Baby Erin - 5 Weeks Old

It doesn't seem 5 minutes since she was born but Erin is 5 weeks old now, the last few weeks have just gone so so fast. How is it March already?! I thought it would be nice to do some updates on how Erin is doing and how we're getting on as a family of 4. Even if no-one reads them it'll be nice to look back on ;)

Feeding

Erin is formula fed and we have just increased her milk to 5oz which she has every 4 hours or so. I'm not strict on routine so if shes sleepy and it goes past 4 hours I won't wake her, she'll soon tell me if shes hungry! And likewise sometimes it can be less than 4 hours but we generally go with the flow - sometimes she'll guzzle the entire bottle in one go but sometimes she has a bit, then comes back to it 20 minutes later. 

I have to say I am finding the guidelines for formula prep a bit different to when Elliot was a baby. With him I used to pre-fill the bottles in the morning using cooled boiled water and just add the formula as and when we needed, and he always took the milk at room temperature. Apparently now the water has to be a certain temperature to kill the bacteria so I've been relying on my perfect prep machine to make bottles on demand. But I'm still wondering the best way to do bottles if I'm out and about for the day.  I've been using the Cow & Gate pre-made bottles which are really handy but expensive so I need to figure out a routine for milk prep! 

Sleeping

Touchwood we aren't doing too bad with sleep! Erin will have a bottle around midnight and we're usually still up so one of us will do that before bed. And then she goes straight down until her next feeds at 4 and 8ish. Sometimes I struggle to stay awake when I'm doing the 4am feed but I catch up on Facebook or play candy Crush to keep my eyes open! 

We don't have a bedtime routine yet and to be honest I can't really remember how we got into a routine when Elliot was a baby so this will be something that sorts itself out over the coming weeks. At the moment Erin has her milk in the evening and will sleep on one of us or in her moses basket while we watch tv - I haven't got a monitor set up on her crib yet so I don't really want to put her in our bedroom whilst we are in the other room. 

Erin's favourite sleeping position - on Mummy!

Erin has plenty of naps in the daytime and really likes snoozing in her carseat, either when I'm out walking with the pram or in the car. We've just bought another buggy too and she slept for hours in that last week! 

Development

Erin is so much more alert now when she's awake and she has really started to look at things. She is fascinated by looking outside so sometimes I sit her in her bouncer when I'm getting things done and she is mesmerised by the trees. She recognises my voice now if I call her and her eyes will follow me if I put her down! 

One of my favourite milestones happened this week - smiles!! I've been looking forward to this as it's so lovely when you get something back from them and she has definitely started giving us smiles. I thought it might be wind at first but there's a real difference between windy smiles and real smiles! I now can't wait til she starts giggling :) 

We went to the baby clinic last week to get Erin weighed and she was 9lb 6oz - she still seems so dinky though compared to Elliot. When he was 5 weeks old he was already about 13lb so he was much much bigger! She is starting to fit her clothes better now and the 0-3 sleepsuits aren't as baggy. 

Out and About

I'm back behind the wheel now after a few weeks break after my c-section so it's been nice to get out and about again! We went to our first baby class this week and I had a bit of deja vu as it was the same class I attended with Elliot! It's my local under ones and the lady who runs it is absolutely lovely and so I couldn't wait to go back. As predicted, Erin slept most of the time we were there but she did wake up for the singing! 

Dressed all pretty for her first Under One's :)

We went for a little trip to our local Morrison's this week as I wanted to look at the baby clothes and Erin was cooed over by several older ladies. It did make me laugh though as two of them asked how old she was and when I said 5 weeks, they couldn't believe I was out! "Oh, 5 weeks! You should be at home!". Is this a generation thing?! Did new Mums not leave the house in the olden days?! One lady did say I looked very well and fit though so I'll take that ;) 

Big Brother Elliot

Elliot is still loving having a baby sister and is so sweet with Erin. He just wants to kiss and cuddle her all the time and the other day he said "she's got sparkles in her eyes!" - cute!! He pops her dummy back in if she's crying but there's not a chance in hell he'll go near her if she's done a poo ;)

How Many Outfits?!

Erin spends the majority of her life in sleepsuits as they are comfy and easy to put on but she also has so many nice little outfits that I try and put her in at least once. I am finding it a bit weird dressing her in girly outfits though! I'm so not girly and I've spent the last 4 years dressing a boy who loves nothing more than wearing jeans and a tshirt so it's been odd getting her in a dress! Here's just a few of her outfits she's worn recently: 

What about me?

I've been feeling really well actually and my c-section scar isn't giving me any problems. I still have to be a bit careful when I hoover but generally I'm back doing everything I did before. 

Erin has just slotted into our lives and routines so I have been out meeting friends and doing my shopping as normal, albeit with a pram in tow! I'm also back at choir which is amazing, I really really missed it in the 4 weeks I didn't go. I'm lucky that my husband is very hands on so he has no issues in dealing with two children while I swan off to choir every wednesday evening ;) 

 I've had it quite easy over the last few weeks because my husband has been working from home and has been taking Elliot to pre-school in the mornings so I've not had to rush around too much. He's back at work next week though so I'm sure it's going to be a struggle getting everyone ready to get out of the house for 830am - gulp!