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| This is from my phone, but this was during our at home One Month photo session. |
Stats: As of Monday, April 9, 2012 he was 9 pounds 6 ounces and 22.5 inches long! His legs are long and lean, and so are his hands and feet. Everyone has commented on how long his toes are…..they seriously look like fingers. He looks very healthy in his belly and face. The slight jaundice that he had when we left the hospital is definitely gone now, and he is growing beautifully! He has two cowlicks that swirl different directions on the back of his head, so he rocks a pretty good looking mohawk when his hair is clean. His eyes are staying a pretty constant blue, and his skin has even more pigment than mine. Lucky kid. He is just so fun to look at all day long. J
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| We really thought his eyes were going to turn brown like Zach's because they are so intense, but they are very blue! |
Sleeping: For the first few weeks he was sleeping and crying at all hours of the day --- it didn’t matter if it was the sun shining or his nightlight….but he is already showing how wise he is at one month. He has slowly been learning the difference between daytime and nighttime. We try to start a bedtime routine around 8:00, and depending on his mood he may be asleep by 9:00 or he may be up screaming until 11:00 a.m. but he will eventually fall asleep and stay that way for a few hours. During the week, I am in his room every three to four hours at night giving a bottle, but instead of his past routine of crying for awhile afterwards, he now falls right back to sleep. Daytime sleep is sporadic and usually lasts a few hours at a time. He is definitely awake more during the day now though. Zach helps out on the weekends, which is always good.
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| Sleepy boy |
Feeding: After many weeks of trying, breastfeeding in the nursing format just didn’t work for us. It is an issue that I could talk for hours about (and I have…) but I get pretty bummed about it. Here is the short version: Sam and I struggled with breastfeeding starting in the hospital. He fought me everytime I got him into the “position” to feed. He would push away with his very strong arms and scream until he was purple. The nurses had me use a nipple shield, which worked for a few weeks until we realized that he would feed for 45 minutes and be hungry 10 minutes later. He clearly wasn’t getting enough. I wanted to stop using the shield (keep in mind, the fight to get him near me to feed was still happening) so that he would get more milk, and he was not latching at all. I worked with a lactation consultant and even had him assessed for being tongue tied --- no progress and no tongue tied diagnosis. It was suggested that we go to an occupational therapist, but at five weeks old, we feel like that is a bit much. I have been pumping every 3-5 hours around the clock and refrigerating the milk. I don’t make enough to start a freezer supply, but I usually manage a days worth of bottles – and that is enough for now. We started him at 3 ounces but after about a week he increased to 4 ounces at every feeding. He gets about 24-28 ounces of breastmilk a day and 400 IUs of vitamin D supplement (drops in one of his bottles). We've had to supplement formula a few times, but not much.
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| I should have been sleeping, too, I know. I look supremely tired. |
Activity: Sam is quite alert when awake. He is very observant of things in our house that have an obvious dark to light constrast (example: our cabinets against the white of the ceiling or the mirrors in our living room that reflect the light from the nearby window). He gives random smirks, especially after he eats --- but we’re not thinking that any of them have too much meaning yet. He loves to be held, and we just recently became aware of how amazing the Baby Bjorn is. I get much more done now. :)
Zach and I are doing very well. I feel like I'm pretty much recovered, so we'll see what the doctor says this week at my appointment. I cannot believe we are already going on six weeks since he was born.
Kids really do make time fly.
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