HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!
It really doesn't seem like four weeks have gone by since T and I headed for the hospital for the induction, and yet...it seems like he's always been here.
I really can't remember getting a full night of sleep.
I can't remember not smelling at least a LITTLE bit like spit-up all the time.
I can't remember NOT singing songs to help make diaper changes go faster.
And speaking of diapers, I can't remember when A) neither T nor I were slightly fazed by mass quantities of poo, and B) when we didn't have multiple conversations ABOUT poo every day.
And I can't remember when I couldn't wake up in the morning to see this face looking back at me:
In short: Our lives have become both unrecognizable and really incredibly awesome.
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It's no secret that, when my life gets busy, one of the first things to go is this blog. For most of last year, it was my job and my pregnancy. Now we have a newborn. It's just the way of things, and I know everyone reading this understands that. I don't have the dedication to forgo precious sleep in favor of posting here, and while I mourn the fact that I'm not doing a better job of documenting his first weeks...eh. I'm getting sleep, which is helping me function better for him, and people, I'm almost 35. Mama is old, and she needs her sleep. :)
So now that I've absolved myself for not posting here more often, let me get to the point: There are some milestones that just can't go by without proper documentation. I couldn't let my baby pass his one-month mark without a little recap-slash-State of the Union.
Here we go:
How much has he grown in the last month?
Um. A TON. He was 6 lbs, 12 oz at birth, and down to 6 lbs, 3 oz when we left the hospital. Less than a week later, at his one-week doctor's appointment, he was already almost back to his birth weight. As of his two-week appointment (March 12), he was 7 lbs, 8 oz. We did an unofficial weigh-in at home last week (I weighed myself, then again holding him), and our unofficial results showed that the boy is now about 8.5 lbs. The boy LOVES TO EAT.
So, how is he eating?
Did you not just hear what I said? THE BOY LOVES TO EAT. We were incredibly lucky with breastfeeding; he took to it immediately in the hospital. (I was really thankful for this, since I wasn't able to even try feeding him until almost 10 hours after he was born. More on this when I post his birth story, which I swear I'm actually working on.)
He's been a champion nurser ever since, and eats CONSTANTLY. Do I always appreciate this when he wants to eat at 2, 3:30 and 4 in the morning? Uh, no. :) But then I see the awesome baby chub he's gaining and it's really all worth it. I mean:
And how is he sleeping?
Pretty much like a newborn. And what I mean by that is: He's sleeping a LOT, just not in very long intervals. The boy eats constantly, have I mentioned this? At this point, the longest naps he'll take are about 3 or 3.5 hours in length; every once in awhile he'll sleep for more than 4 hours, but that's happened MAYBE twice. Most often he'll sleep for 1.5 to 2 hours, and then he's ready to eat again.
His awake periods are getting longer (and thankfully most of them AREN'T between 3-6 a.m., although we've had our days), which is really fun, because we get to see these eyes:
(We were having a moment.)
So far our biggest conundrum has been figuring out HOW he wants to sleep. We decided we weren't going to have him in our room (and definitely not in our bed), and from very early on he was cool with sleeping in his crib. He was always swaddled in the hospital (and loved it), so we started using a Halo Swaddle, which kept him warm and swaddled him tight AND was easy for us to figure out. (The Miracle Blanket, I'm sad to say, rather stumped me and T.)
Then, about two weeks in, the boy switched things up on us (babies -- honestly) and started struggling mightily against his swaddle. Rather than sleeping peacefully the whole time he was down, he'd squeak and squawk and kick and grunt and REALLY try to escape the swaddle. So, we thought, maybe the swaddle has run its course; let's put him down with his arms free. That lasted about 30 seconds before he flailed, smacked himself in the face and FREAKED OUT. :)
So we're still trying the swaddle thing and experimenting with lighter materials and different configurations (the Swaddle Pod, for one). We'll see how it goes. At this point, Jackson's absolute favorite way to sleep is on one of our chests, on his stomach. Oh, would that I could duplicate that arrangement in his crib, so we could all sleep better! Sigh.
So...what is Jackson like?
He is such a cool baby. I don't know how else to say it. He's pretty laid back, fusses when he's hungry or tired or bored, but...most of the time he just likes hanging out, checking out the light coming through the curtains and the designs in the ceiling, listening to music and...oh yes...raising his head up and trying to stand and jump when we're holding him. I think we're going to be in trouble later on with this one -- something tells me that, once he's mobile, it's all over but the trips to the emergency room. :)
Likes: Eating (um, duh), the living room curtains, his mobile, staring at his mama and daddy, riding in the car and, well, eating. Again. Some more.
Dislikes: Tummy time (does ANY baby like this?), having to wait EVEN A SECOND before eating, socks (he thinks they're stupid; I kind of can't blame him) and gas. I mean, who likes gas?
How are YOU feeling?
I'm doing great! I ended up having a rather complicated C-section, so it took a while until I could do simple things like go up and down stairs, get on and off the floor, etc. And while I can't run around just yet, I'm feeling much more like my old self this week.
And!! I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I am rather proud that I've been able to lose all my baby weight (which, granted, was only about 17 pounds) plus almost 12 more in the last month. Since I'm a big girl to start with, I'm exceptionally proud of this, and I'm excited to keep going. T and I both want to be healthier and more active so we can keep up with our little man!
Now if we could just get a little more sleep...
How are things going with the dogs?
He's still sort of indifferent about them (he's carrying on an ongoing flirtation with our curtains -- weirdo -- so there isn't much room for doggie love just yet), but the dogs absolutely adore him. Ozzie in particular always wants to sniff his head, give him tiny, gentle kisses and make sure he's OK. He continues to bring Jackson his gross dog toys whenever he cries, which is simultaneously sweet and, well, gross. But we appreciate the sentiment.
He also yearns to be Jackson's permanent nap buddy:
What's your favorite thing so far?
It has been SO MUCH FUN watching how he's changed just over the course of the last four weeks. I would never have thought it possible. His facial expressions alone have been worth the price of admission:
By far my favorite thing, though? We have become total besties.
Happy one-month, baby. Mama loves you.
