Sunday, December 13, 2009

My 1-month Old Angeli

How time flies indeed! Went to see Angeli's pedia for her 1st-month well-baby check up and everything went smoothly. She is now 9.6 lbs from her birthweight of 7.5 lbs. We have here a healthy baby with a hearty appetite! hehe... I'm just glad that she is purely breastfed na. :)

For the purpose of accounting her progress to her pedia and my personal record of her milestones, I have taken account of what she can do as of the moment.

I am surprised bec. she can actually lift her head up a bit (although still needing very delicate handling) at about two weeks. I would notice it when I am making her burp. And now, at a month-old she is really gaining strength in her neck muscles. I am actually encouraged by her pedia to give her some tummy-time (for as long as 30 mins. a day) but I rarely did at 2 weeks bec. I dont want to put strain in her very delicate neck muscles and nerves just yet.
I have actually captured a video of her the first time I gave her tummy-time and was surprised to find her being able to lift her head and shift from side to side at 2 weeks!!! So I made it a regular routine everyday right after bathing her and giving her a massage.

She can also grasp quite well. I discovered this while bathing her as she would hold on to my pointer finger everytime I would be soaping her hand :) Another thing I have noticed is that her hand finds its way to her mouth already, thus the need for more mitten change throughout the day, as I am very meticulous about this. I just dont like the smell of stinky breastmilk on my little girl's fingers...and I would surely notice this as I love to smell my baby's hands & toes all the time, hehe...

She can also gurgle and coo for a bit, but she gets startled when she does. Its kinda funny seeing her reaction. But I try to talk to her especially during nappy-change as I am soothing her. At 3 weeks, I first heard her giggle while asleep in my arms right after she had her fill of breastmilk in one of our dawn feeding schedule.

She can also follow her crib mobile and her red-black & white book around. And she enjoys music too. Her first one is her crib mobile's but now she is also familiar with her signature bedtime music "Bless My Little Girl" while her daytime naps are accompanied with either Christian Bautista's rendition of Jose Mari Chan's songs or the new christmas album of Sarah Geronimo, to the delight of her nanny..hehehe =) Angeli recognizes both her Daddy's voice, which is always acknowledged by having her two brows knitted =) while her Ahia's always challenge her to listen to where it is coming from as my little boy loves to run around a lot.

I have noticed that this little one is also a music-lover just like her Ahia Benedict. And so, she is easily senstitve to the squeals and laughter of her older sibling. But I can also sense that she likes to hear her Ahia's voice bec she would sometimes strain her neck to "listen" to her Ahia's chatter and try to follow his voice around the room. I am happy that his Ahia is also so enarmored with the tiny princess. Inspite of the lack of sleep and early wake-up time, a mom couldn't ask for more!

Angeli had her shot of Hepa B and I am happy that she had no fever reaction to the vaccination. I just pray that she will be like Ahia too who is not afraid of injections. Oh, she had her ear-holing done too. Actually she had it 2 days after birth but we had to come back to have the right one re-done as her pedia doesnt like the placement of the first one.

~ o ~

I also went to my post-partum check up and am happy to learn that I have already lost 21 lbs since Angeli's birth. Im now down to 125 lbs from being 146 lbs when I was weighted just before being wheeled into the DR. This is part of why I totally love breastfeeding, yey! Effortless (read: happy ang tamad! =D) weight reduction while ensuring the baby's good health. :) I am far from my pre-pregnancy weight though. Still need to shed off about 15 lbs or so to get back into my old clothes, but I am cutting myself a slack esp. since its the holiday season and good food abound.

My OB is also a BFing advocate so he is encouraging me to continue with it. I am only too happy to oblige. Esp.since I want to put into good use the new wardrobe I have purchased to accommodate this special time in my life where Angeli is an extension of my breast...or is it the other way around? ;-)

I am just a happy, happy Mommy!!!