one month

dear Victoria, 

today, you are one month old! while nearly everyone who sees you comments on how teeny tiny you are, to me, you are already looking so much bigger than when you were born. you hold your head up like a little meerkat and peer over my shoulder, taking in the world around you. even when you wave your arms around, your movements are smoother and more controlled than they were just four weeks ago. while I love to see you grow and develop, there's a part of me that is begging for time to just slow down.

one week old

this month, you were able to get lots of snuggles in with Grammie. Nana and Pappy drove out to meet you when you were five days old. you've met other friends, family, and neighbors too. you came to mass for the first time last week, and you've been to the pool a few times (just snoozing in your stroller, not in the water yet!). 

Amy with two of her doula babies!

Aunt Amy

Aunt Amelia & Aunt Blair

you are just the snuggliest!

at two weeks old, you were diagnosed with hip dysplasia and fitted for a Pavlik harness that keeps your left hip tightly flexed up and out (more details here). yesterday, you had your two-week follow up appointment. first, you had an ultrasound done of both hips. this was the first time you had had any imaging done of your hips, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. they had recommended bringing a bottle to give you if needed to keep you still, but you slept through the entire thing! the technician used the wand on the back part of each hip for about 30 seconds, captured the images on video, and was then able to save still shots from the video to get the measurements she needed. the whole thing took less than ten minutes.

tiny samosa

cuddles after your ultrasound

immediately after the ultrasound, we met with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon. he said your left hip is severely dysplastic, but thank goodness, it's now perfectly in position with the harness and he didn't need to make any adjustments. your right hip is considered "immature" but developmentally appropriate for a baby less than 12 weeks old. the alpha angle (measuring the depth of the hip socket) is 53 degrees on the right; at your age, angles from 50 to 59 degrees indicate immature hip development, but 90% of these progress to completely normal hips, so the doctor said he isn't concerned about the right side at all. the angle on the left is 45 degrees. you'll stay in the harness around the clock for now and we go back in three weeks for another ultrasound and ortho appointment. 

your beautiful blanket from Aunt Beth

loving this woven silk wrap on loan from Aunt Amelia

at your one month well visit today, you weighed 8 lb 1 oz with the harness on -- it weighs about 3 oz so your true weight is about 7 lb 14 oz, up from 6 lb 3 oz at birth! go baby go! just like your sisters, you eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day, and every 3 to 4 hours at night. however, unlike your sisters, we made the transition to formula feeding a few weeks ago. with each baby this transition has happened earlier and earlier: Greta at nine months, Cecilia at six months, and Elizabeth at three months. you had some trouble latching during your first week of life, and due to concern for jaundice, I decided to start supplementing with formula and expressed milk. we kept up with that for the next week, and then just transitioned to formula due to several factors: your Pavlik harness made it difficult to nurse you in the best positions that work for me, I wasn't able to pump as often as I needed to keep up supply, and I felt much more relaxed knowing for sure that you were getting enough to eat. I've always had a somewhat neutral approach to breastfeeding: I'm happy to do it as long as it's working well, but I have no desire to make my life revolve around it. I also don't like to nurse in public and I especially hate pumping once I go back to work! your sisters have all thrived after transitioning to formula, and so far you are too. in fact, you often hum to yourself while drinking your bottles, which is just the sweetest ever.

you came along to the pool while Greta swam with friends and Mommy read a book!

we love you to the moon and back, sweet Victoria! 

this smile was a fleeting expression, not a true social smile, but I'll take it!