Month 1: Peace and Quiet are Overrated

The kids wanted to give Ellie's one month update together. Ellie talks like this and Kekoa talks like this.

I hope you weren't fooled by Mommy's last post. I am an adorable angel, of course, but I also have a feisty side. This girl knows how to bust a move! The other day I demonstrated my mad breakdancing skills - Mommy and Daddy looked over to find my whole torso and legs off the ground, while I balanced on my shoulders and head.  My motto is "Play hard, sleep hard."

And sometimes you just fall asleep in the middle of playing.

I don't get it. Everyone's all, "Wow, look at strong she is!" and I'm all, "Dude, she's a blob! Watch me almost do a somersault!" And speaking of double standards, MAJOR shiftiness here. One minute you're wrestling with Dad and everyone thinks it's funny and the next minute everyone's like "No, don't Hulk smash the baby!" And then the baby spits up and they're all like, "Oh, do you feel better, sweetie?" and then I spit and they're all like, "No spitting!" And let's not even get started on the diapers vs. potty. 

For some reason, it's cute when *I'm* hiding, but not cute when I help Ellie hide

Whatever, brother. Back to me. I really like riding in the sling, cooing, and pretty dresses. Actually, I don't really care about dresses at all. In fact, I personally share my brother's opinion that clothes ought to be optional. But for some reason everyone else seems to think they're great, and headbands too.  And hey, I'm not one to refuse adoration.

I try to be really helpful, but sometimes I just feel unappreciated. I keep trying to give the baby her pacifier but she refuses to take it. So I offer her my finger instead like I see Daddy do and then I'm being whisked away. I try to help burp her like Mommy, but I'm not allowed to anymore because they say I'm doing it "too hard". Do you want this kid to burp or not? And how exactly was I supposed to know her diapers were clean before I threw them away?  Just doing what I see my parents do, ya know?

Mommy says this is the most helpful job I have because it makes us all happier.

My brother's all right, I guess. He's kinda noisy and he keeps trying to stick his fingers in my mouth, but he's the first one to worry about me when I cry. That's really nice of him, because he always runs to get Mommy and tells her that I'm sad.  And he always makes sure to kiss me good night before his naps and bedtime. If Mommy and Daddy forget, he knocks on the door to remind them.

Supervising tummy time

The baby's all right, I guess. I really like holding her tiny little hands and counting her toes. And I really love kissing her. It makes me really sad when she cries and I try to make her feel better, but sometimes that just makes her cry harder and that makes me sad too.  But it makes me happy when Mommy lets me hold her all by myself.

Holding Hands

One Month

Different

It's early to make blanket statements, but so far, Ellie's infancy has been basically the opposite of Kekoa's infancy. Observe:

2-week-old Kekoa: "I woke up and there's no one holding the baby. ALERT ALERT ALERT! Child neglect! Call the fire department!"

2-week-old Ellie: "Oh hey, I just woke up in my bed. Oooh, pretty window. Hey, maybe I should cough to let Mom know I'm awake. Or not."

The first responder to Ellie's cries. That might possibly be the reason she cries so little.

2-week-old Kekoa: "Hmm, it's dark in here and I don't hear any noises. The parentals seem to be passed out on the bed. ALERT ALERT ALERT! Are you guys alive? EVERYBODY PANIC! The baby's going to starve to death in a wasteland of corpses!"

2-week-old Ellie: "Hmm, it's dark in here and I don't hear any noises. That must mean I should go back to sleep for a few more hours."

"Will six hours be enough, Mom? Or should I go for seven?"

2-week-old Kekoa: "I'M HUNGRY. FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME."

2-week-old Ellie: "Hey Mom, I'm a little hungry. I might cry if you don't feed me in the next fifteen minutes. Oh what's that? You're unloading the dishwasher? That's cool, go ahead and finish. I might just go back to sleep anyway."

Just me, chilling until someone can get to me

2-week-old Kekoa: "I'm little. Feed me every two hours. What does the clock say? Two hours is coming up! Isn't it time yet? How about now? No? How about now? No? How about every hour instead?"

2-week-old Ellie: "I'm little, so I must need sleep to grow. Don't worry, Mom, I'll eat well when I wake up, but I've still got another hour in me."

Next to a 6-9 month onesie - hard to imagine this fitting her five months from now!

2-week-old Kekoa: "I want to nurse. I want to nurse in this position, all the time. Do. not. move. Do not scratch your nose. Do not adjust your arm. Do not sneeze. If you move from this position I cannot nurse and I will starve. And there will be pain."

2-week-old Ellie: "Whatevs, Mom. Just so long as there's milk."



To be fair, Kekoa had undiagnosed food allergies that caused acid reflux, so it wasn't all personality. The poor little guy was in pain most of the time. But oh boy am I glad we had him first.  If Ellie had been born first, we would have been absolutely blindsided by Kekoa. Even if this is a just a prolonged sleepy newborn stage, it has been amazing to get a chance to recover.