One Month

How quickly time flies when you are a new mom, wouldn't you agree?  (Although I would also contend that time moves very slowly somtimes, when your routine consists of feeding the baby, changing the baby, calming the baby.)

This week Will celebrated his One-Month Birthday!  It was on Tuesday, when he was exactly four weeks and three days old. 

Wide awake and looking out the window the other morning as we lazed around in bed for a bit.

I can't believe our little guy is already a month old, and I confess to crying at the thought that he's going to grow up and not want to cuddle me any more.  I may be jumping the gun, but hey, I blame all of you moms who keep telling me to "enjoy this time while it lasts, because it's going to be over before you know it." 

Anyway, thought you'd all be interested in a few details about the Peanut.

Size: According to the doctor on Monday, Will weighed about 9 lbs, 5 oz, a significant increase from his birth weight of 6 lbs, 14 oz.  While somehow his new weight is still only the 37% percentile, his birth weight was apparently in the 18% percentile.  So he's growing at a very healthy weight. I think he's a big boy, but Husband keeps reminding me that when he was born, he weighed 9+ lbs to start.  Fair enough.  Will's also nearly 22 inches long.  He can still wear most of his newborn clothes, but this week we started to break out some of the 0-3 month outfits. 

With his Tia (aunt) on her birthday - we stopped by her 1st grade class for a quick visit.

Development: In the last week we've seen huge changes (I mean, we see changes every day).  He's holding his head up for long periods of time (you know, several seconds), he's awake more and more, and very alert.  I absolutely adore watching him take the world in, his eyes wide open and blue as he absorbs it all.  He's strong - so strong- and loves grabbing things.  I'd say he's quite amazing, thank you very much.  He's also very vocal, making all sorts of sounds and noises all the time.  We can't wait for the babbling stage - it will be interesting to see what he comes up with!  I'm also very proud of him as he's started to learn to self-soothe and doesn't seem to need to scream or cry as much or as often.  (Granted, he still does that at times.)

Personality: I think he might be a little strong-willed, like his Mama.  But we'll see.  He's content more and more, but he still is pretty fussy about anything he thinks is bothering him.  Normal, I think. 

Eating: We're still eating about every 2 - 3 hours a day and night.  I'm breast-feeding him, which is going well most of the time, although I do worry about whether or not he's getting enough.  But based on his weight gain, he is... so we'll just hope that continues.  He also takes the bottle like a champ.  No nipple-confusion for this boy - he'll switch between breast and bottle and pacifier with no problem at all, and has done so right from the start.  Most days we give him either one pumped bottle or one supplemental formula bottle, so Husband or Sister or someone else can have a turn. 

Sleeping on his Nonna - we liked how it looked like he was hugging her.

Sleep: As I mentioned, he's sleeping less during the day than before, but he's still enjoying quite a few long naps during the day (like right now).  Night time has been going better, in my opinion.  He wakes up between 2 and a half to 3 hours to eat, which for some still sounds frequent, but he goes back to bed right away (usually) with very little effort.  He's sleeping in the pack and play in our room still, but we're doing a good job not picking him up at every little sound, and he's doing a great job self-soothing.

Likes/Dislikes: He loves being held, especially by his Nonna.  He loves his pacifier, being swaddled to sleep at night, and apparently, sound machines or other noises like that.  He's content in his carseat, especially, if we're on a walk, but he only likes the swing or the bouncy seat when he's in the right mood, and only for a little while.  He doesn't seem to care either way about Ginny (who also seems indifferent to him at this point).  He dislikes gas, pooping, me taking too long to get situated to feed him, being put down when he wants to be held, and various other standard baby things.

Milestones: Everything feels like a milestone right now.  No two days are alike, and he's different every day.  I would say he's smiling more often, and it seems completely unrelated to gas.  Don't burst my bubble, people.  I love his little smile.  And he's beginning to "talk" more than just cry.  He does great in public - we've gone out to eat several times (although always only in noisy restaurants) and to school a few times, and he's fantastic.  Next step, maybe a movie this weekend.  We'll see how it goes.

Going on our first walk in the stroller.

Moms, just tell me, how do I capture every sweet moment in my memory?  If each month goes as fast as this first one, I'll be back to work full time before I know it.