Baby Needs

As Audrey's mom and pop, Chris and I are figuring out what she needs, when she needs it and how she tells us.  We already knew that babies need to be fed, kept clean and dry, put to sleep, and most importantly given lots of love.  We have been learning more from our stack of books about what parents should do.

Food

Audrey has been eating well and gaining about an ounce-ounce and a half per day.  She is very in-tune with her momma's eating schedule; most meals, when I sit down to eat Audrey makes her request to eat too.

Audrey getting weighed

Audrey showing off a chubby thigh

Milk Coma

Clean and Dry
Diaper changes are hit or miss, sometimes she is mesmerized by the red light above the changing table, sometimes she wails.  The constant is wet or dirty diapers, which is another sign she has been eating well.

Audrey loves baths.  Her first one took some getting used to the water, but she soon was blissfully floating and fondly remembering her long months of floating in the womb.  Now, mom and dad fight over whose turn it is to enjoy a bath with her.


 




Sleep
Sleep?  What's that?  Audrey knows, she sleeps in 2-4 hour stretches about 15-16 hours a day; mom and dad just have memories of it.

"I rock at sleeping!"

Lovely swaddle job

Love

Is it possible to give a baby to many kisses?  I think not.  We find plenty of time for snuggling.

Cord Care

Audrey's umbilical cord stump fell off on Day Eight.  It was a surprise at changing time to notice it sudddenly wasn't there anymore, later we found it wrapped up in the back of her onesie.  Now she has an adorable, very kissable, belly button.

Tummy time

This girl is going to be doing push ups soon, for now its just lounging.

Skin to Skin

The Moby Wrap (baby carrier) instruction booklet lauds the benefits of skin to skin contact, including improving baby's sleep time and quality, lowering stress hormones, reducing crying, and increasing baby's overall health.  Sounds good to me.

Auto CAD
All babies should be exposed to this engineering design software

You can't always get what you want, but if you cry sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.