This month just flew by. Isabella is doing wonderfully -- she is such a precious addition to our family. We are so fortunate to have her! 
She is sleeping well (although still no more than a 3 hour stretch at a time), nursing often, and getting CHUBBY. At her 1 month appointment, she weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was measured at 20 1/4". She is in the 35th percentile for weight (she was born weighing at the 10th %tile) and 25th for height. 
Isabella is spending quite a bit more time awake and alert every day. She has been tracking really well, and loves to look around at her surroundings. I am trying to spend more time holding her and letting her have tummy time, so she can be stimulated when she's awake (initially, Isabella slept so much that she rarely ever left her moses basket). When Isabella is on her tummy, she likes to pull her knees up under her, sometimes flipping herself over or even scooting foward a little. 
She still has very light brown hair and her baby blues are only getting brighter. 
Isabella's lab results from the hospital came back positive for heterozygous Factor V Leiden and seem to indicate an Antithrombin III deficiency (although this test will be repeated).
Although Isabella does have her periods of crying (usually to eat, because she is quite the piggy and would be happy to nurse every hour), I have to say that, overall, she seems to be a pretty calm and content baby. She's made this first month so enjoyable and breezy for me. I love this baby!
My darling new baby has been such a little dream so far. She sleeps a lot during the day and tends not to be much of a cryer compared with other people's little ones (or so they say). Of course, my other two did not cry much in the first month or so -- it took them a little while to get started. This week, Isabella has spent more time awake and showing off her pretty blue eyes. Aside from that, not much has changed in her behavior as of yet.
Isabella does LOVE to eat. She cluster feeds all day and most of the night until around midnight. She likes to eat every 2 hours or so, and sometimes even as much as every 30 minutes. At night, she wakes up every 3 hours to eat like clockwork. She doesn't take a pacifier (to my dismay), and she hasn't had a bottle since her first or second day at home. Even though it is sometimes demanding to feed her as often as I do, it can be nice because it's an excuse to take a time-out from the other demands of the day. All the eating is definitely paying off. At her 2 week appointment, she weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz., and today she weighed just shy of 8 lbs., warranting Daddy's loving petname "chubby nubby" :). I can't believe how fast she's growing.
Ariana is making amazing progress. We grow more proud of her each and every day. For one thing, my little Ari has mastered the art of finger feeding with her left hand. While she had previously been able to feed herself some things (usually taking bites of a big piece of food), she now uses her pincer grasp (thumb & forefinger) to pick up small foods like cheerios and raisins and even little crumbs and put them in her mouth. She can clear her tray in no time at all... that is, when she wants to. Accompanying her newfound feeding independence, Ariana has also decided that she wants to chose what to eat and not just how to eat it. Naturally, this rebellion has led to an all out refusal of most of the foods that she used to love. To be clear, this is completely behavioral, and not a result of her limited abilities. When Ari doesn't want to eat a food, she'll either hit the spoon, throw the food off her tray, or scream. In the rare event that I manage to sneak it into her mouth without her interception, she will shove her fist in her mouth to retrieve the offending food item. Mealtime, especially dinnertime, has been... hellish. The foods that Ari consistently likes right now are cereal, yogurt, cheese, crackers, raisins, fruit, toast, and other sweets. With that said, she has gotten a little better this week only (but I'm holding my breath). 
Ariana, although not yet drinking out of a sippy cup, has been attempting to hold her bottle with her left hand. There are no handles on her bottle, so this is a pretty major thing. Once she has a hold of it, she'll bring it right up and put it in her mouth. Sometimes, she'll push the bottle aside if I'm holding it, only to replace it herself. 19 months going on 19 years old.
Ariana has been sitting up for several minutes at a time unassisted. While I can't say that she'll do it "indefinitely" without assistance, I can pretty much rely on her to sit there while I step away from her. If she knows someone is sitting behind her, she'll rely on their support. If, however, she sees them move away, she knows that she's on her own and she'll meet the challenge and support herself. So, in reference to the goal I set for her that she would be sitting independently by the time Isabella was born, in my book, she has accomplished it. 
Ariana loves her baby sister Isabella!
On the brighter side, however, Gabe is also learning how to play independently. He traipses in and out of rooms, up and down the stairs, and doesn't need to have constant companionship to have a good time (or wreck the house). This is quite a relief, as you can imagine, because I have two that are in constant need of my "undivided attention" at all times, and it's hard to stand up, let alone get anything done in the day.
By the time they were able to get me into a room and start me on the Pitocin, it was 11:30 AM. Both Jake and my sister, Marci, were in the room with me and entertained me and snuck me food (gelato) throughout the process. Initially, I cringed at the idea of having Marci in the room (because I don't like an audience), but she was really supportive and helped pass the time with her conversation and encouragement. Everything seemed to go by pretty fast. 
I was given my epidural at 2:30 PM (just as things were starting to get a little hairy), and at 6:03 PM, Isabella came into the world with only a push and a half. Towards the end of my labor, the epidural was starting to wear off, so I got to have a taste of what transition might feel like without all the medication. I have to say that my labor was seamless and, really, a great experience. When Isabella was born, she was immediately placed in my arms. I was overjoyed that they did this. When my twins were born, they were so medically fragile that I hardly got a glimpse of them before they were whisked away for hours. Instantly, upon cradling Isabella, I felt a surge of pure love for her. I saw her little arm and thought that it was the most beautiful little arm that I could ever even imagine. I remember saying that I think it was more beautiful and adorable than if it had been whole. As Jake mentioned in his post, Isabella weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 20 in. (which turns out to have been a generous measurement). She is very fair; with a peachy complexion, light brown hair (blonder in front and darker in back), and dark blue eyes. 
On Monday, Isabella and I were discharged from the hospital, healthy and happy. I was so excited to see Gabe & Ari -- I had really been missing them a lot. When Gabe and Ari saw us, however, their reactions were both pretty surprising. 
Ariana was elated to meet Isabella. I have never, in my life, seen Ariana so happy for so long as she was right then. She was babbling and squealing and waving the entire time -- never once losing that priceless grin on her face. It was as if Ariana was had long anticipated Isabella's arrival -- as though they were long lost friends reunited. 
Gabe's reaction was somewhat different. For the first minute or two, Gabriel was very curious about the "baby". After a few moments passed, he had a change of heart. He suddenly burst into an all-out tantrum and decided that he couldn't stand the sight of me or the baby. It just broke my heart. I feared all throughout my pregnancy that he would have difficulty adjusting to a new family member, but I had no idea that it would be this soon. For the next two days, Gabriel had difficulty with eating and going to bed. He was especially clingy with Jake and very distant with me. He made several thwarted attempts at clobbering the baby (or stepping on her while she was getting a diaper change), and he could often be found crying on the floor in a room by himself -- I was tortured. But by today, Gabriel is back to his happy self. He no longer seems to feel as threatened by Isabella's presence and is much more tolerant of her and of me. He only occasionally tries to scare her by screaming (this is how he bullies Ariana, who is afraid of his shrieks), which is a vast improvement from how he was behaving just a few days ago. It certainly doesn't hurt that Grammy (Twyla), Marci, and I have basically doubled his toy arsenal over the last week.
I honestly don't know how I would have ever gotten through this week without the amazing help of my mother-in-law, Twyla. Just like when my twins were born, she has just filled a huge need in our family during these adjustment periods. She does what I call "see a need, fill a need" -- always looking to help with feeding, dressing, and playing with the kids. She is constantly keeping everyone's spirits up with her little songs, her inspirational stories, and her encouraging words. She has a way of bringing uniting the whole family while still validating and supporting each of us as individuals. Jake and I are so grateful to have her in our lives.
