1 Month

My Sweet Baby Boy,

You are one month old already! I cannot believe you have already been a part of our lives for this long.  In one way, I'm amazed at how quickly the time has passed, but it also hard to remember life before you.  You are such a sweet little boy, and it has been so much fun to watch to change daily.

At your very first doctor's appointment, you only grew a quarter of an inch to 20.75 inches. Leaving the hospital you weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces.  Within two days (after a quick weigh in at the pediatrician), you were up to 6 pounds, 14 ounces.  Within 12 days (at our two-week check up) you were up to 8 pounds! This made your Mommy extremely proud that you were nursing so well, even while dealing with mastitis.

You are an extremely good eater, but my goodness you eat a lot! We introduced the bottle to you at 2 and a half weeks to allow you to get used to it in case Mommy has to go back to work.  You manage to take a bottle or the breast extremely well, although we usually only give you a bottle before bed.  When you do take a bottle, you take every bit of 5 ounces!  No wonder your weight gain was so pleasing to your pediatrician, you eat a LOT!  You still comfort nurse a lot, but are slowly beginning to find other ways to find comfort, including being held, rocked, or patted on your back.

You have decided that nuzzling into Mommy's chest or Daddy's neck is no way to go through life.  You would much prefer to be turned outward so that you can see the world around you. You also thoroughly enjoy being propped up with blankets and pillows so that you can sit up straight.  You are much happier sitting than laying even through you cannot hold yourself in this position by yourself yet.  You want to be able to look around at everything, and any type of equipment that restricts you of that results in an immediate stream of tears.

You are a great sleeper.  Within a few days of getting home, you started sleeping 4 hour stretches, and now often sleep for 5 hours at a time.  Daddy and I usually stay up late anyway, so we usually only have to get up once during the night with you before you are ready to get up for the day.  Thank you for not making us completely sleep deprived!

You love your baby whale mat that plays music and has lots of toys! It can keep you entertained anywhere from 15-30 minutes.  The lights on the sound machine really make you happy.  

This is what you looked like when we brought you home:

Part of your umbilical cord stump fell off a little prematurely, leaving a small piece in your belly button to  air out without falling off.  You are still receiving sponge baths because of it, but you LOVE them.  It seems that the remaining part of your umbilical cord has finally dried up and disappeared, so Daddy and I are eager to give you a real bath for the very first time tonight.

This is what you looked like just 5 days after you were born.  It was our very first picture together out of the hospital:

I love this picture of us.  You look so cozy and sweet!

I love the look on your face after you have finished nursing.  You have the cutest "milk drunk" face I have ever seen:

You love to cuddle on the couch with us, especially Daddy.

You got to celebrate your very first holiday! The Fourth of July came just a week after you were born, so we celebrated with a cute little outfit.  You didn't seem to mind the noise of our crazy neighbors that shot off fireworks for hours on end that evening, and the days to follow.  In fact, you slept right through them without even noticing.

We also survived our very first overnight without Daddy!  Daddy got a fantastic new job and began his new work when you were two weeks old.  For training, he had to travel overnight to the factory that will manufacture the basketballs he will design.  I'm sure one day he will design one just for you.  You were a perfect angel that evening and slept like a champ for me.  We took this picture and sent it to Daddy to remind him how much we missed him:

We also had newborn pictures taken of you! Jennifer Creed came to meet you and took some beautiful photos of you, and this was one of our very favorites:

One thing we have done a lot of is remember our time leading up to your birth, and feeling so incredibly thankful that you chose to fight with me and make your entrance into the world.  One day you will get to hear your very special story, but for now, a small video will have to do:

You do have your fussy moments, and days that nothing seems to satisfy you.  These can often be difficult, and those are the days that I cry with you.  I hate that there are times that I do not know why you are upset or what you need, or that you may be uncomfortable from gas (which, by the way, you are extremely gassy).  However, those are the times that Daddy and I remind ourselves that hearing you cry is a blessing to us, because we too closely remember a time that we were afraid that we would never hear you cry.  So your fussy moments rarely become moments of extreme stress, but rather moments of extreme gratitude that you are here to fuss.

Happy 1 Month Birthday Ethan!  We cannot wait to watch what you discover during month 2.

Mommy and Daddy