Sofia's 1 Month Birthday

Well, we three have made it through the first month! From my foggy calculations, I figure that we have changed about 250 diapers, fed her about 250 times and averaged about 4 hours a sleep per night (sometimes between us!). It is pretty amazing what you can get used to in a very short amount of time but I would be lying if I didn't admit that we had loads of help. Until just last weekend, we had either my mom or Ann and Bernard here helping out. So this marked out our official first week as a family flying solo. But Sofia won't have time to get too bored with us, as my sister arrives in just 4 days to entertain and delight. We can hardly wait!

This month has had its ups and lows but each day gets better and more rewarding as Sofia gets more alert. She now can stay awake for a couple hours at a time and likes to stare intently at our faces. Sometimes her serious concentration face is due to her trying to mimic our silly faces and sometimes it is due to other more pressing matters in the nether regions. Both circumstances are funny to us. She is also is on the verge of smiling and I think it will be any day now when she reveals her gummy grin.

For those of you who are interested in breastfeeding matters - read on; for those who are not - skip this paragraph. Some of you may be wondering how the feeding is going. Well after ordering special equipment, seeing several lactation consultants, going to breast feeding clinics, seeing my own OB and even asking my own mother in law to help me shove my boob into Sofia's mouth, I have called it a day. I made it until she was a month old, but in the end I had to give up. I am disappointed I couldn't go longer and some of you may also be a bit disappointed to hear the news, but I will only allow criticism from those readers who have also experienced cracked, bleeding nipples for an entire month!

In other news, Sofia's hips continue to improve. The orthopedic surgeon has confirmed that her hips are now back into place and now she just needs to wear the brace until her hips are set permanently. We go back for another check-up on Oct 22nd.

She has also now received a Social Security Number and an official birth certificate making her a real person and now longer just a figment of our imaginations. More news later...

Love, Rachelle, Antony & Sofia