One month (2 days late)

Things to remember at this one month point...

Size:
The day before one month, he was 8 pounds 11 ounces. The day after one month, he was 8 pounds 12 ounces. (So I guess we could say he was 8 pounds 11.5 ounces?) ;) Unofficially, he's just over 21 inches. I feel like I didn't do a good job with that though because his pants have a bigger difference than just an inch, and he was almost 21 inches three weeks ago.

Clothes:
None of the newborn sized sleepers fit anymore. First the Faded Glory brand stopped fitting, then the Gerbers. He still fits in most of the newborn onesies but a couple are too small. The brands are SO different. Size 0-3 months is still a little big, especially the brands that are wider because he's so long and skinny. The "one size fits all" pajama bags and sleep sacks fit him more reasonably now and don't get up in his face when he wiggles around. That makes me feel better. His fleece pajama bags still have the sleeves rolled up a little so his hands can stick out though. For some reason, baby clothes makers think that once they're out of newborn size, parents prefer snaps to zippers. I much preferred the zippers that went from neck to toe. SO MUCH EASIER! Ones with snaps that just go neck to toe down one leg are ok, but the ones that snap up both legs and then the chest are a pain in the butt.

Eating:
During the day, he eats every 1 to 3 hours for a total of approximately 10 times a day. In the last week to 10 days, there have been times were the 40 minute feeding has turned into just 10, and it appears he is getting the same amount of food. Other times it's still long and he is lazy. He ate 3.2 ounces in a sitting at baby breakfast the day after he turned 1 month old. Our previous high was 2.6 ounces. He makes a distinct "ah ah ah" sound while bobbing his head against our arm/chest/shoulder/neck/face while making fish faces or chomping motions to tell us he wants to eat. So far, he has done great with bottles. We have been successful with 2 different brands of bottles and nipples, all with pumped milk. He has been fine eating after the bottle as well. It appears that he enjoys the instant gratification of the bottle but luckily it hasn't messed up his regular eating habits.

Sleeping:
He will sleep for about 5 hours after his midnight feeding many times now. Then after an early breakfast at 530 or so, he will sleep or at least chill in the crib for a while longer to let me sleep. I did pop him in the buzzy chair next to the bed to increase my morning sleep a couple times too. There is no pattern to daytime naps really, but he does tend to have awake times in the mid morning and in the evening. After his midnight feeding when his eyes are droopy, I put him in the crib. Just a couple weeks ago it took forever for him to lay down and chill out. Now it might take a couple more tries, but he seems to be starting to understand what the crib is for. He doesn't get quiet right away, but he doesn't cry. More just babbling to himself while he conducts the invisible orchestra, waving his hands around to some mysterious music he hears in his head.

Physical:
His tummy time head control is constantly improving. He can keep it up for lots of seconds now and flips from cheek to cheek while he is down there. He also moves his knees back and forth a ton resulting in random movement and turns. In the crib, he moves himself to the edge of the crib so that he's touching the rails and sometimes his arm is sticking out. If we hold him up, he'll look around especially if he recognizes the voice of the non holding parent nearby. He still has his startle reflex and the one that makes him hold our finger.

Facial:
He makes many silly faces now. He will hold our gaze on a regular basis. He smiles a ton, but it's just a reflex for now. He laughs and smiles in his sleep all the time. We have yet to catch it on video though. He appears to recognize the two of us, but this gazing stage got more pronounced this week since it's just been the two of us so who knows. He saw and heard 3 people for the first 4 weeks and now he's down to 2 on a daily basis.

Crying:
He doesn't scream bloody murder during every single diaper change anymore. Sometimes, if he's sleepy or in an exceptionally good mood, he can ignore it altogether. Often there is still some crying and sometimes it is full meltdown, but an improvement upon a couple weeks ago, that's for sure. So far we have a 100% success rate with crying stopping as soon as the car starts moving which helps because often getting locked into the car seat starts a little crying. We are lucky in that the wailing, screeching crying for extended times hasn't been a regular occurrence yet. Now that he lost his belly button stump and can have more water in his little bathtub, the crying ends there quicker as well. He will sit contentedly for a little while while getting washed. He really hated the sponge bath portion of his life, but I don't blame him for that. If it's been a little while since he ate and he goes from peaceful to unhappy cry in 0.1 seconds, it's often followed by the need for a diaper change. ;)

Vocal:
It's hard to put in writing, but he makes a lot of different noises now. We don't know what they all mean, but it changes all the time. It's funny when his random noises make words. We get uh-huh (like the grunting version of yes), uh-uh (grunting version of no), and ut-oh!

Activities:
We put him in the rainforest gym on his back and stomach at least twice a day. Once in the morning while that corner of the room is nice and toasty which also happens to coincide with a time he's usually alert and happy. He will kick his legs and conduct the invisible orchestra. If he's sad to be put down, the calipso music usually quiets and calms him down. He swings in the swing about once a day, usually around dinner time in an attempt for both of us to eat a hot meal. He sits on our laps and we try to get him to mimic facial expressions like opening and closing our mouths, or sticking out our tongue. We can't tell if he can really do it or if we just get randomly lucky sometimes because those are things he does do on his own. He also likes to lay propped up in the boppy pillow and stare around the room. It's possible that he noticed the cat earlier this week, because the cat walked by him while he was on the boppy and his eyes definitely tracked the cat's walking path. We've taken several walks around the neighborhood as the weather has started being more cooperative.

Me:
In many ways, I feel back to normal. But if I do too much (or sit too much, interestingly enough) I am still sore. I don't know what exactly is sore because Advil doesn't help much. You don't realize how much you use those muscles for lifting until you're waiting for them to heal. I keep telling myself that there's a reason the first appointment isn't until 6 weeks. Even though it feels like another lifetime that was before March 3rd, a month isn't that long in the healing stitched muscles department. On our first outing I carried the car seat too much and I think I'm still paying for that. Even if it takes more time, I really need to pull the snap 'n go up to the car and pop the stroller on there. (I was carrying it to the store and putting it in the big part of the cart - my arms are strong enough, but the rest of me isn't.) On top of it, I haven't used my muscles since the end of May last year before I started my meds, so that probably doesn't help. I'm really ready to be able to move again! Walking is good, but I have to take that slowly as well. I'm trying to be very aware of my mental state. I had a terrible mental day on Wednesday - our second day alone, nowhere to be, and I only saw Mike for 6 hours in 2 days combined. There's not always something I can do about the circumstances, but I'm going to have to find a way to cope and get used to it for the next 4.5 months...then I'll have a whole different circumstance to deal with as a (10 months at a time) working mom!