Dearest Cora,

Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it’s been a month (actually five weeks, oops!) since you joined our family. What a blessing!

You are such a sweet, easy-going baby — and we’d forgotten how quickly babies change and grow. Thankfully we’ve been snapping a ton of pictures,  because it already feels like we’ll blink and you’ll be three. Here are the highlights of your first few weeks:

Weight: 9 pounds, 13 ounces (up from 7 pounds, 8 ounces at birth)
Length: 22 1/4 inches (up from 20 1/2 inches at birth)

Eating
I’m delighted to say that you’re an excellent eater, just like Claire. Daddy and I were proud of how quickly you latched in the delivery room, and I feel like you’ve eaten every two hours since! The lactation consultant says you eat about 3.5 ounces in 10 minutes (that’s a lot…quickly!), so we’ve only been nursing on one side at a time. We tried your first bottle at four weeks, and you took it like a champ! Claire only liked Avent brand bottles — but so far you don’t seem to be picky (thanks!). Perhaps Daddy will consider taking over a nighttime feeding soon? 

Sleep
Oh, sleep. We’ll get you back one day! As second-time parents, we knew we’d be sleepy…but it’s hard to remember just how much we miss uninterrupted rest. You surprised us from the start, sweet Cora, by cluster-feeding your way through your first night in the hospital (rather than the second, as we’d expected). Thankfully you’re absolutely adorable, and Mommy spent that whole night just in awe of her new beautiful blessing.

Once we got home, you slept for four weeks (swaddled without arms) in a Pack-n-Play in Mommy and Daddy’s room. Unfortunately we’re all (ahem!) “loud” sleepers…so you’ve now made the big move to your own crib. Thankfully you’re a fan, and are much better at putting yourself to sleep than we were used to with Baby Claire. You’re still waking every 2 to 3 hours during the night, but once you have a clean diaper (thank you Daddy!) and fully belly, we can all be back to bed within about 20 or 30 minutes. No complaints here, sweet girl!

Play
Although Claire wishes you were ready for dress-up and bubbles and painting, we have to remind her that you’re still a little baby. These days, your playtime includes watching the birdies spin above your swing, keeping an eye out for Sister or Pinot, and taking a bath. You aren’t a huge fan of your activity mat, but we’ll keep trying! Unlike with Claire, we were out and about your first few weeks of life. You’ve been to restaurants, parks, even a fireworks show (we protected your ears!) and two breweries.

You’re loving…
Cuddling chest-to-chest with Mommy and Daddy, the pacifier (and so does Pinot — he keeps stealing them!), baths, the swing, and kicking around without your diaper!

You’re hating…
Hiccups (don’t we all!), getting dressed, and “witching hour” between about 6 and 8 p.m. 

Your Big Sister…
absolutely adores you! Claire is so jazzed about her new role, and will proudly tell anyone she meets that she has a new baby sister. She wants to help with bottles, baths, missing socks…you name it! We’ve started staying bedtime prayers as a family in your nursery, then we’ll read one story all together. It’s amazing to see your bond forming already.

This new adventure is just getting started, sweet Cora, and Daddy and I already feel like you’ve made our family complete. Thank you, precious girl. We adore you!

Loads of love,
Mommy and Daddy