one month: april 5, 2015
as each month comes, i hope to savor and capture all of the moments, minutes, seconds that we experience with crosley as we watch him grow. and because i want to always remember these precious fleeting moments, each month i plan to write a monthly update, in the perspective of talking to him. here goes month one!
your first month sure did bring a whole lot of firsts, both for you and your mommy and daddy. us very new to being parents, and you, well, you being new to this world! daddy and i were so nervous, that we barely slept the first week or so you were home with us, especially those first nights. all veteran parents gave us the same advice--sleep when baby sleeps!--however that seemed nearly impossible when we didn't want to do anything but stare at you! it also didn't help that we just wanted to make sure you were safe and in our minds, that meant not ever taking our eyes off you, even when you were sound asleep. you sleep in a bassinet next to our bed, and daddy sleeps closest to you, because mommy won't sleep if she is next to you, you're just to sweet not to stare at!
in the first two to three weeks you were home, you met a lot of family and friends. we had visitors at least once a day, sometimes two or three! everyone loves you so much and can't stop commenting on how beautiful and perfect of a baby you are. you really are the most precious thing!
it was hard in the beginning, adjusting to the lack of sleep and figuring out all of your likes, dislikes and cues for needing something. since we figured out you were having trouble latching on to nurse for mommy in the hospital, i wasn't able to feed you myself, but instead had to pump milk for daddy and i to use in feeding you with our finger and a syringe. this method was only temporary until we had our first doctor's appointment for your post hospital check up at four days old.
at this appointment, dr. kaminski checked you out to make sure you were thriving and healthy (you gained the weight back you lost after birth which was perfect!), and check out your mouth since we were told in the hospital you may be tongue tied. the doctor said it looked like that may be the cause of your latching issues, so he suggested we visit a plastic surgeon to get further evaluated.
we visited the plastic surgeon who confirmed you were both tongue and upper lip tied. so at one week old you had your first surgery. very minor and only about 30 seconds long, but long enough to make you cry, and in turn make mommy and daddy cry! you came with mommy and daddy to the hospital where you were born the next day to have a consult with a lactation nurse to evaluate your latching and nursing with me. you surprised us all when you pooped, peed and spit up while getting you undressed to be weighed. daddy and i laughed so hard! pooping and peeing while changing your diaper is something you did a lot during those first weeks, catching us totally off guard and teaching us to move quickly during those diaper changes. after your tongue and lip were healed, you had no trouble latching and since then you and i have been pros when it comes time to nurse.
at ten days old your umbilical cord fell off and four days later you had a two week check up at the doctor. your weight was 7.13 lbs and you had grown to 21 inches long! the doctor gave us the go ahead to give you your first real bath and we couldn't wait, so we gave you one the next day. you love the bath, probably for the same reason we all do, it's relaxing. it relaxes you so much so that you pee and poop sometimes while sitting in the water. we always laugh each time!
daddy stayed home with us for three whole weeks! we had an awesome time bonding as a family, and at the end of week two, you're big furry brother, winslow, came home to meet you. we were all nervous for the first meet, but winslow ran in, sniffed you, licked your head, then went on his way. since then, he keeps an eye on you, making sure we tend to you when you cry and just licking your head to give you love. and we weren't too surprised that his loud bark doesn't startle you, not even from your sleep. our guess is you had a lot of time listening to him while in my belly so you must be pretty used to it.
on the topic of loud noises and sounds, we have found that you prefer noise over silence. you love to have your white noise machine to sleep and don't mind the sound of the hair dryer, vacuum or people talking--especially mommy. when mommy i'm around, you can always fall asleep and relax if you're getting fussy. again, another one of those "got used to it in my belly" things. definitely isn't surprising since mommy never stops talking!
from early on in the hospital you were attempting to lift your head alone and constantly kicking and jumping with your legs. as the weeks passed this month, you gained more strength, and lift your head and look around all the time! you're still a little wobbly with it so we always make sure to support you when needed.
you really are a special little boy and we are already seeing glimpses into your sweet personality. you express yourself through the many faces you make daily, our favorite is the perplexed look. and you rarely scream or cry, but you love to squeak and coo. your favorite friend to "talk" to is nessie, the stuffed lochness monster your aunt lizzie made you.
you love to sleep on mommy's chest and when you do you scootch your butt up in the air so you can be in the smallest ball while your tiny butt sits in my palm of my hand. you always take your little hand and caress my arm when you lay your head on my shoulder. sometimes you eat so fast that when you pause you come gasping up for air with milk all over your face. you have the softest skin and your breath smells warm and milky. you smile both when you're awake and when you're dreaming. when you're hungry you do the "head bangers ball" as daddy calls it, banging your mouth against anything you think is mommy's milk dispenser.
during this month you celebrated two holidays, st. patty's day and easter. st. patty's day you wore green and easter you were your sunday's best for your first visit to church. easter fell on your one month mark, and it was a pretty special day. you got a basket from the easter bunny after church, then went for lunch to meet more of your family members on mommy's side. that night daddy initiated his new tradition of reading a story to you and i while we fall asleep in bed.
we finished out the month by spending a whole week with nan. it was such a fun week and one of the most memorable times we shared with nan. she showered us with so much love, but that's what she does best!
weight: 9.9 lbs.
height: 22.5 inches long
physical appearance: the first days in the hospital you were the spitting image of your daddy. as the month has passed, you have more and more moments of looking like your mommy. your hair is still full, light brown (sometimes red in the sunlight), your eyes are blue/gray and your belly has plumped up faster than the rest of your body. you definitely have filled out in your face, legs and arms, but for the most part, your long and lean like daddy. at about week two and a half, you broke out in some serious baby acne. it made me panic that it was something in my milk you were allergic to, but all of my mommy friends assured me it was normal and would fade on its own. and at the end of one month, it's almost completely gone. (wiping your face with a warm wash cloth three times a day and applying lavender/coconut oil on it after bath night, really helped!)
diapers: still in newborns! you have about 10 diaper changes a day, usually 5-7 poopy and 8-10 wet diapers. (most wet diapers coincide with a poopy diaper)
clothing: your growth has definitely showed in your clothing. when you were born, newborn sizes fit perfect, if not a little big, but by the end of this month you have started outgrowing some of your smallest newborn clothes, but still fit in the bigger newborn ones. pants are hard to get to fit accurately, you have skinny long legs but a big belly. 0-3 months are too big, and only a few pairs of newborn pants fit your belly.
sleep: the first few weeks home you slept all day, but were up every hour and a half to two hours at night to feed. but now at the end of the month you have a pretty routine habit of sleeping through the night in a schedule of four hours, then two three hour spans. every now and then you have an "off night" where you're up more frequently, but for the most part you rock out sleep! you do however grunt and kick in your sleep which is usually the reason you wake up when you do.
feeding: you are pretty spot on with your feedings. those first weeks it was every hour and a half to two hours with some days of cluster feeding. now it more like every two to three hours, with longer spans here and here. you give us the cues; rooting, smacking your lips, sticking your tongue out and when it's been too long, crying (just about the only time you cry really!).
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