One month with our bilingüita! We’re loving this stage and this sweet time as a family. This post outlines our time with Aniela as a one month old. (I know technically her first month is Dec 5th – January 5th, but I’m just going to call one month old ‘first month,’ two months old ‘second month,’ etc.) In this update, I talk about our awesome community, recap our visit up to see baby’s great-grandparents, and discuss language choice out and about as a bilingual family.
January, 2020 – Aniela’s first month
Weight: 9 lbs, 6 oz (at one month old) That’s almost two pounds up from two weeks old!
Height: I don’t remember 😆lol
Clothing size: Towards the end of the month, she’s getting into 0-3 but she can still fit most newborn clothes, and I’m trying to stretch the life out of these newborn outfits because they’re so tiny and cute!
Diaper size: Finally in size one diapers!
Nicknames: Hermosa, Stinky Girl 😅, Chimuelo (Alfredo’s nickname of choice for the month)
She’s starting to: WALK 😛 Jk not really obviously… But if we support her torso with one hand and hold her at an angle, she’ll take steps forward. She also can look at us right in the eyes now, and kind of track us. By the end of this month, she’s started to look for me when she hears my voice and it’s sooo cute.
She no longer: She no longer startle reflexes all the time or crosses her eyes like a newborn lol (waah, she’s growing)
Favorite word/phrase: She totally recognizes Daddy’s voice now and really perks up when she hears him.
Predominant feeling during this stage: “I think we’re getting the hang of this! Also daughters are the best and I could do this forever. (I used to be terrified of having all daughters, but this girl has shown me that I could totally be an all-girl-mom if that’s what God decides to give me!) Girl power!”
A few things that are saving our lives right now:
- Friends & family bringing us meals & visiting us: First and foremost, THIS. It’s been a lifesaver to have the support of our family, friends, and community. This is invaluable to a new mom. Thank you to everyone who went out of their way for us 🙏🏼
- Boppy Lounger: A friend gifted us this at our baby shower and I hadn’t even thought to ask for one. Well, I’m sooo glad she did (thanks Court 😘) because it’s been one of the things we’ve used most so far. It’s like the regular boppy that people use for nursing support, but this one doesn’t have a hole in the middle. It’s like a little nest that the baby can lounge on, but be slightly seated so that they can see what’s going on around them. When they’re still little, it also facilitates the curled up womb-like position, and it’s sooo cute 😩Aniela loves sitting in it!
- Cozy Cover: This was an ‘impulse buy’ you could call it. Right before our trip to Williamsburg back at the end of December, we saw it on an end-of-aisle display at Wal-Mart (good product placement, guys) and immediately put it in our cart. It’s been indispensable all winter long. It cinches around the baby carrier (carseat) to create a little cocoon, and then has a zippered flap to take baby in and out. It keeps baby cozy and covered (hence the name 😜)
- Binxy Baby: This one I’d had on my registry list ever since I saw it! It’s a little ‘hammock’ type sling that attaches to your shopping cart so that you can secure the car seat (or baby by themselves when they’re older) in the basket part of the cart, without taking up valuable real estate needed for the groceries. We always keep it on hand!
- Avent soothie pacifiers: Finally, this one again deserves another mention! I want so badly for Aniela to take Bibs pacifiers because they’re so cute (spoiler alert: she eventually grows to love them) but for now she only really takes the Soothie ones. And boy does she love them! The hospital gave us a teal colored one, and then I bought pink and purple ones too.
First Month General Update
Aniela’s one month old! At this point I’m still counting her age in weeks (and asking myself when does that stop?). Five weeks old, six weeks, seven weeks, eight weeks…
A day before she turned one month old, my husband and I spontaneously decided to take a trip to New England to visit my extended family. Both of my grandmas, maternal and paternal, are still with us and live within an hour of each other. So what better to do with our free time than to visit Aniela’s great-grandparents??
We drove up to New England and Aniela once again showed us what a travel champ she is, handling the seven hour car ride like a seasoned pro. We were able to see both of my grandmas, as well as some of my cousins and aunts and uncles. Everyone swooned over the baby and took turns holding her. That visit was a super special time and I’m so glad we went.
The rest of the month was fairly uneventful, which, when you have a newborn, is a GOOD thing. It was a slow, sweet time of getting to know our daughter and of bonding as a family. We also had lots of visits from friends and family during this time, which we were so blessed by. My good friend Claudia set up a meal train so we were incredibly moved by the generosity of our Bilingüitos friends bringing us meals and gifts for Aniela. What an amazing community we have. So to each of you who went out of your way for us, muchísimas gracias. ¡Que Dios te lo pague! We are so grateful!
Some people may say it’s rude to use our family language out and about in an English speaking world, while others would caution us to stay in the family language no matter where we are or who we’re with. I personally think that ‘cultivating and celebrating bilingualism’ would favor a position somewhere in between.
Language Updates
Aniela is definitely becoming more and more aware! She perks up at both mine and Dad’s voices now. She can track us with her eyes and when she hears one of us talk, she’ll look for us until she finds us and can lock eyes with us. It’s so cute!
We’ve continued to use Spanish at home and as a family. But now that we’ve been out and about with her, she’s definitely been around a lot of English as well. It’s just further solidifying the fact that she’s going to be a bilingual baby for sure!
I want to talk about something that people sometimes get in a tizzy about, on both sides: what language to use when you’re in the company of others. As I just mentioned, she is and will be around both languages often. Some people may say it’s rude to use our family language (Spanish) out and about in an English speaking world, while others would caution us to stay in the family language no matter where we are or who we’re with. I personally think that ‘cultivating and celebrating bilingualism’ would favor a position somewhere in between.
I am a huge proponent of choosing the language appropriate for the context, always taking into consideration your conversation partner. I think that’s what bilingualism is all about. And that’s what I want to teach my daughter: the adaptability that speaking two languages brings.
So will I be ashamed to speak Spanish with Aniela out and about in public? Absolutely not. But will I refuse to break out of our ‘family language’ with her if it’s excluding those we are interacting with? Of course not. It’s important to always consider the situation and the participants. So if we’re walking together through the grocery store and I’m narrating to her what we’re seeing on the shelves, it will be in our family language. But if we stop to talk to the cashier, and I am including her in the conversation as well, our mother-daughter interactions will be in English in that case, as to not leave the cashier out. I want Aniela to see that bilingualism is a gift in this way, that it allows you to adapt to where you are and who you’re with.
For now this looks like ‘talking’ to her in English [or both languages] when I’m chatting with my Grandma (Aniela’s great-grandmother!), in order to include all three of us:
Grandma: “She looks like maybe she’s hungry, do you think she’s hungry?”
Me: “I don’t know, maybe!” [then to Aniela] “Aniela, are you hungry? ¿Tienes hambre?”
Aniela: “…“
Or with the stranger at the store who comments on how much hair Aniela has as a one month old:
Stranger: “Wow, look at all that hair! How old is your baby?”
Me: “She’s six weeks. And I know, so much hair!” [then to Aniela] “You have a lot of hair, don’t you?”
Aniela: “…“
So that’s a glimpse into how we’ve been going about bilingualism so far in these very early days! Family language (Spanish) when at all possible, but always with consideration for our conversation partners.
Real quick: for the families who have chosen to do OPOL (one parent one language) as their family’s bilingual parenting strategy, the thing about the conversation partner looks a little different. It still applies out and about, but within the family, even though one parent may not understand the target language, it’s important that this parent agrees to this strategy (and thus agrees to being left out of the conversation from time to time) for the sake of minority language input for their kids. For more about how to go about this strategy, listen to our podcast episode on this topic.
I want Aniela to see that bilingualism is a gift in this way, that it allows you to adapt to where you are and who you’re with.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Aniela’s monthly updates! Thank you all for your love and support, both in person and on Instagram. Stay tuned for the two month update, which covers February, my going back to work, and Aniela’s first taste of Spanish immersion programs!
My hope with these milestone posts is that aspiring bilingual families, new parents, and expecting mamás-to-be alike will benefit from month-by-month updates of bilingual parenting in action.
Want to connect with us online? Follow along with my personal Instagram, and with our Bilingüitos Instagram or our Facebook. Also, join in on the bilingual parenting conversation in our Facebook Group, the Bilingual Parenting Network!
