The fastest month of my life has officially come & gone. I can’t believe we have a 1 month old! We’ve definitely been in a newborn blur over here, but I thought I’d check in & share Emmett’s 1 month update with you all. I previously shared his birth story, but I know I owe you a lot of other content in terms of why he had a little stay in the NICU, my postpartum experience, my workout routine while pregnant, & so much more that I promise I’ll get to one day.
Emmett’s 1 Month Update
I have learned & been challenged more in the past month than ever before. I have also never experienced so much love! The pure joy that holding your baby brings makes every challenge & all the sleep deprivation so worth it. It’s cheesy, but true.
GOOGLING OUR WAY THROUGH PARENTHOOD
We laugh about this, but some days it feels like we are googling our way through parenthood. We’ve also leaned so much on friends, family, & others who have a lot of experiences with babies that has been so helpful. In the end, it’s true what they say about a parent’s gut! You really do know best for your child & you will figure things out. We talked about things we were nervous about before the baby came & we’ve conquered all of those worries! We have found that the more we do something, the easier it gets. We’ve also found products & things that work well for us & baby through trial + error. I’m chatting more about some of those below + sharing how you can save on some of them now during Baby Month Deals happening at Target.
FAV BABY ITEMS
When I shared some of our baby registry must haves, many of you asked if I would revisit & share some of our favorite items once Emmett arrived & we started using them. While there are so many things we haven’t used yet, there are a ton of things we have. We’ve found what items we all prefer so far! I shared my opinions on one item, silicone breast pumps, last week in a post on the Haakaa vs. Elvie Curve. I’ll keep posts like that coming! Let me know any requests for comparisons or in depth reviews that you all have.
I mentioned that we’ve made a number of diaper runs to Target in the last month. Not only do they have the diapers we love, but they have one of our favorite shampoo & body wash (that I’ve actually been using for myself for years) & so many other essentials. Right now is actually Target Baby Month Deals, which means new deals for baby arriving each week, all month long. This week’s deal includes a Free $20 gift card when you spend $100 on select baby essentials like diapers, wipes, & toiletries from 08/29-09/04/2021. Plus, there are a ton of other deals! You can save on must have items all month like diapers & wipes or nursery furniture & baby gear!
One question I’ve gotten a lot is about what diapers we are using for Emmett. I know there are so many choices & some seem to work better for boys versus girls, but per the recommendation of a few boy mom friends, we’ve been using Pampers Swaddlers. We have been so happy with them! We’ve had more than one diaper run since he’s been born & I’ve never been more thankful to live so close to not one, but two different Target stores where they carry these. We love these because they are breathable & wick wetness away from the skin. They also have dual leak-guard barriers & a wetness indicator. Most importantly to us, they are free of parabens & latex & are hypoallergenic.
SCHEDULE, SLEEPING, & EATING
I can do more in depth posts on each of these topics when we’ve gotten the hang of it a bit more, but you all are definitely curious as to what schedule we are following & how Emmett is sleeping & eating. We’ve been following a schedule for him pretty much since he was in the hospital. It’s helped us stay on track with feedings to ensure he is eating enough throughout the day. He’s gotten a few longer stretches at night where he’s really just gotten up once in the middle of the night, but is not consistent with this just yet. His longest stretches have been about 3.5 to 4 hours so far.
As far as feeding goes I’ve been breastfeeding him & I also pump & use a silicone pump when I feed to store up some milk, which we use to bottle feed him with as well. We were offering bottles after breastfeeding at first per the recommendation of our doctor, but he needs them much less so now we’ll do it if I am not around, he’s cluster feeding, or if I’m trying to get a little extra sleep at night. The combination of breastfeeding & using bottles sometimes for more flexibility has worked well for all of us so far! Emmett seems pretty chill & will take most bottles, but it seems that some give him more gas than others so we’ve been playing around with this.
GROWTH
We actually take him back to the doctor tomorrow to check exact stats, but at his previous appointments he was growing great & we can tell he still is. Some outfits that were big on him when he first came home are now fitting & he has already outgrown some of the smaller ones. He’s growing a few more hairs, or the ones he does have are getting darker, & this week I started noticing more eyelashes. He’s been smiling already & already makes so many new facial expressions. It’s so fun to watch! We can’t wait to see how much more he grows & changes in the next month.
RECAP
This first month has been pure bliss. Sure, we are tired & are not sleeping as much in longer stretches like we are used to, but we know this is just a season of life & that he’ll be sleeping longer through the night (& so will we) soon. It’s crazy that even when he takes a short nap in his room or one of us doesn’t get up for a feeding at night that we miss him so quickly! Overall, Emmett is a pretty happy, chill baby. He really only gets fussy when he’s cold (during diaper changes or baths– although he’s even made big strides here) or when he’s hungry. We are so smitten with him!
I hope you all loved catching up on all things baby with Emmett’s 1 month update. If there is anything baby related (or not) you want me to share more about, please reach out & let me know! I am here to provide you all with the content you are interested in & that is helpful to you. I love to be a resource for you all however I can be. XO
Thank you so much to Target for partnering on this post. As always, all opinions are my own. Sponsored posts like these help make A Lo Profile possible.
