeps all night if we put him on his tummy, only waking once if at all and he's been that way since about six weeks.(my youngest dd also would only sleep in her swing though, so been there done that!)

I don't think little Van noticed christmas too much, though he did seem to enjoy sitting in his swing in front of the tree looking at the lights. (aren't they all fascinated with lights?)