Scarlett Myra Farrugia
Born - 24th August, 2015 at 1.35pm
3.19 kg's and 44cm in length
First Daughter to Daniel and Candice Farrugia
Stats at end of month (24th September)
3.792kg & 52.5cm in length
24th September, 2015
Dear Scarlett,
Although I am a couple of days late in writing this, I am so excited that you are already a month old. This month has went so quickly and even though Daddy & I are lacking a lot of sleep, it has been an incredibly exciting time for us and we both struggle to remember what life was like before you were born.
In your first couple of weeks you were a very content baby. Usually you would feed, have a nappy change and sleep for 2-3 hours. You were happy to sleep in anyone's arms which made you very popular with visitors. It was also a lovely time for our little family as Daddy had three weeks off work which gave you lots of time to get to know each other.
You received so many gifts from family and friends, both from Australia and overseas. You are very much loved. You have so many clothes that I won't need to buy anything for a year and there is a chance you might not get around to wearing some of them.
In weeks 3 & 4, you have decided you are not a big sleeper during the day often only having 1 or 2 catnaps which may only last an hour or less. Sometimes you will have a sleep in the afternoon but this is not everyday. You will usually fall asleep easily in someone's arms or in the car (karozza in Maltese) but as soon as you are moved to your bassinet, you will wake up almost immediately. However, you do sleep well at night, usually having a 4-5 hour sleep followed by 2-3 hours after your feed and nappy change. You have even managed a six hour sleep which is bliss for your Dad & I as we managed to catch up on sleep ourselves. I am looking forward to when you will sleep through the night.
During the day, you are so alert and we keep you entertained by talking to you, playing on your activity mat (including tummy time) and playing music in your bouncer. By far, your favourite thing is being carried in your Ergobaby baby carrier. You always manage to fall asleep in it as you love being snuggled to my chest. However, as per normal as soon as we take you out you are awake. I use the baby carrier around the house to do my housework and even have you in it when I need to pump as it keeps you so content.
Ally has slowly gotten use to having you in the house and no longer being the only 'child'. She hates hearing you cry and will often run away when you are screaming whilst having a nappy change or waiting for your milk. She is very curious about you and often has a sniff of you. She has shown no signs of aggression towards you and I am confident that you will grow up to be close buddies. My favourite moment so far is when you were doing your tummy time and Ally came as close to you as she would dare, (which is not actually that close at all), and also laid down on her tummy.
You have already been on a number of outings and have managed them quite well. You have visited both Mummy & Daddy's work, been to the shops and on a few walks with Ally as well. We also took you to Werribee to have your newborn photos done. We are so excited to see them as we know you will look adorable in them and will be printing a few on them on canvas to put around the house.
One of the funniest things you do, (although it is completely disgusting at the time), is you always seem to have a habit of deciding to do your business while we are changing your nappy. The number of wee and poo we have had to 'catch' is quite high and more often then not, your Dad and I will miss them which results in the washing machine being turned on, which is usually already running anyway. The amount of washing in the house has increased significantly and I am slightly terrified to see our water and electricity bills!
The biggest challenge for you and me during your first month is our breastfeeding relationship. I was determined before you were born that you would be 100% breastfed. I strongly believed that 'breast was best.' The first few days of breastfeeding seemed to go ok between us. However, tiredness took it's toll and being the only one that had the ability to feed you was tricky.
One day, when you were just over a week old, you spent 10 hours needing to be fed every hour. I don't know if you were not getting enough milk or if you were having a growth spurt. That feeding session took its toll on me. My nipples were red, raw and cut up. I was in so much pain every time you tried to attach and after feeding you I would be in tears from the pain. You had trouble attaching because you were so anxious to be fed and would be screaming and I would not be patient enough to work with you to attach properly. It came to a point that I was dreading every time you would wake up as I knew I would have to feed you. When I realised that I might need to introduce formula to you, I was in tears. After I came home from buying the formula, I sat in my car in the garage for 10 minutes in tears that I did not have the ability to feed you myself. I was emotionally drained and terrified that I might end up suffering post natal depression.
At that point I decided to start expressing, only giving you the formula twice until I had managed to express breast milk for you. This system has worked so much better for us. Now Daddy, your Nanna and Aunty Victoria have helped out with your feeds and at night this has allowed me to sometimes get a decent stretch of sleep as Daddy can look after you on his own. I can also go out for a couple of hours to the shops and not have to rush back as I know you have milk ready for you. I realised that I am still able to give you breast milk so you are still getting all that goodness. I have even managed to freeze about 2 litres of breast milk which will become valuable later on when you go through your growth spurts and I am not able to keep up through pumping. After a few weeks I have finally started to put you back on the breast occasionally. I cannot however see myself going back 100% of the time so I will continue to express regularly for you but I will try to breast feed you 2-3 times a day in conjunction with bottle feeding so we can continue with that relationship.
We love forward to continue to seeing you grow and develop into the wonderful young girl that we know you will become.
Love from you Mummy & Daddy.
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