One Month Old!

Weight:  9 lbs 7.5 oz
Length:  21.5 in

Can’t believe it has already been one month since Sweet Pea's birth! In some ways it has gone by super quick and in others it feels like years since I was pregnant. There has definitely been a learning curve for this new momma; between the hormones, baby blues and complete lifestyle change, it has taken some adjusting. There have been days that I’ve cried more than the baby! He seems to be adjusting to life on the outside a lot better but I’m trying to catch up. We’ve been fortunate to have tons of help in the first several weeks and he's has been a great baby so far. He really only cries when he’s hungry, naked or his tummy is upset (some days are better than others for his tummy).

Since birth the Sweet Pea has looked identical to his dad when he was a baby – a true mini-me. My mom thinks he looks like my brother and me when we were babies and my mother-in-law thinks she sees a little of me around his nose and mouth and certain expressions he makes, but all I see is Jess! He’s been on a self-initiated schedule of feeding every 2.5 to three hours since he was born. The last week or so he’s been giving us four and some random 5 hours of sleep at a stretch during the night and it is much appreciated!

Sweet Pea, you have changed so much in this last month already. You’re definitely still a newborn, trying to work out being in this new world but there are some things about you that I didn’t expect until later. You are so strong! Within a few days of your birth, you were already able to lift your head while on your tummy and turn it. Your grip is super strong and when you’re on my chest, your arm grips my upper arm so tight that it’s hard for me to even move it! Sometimes you even manage to grip your bottle – I have to watch out because you won’t let it go so that I can burp you! And if someone does have the audacity to take your bottle away before you’re done, you cry bloody murder until it’s back in your mouth! A few days before your first month birthday you managed to turn over from your stomach to your back (and did it in front of your pediatrician so that it is legit!). I think it is your hatred of being on your tummy that motivates you – I guess I should add that to the times you cry. But since then, solo tummy time has been nonexistent since you immediately roll over. Luckily, you like laying on people’s chests so we’ll have to count that as tummy time.

Nothing can soothe you as quickly as your paci but when something else is wrong, like your tummy is upset, you will keep spitting the paci out until your issue gets resolved. You look like Maggie from the Simpson’s when you’re sucking on it. (I wonder if you’ll even get that reference!) You love falling asleep with it but spit it out when you’re ready for serious sleep. Then you throw your hands above your head and stretch out for a couple of hours. Like I mentioned above, you love cuddling on a person’s chest to go to sleep and would probably prefer to be carried 24 hours a day. You’re starting to focus on things around you more and more. I love it when you stare back at me and can’t wait until I can get you to smile at me. Most of your smiles right now come when you’re sleeping and they are so adorable. When you are awake you seem very serious. When I’m feeding you, I’ll look at you and talk to you until you look away, then if I look away and look back you’re staring at me again. It’s become a little game for me. We haven’t tried putting you to sleep in your crib yet, even for naps. It seems so big so we keep you in the MamaRoo, the bassinet, or Dad likes keeping you in bed with us. We’re going to have to get a bigger bed because, for someone so small, you take up a lot of room!

Things I love:  all the little grunting sounds you make during feeding; the wrinkles in your forehead when you look up; your hiccups and sneezes and the sound you make when you lose a sneeze is so cute; your cuddliness; and the flashes of personality that are coming out when you’re awake. Can’t wait to see what the next month brings!

Love you!

Getting jiggy with Halloween

First pediatrician appointment