Happy one month birthday (yesterday) to the sweetest of baby boys! I honestly don’t know where the last four weeks have gone but now I understand why my dad was always telling me that life goes by way too fast. I blinked and my new little baby love suddenly had a whole month of life experience behind him. So much learning, so much exploring, so much joy and love! We have truly had the best month ever.
So here we go with this update… one beautiful, crazy, hilarious, overwhelming, PERFECT month of Jameson Andrew.
Weight & Length: At his one month checkup yesterday he weighed in at 11lbs 1 oz, placing him in the 75th-97th percentile range! Homeboy’s got some sweet rolls coming in. I’m so proud! He’s 21 1/2in tall (50th percentile) and his head circumference is in the 25th-50th percentile range (my pinhead + Alex’s big noggin = one normal-sized baby head). Our pediatrician was really happy with how perfectly our boy is growing.
Clothing: He’s been moving into 0-3 month clothes recently. A few of his newborn-sized outfits still fit but for the most part they’re just a little too tight for him (my baby is growing up! nooooooooo). He’s also moving out of newborn diapers and into size 1. He’s actually kind of in the middle of those sizes so we’re finishing up the box of newborn diapers we have and by the time we’re done, he should be ready for size 1.
Eyes & Hair: Oh my handsome boy. He is too much for me to handle in the cuteness department. His hair is fairly dark brown on top and in the back but the sides are definitely lighter. When he’s in the sun I can also see hints of red (no surprise there, his daddy is a redhead). I’m guessing his color will be close to how Alex’s hair is now (a deep auburn) but who knows! Maybe it’ll go dark like mine. His eyes are still that grayish-bluish color that so many newborns have and I still have no idea whether they’re going brown like Alex’s or green like mine. Maybe somewhere in the middle? He’s also got the BEST skin tone. I’m jealous of this boy. He somehow grabbed all the Italian and Greek genes that Alex and I contributed so his skin is this perfect olive tone. I love my little bronze baby!
Sleep: Contrary to what that picture suggests, he does not sleep in his crib very often. Sometimes during the day I’ll put him in his crib for naps but a lot of the time he’ll nap in his swing or in his Rock ‘n Play and sometimes even on our bed if he passes out there. He’s still sleeping a lot during the day (usually 3-4 good naps) but he’s more alert now when he’s awake. He prefers to sleep either swaddled or on his tummy (which I only let him do for naps when I can watch him like a hawk). We’ve been co-sleeping at night since day one because with breastfeeding, it’s just so much easier. He mostly gives us 3-4 hour stretches at a time, which is not bad in my opinion. He goes to bed with us around 10, sleeps for 3-4 hours, wakes up to eat, and then goes right back down for usually another 2-3 hours until he wakes up again to eat. Then we’re up and ready to party for the day between 7-8am. Not too shabby!
Eating: Breastfeeding is one of my favorite things about being a mommy! Full disclosure, I did NOT enjoy it at first. I loved the bonding but we had trouble getting the latch right so it hurt like the dickens for a solid two weeks. Now, we’re doing so great! I can even feed him in the dark while I’m half asleep. I just roll over, unhook that fancy nursing bra and bam, we’re ready to go. He still sometimes unlatches himself (especially during letdown) or needs to burp or something halfway through, but we’re working on it and getting better every day. And obviously my 11 pound chunker is getting all the nutrition he needs! Yay for breastfeeding!
Milestones: This kid has been a stud with physical milestones since the beginning. He’s never been one of those “floppy” newborns and has surprisingly good head and neck control. He can hold his head up for several seconds at a time and doesn’t need a whole lot of support when he’s being held upright. He’s starting to turn his head to different noises (especially our voices) and can follow us with his eyes when we move in front of him. He smiles at us in response to kisses on his cheeks or other funny things we do and he’s even been trying to laugh! I think we’re a little ways from a true laugh but I still love his little squeals of happiness. Pure joy in my heart! ❤
Loves: Kisses on his face, being moved up and down vertically (always calms him down), being walked around the house, being in his wrap aka the Papoose, going outside, snuggling in our arms, having his tush patted, looking at light coming through windows, staring at the colorful art above his changing table, and laying on his tummy. Of course he loves his mama and will usually be soothed as soon as I have him in my arms. He loves playing with his daddy (especially when Alex lifts him up really fast and shouts “BOING!!!” hahaha) and he adores my dad (he will just stare in awe at him while my dad sings to him or makes silly faces and noises. He is actually calmed by my dad almost as much as he’s calmed by me or Alex. It’s so sweet to see! I can tell they’re going to have a special relationship). Plus, he really likes his pacifier (but only when he’s drowsy) and definitely loves having a full tummy. 🙂
Hates: Being hungry or tired of course, laying flat on his back to sleep when he’s not swaddled, and going into his car seat when he’s wide awake (but he’ll usually conk out the second the car starts moving). He’s also in this phase right now where he gets fussy during the afternoons and evenings if he’s not being moved around. The swing can usually calm him down but if we’re not at home then I’m usually up and walking him around, which gets tiring. He is not really a fan of sitting still during those times unless he’s being entertained and doesn’t like getting dressed much (really only when I have to put his arms through the sleeves…he just thinks that’s the worst kind of torture there is). And of course if he’s gassy or really needs to drop a deuce then we’re not in a happy place either haha.
Sounds: He’s seriously so noisy. When he’s awake and alert, he’s usually making some sort of noise (grunts, random “Eh” sounds, and verryyyy occasionally he’ll accidentally blow a raspberry which is hilarious haha). He tries to laugh but it comes out in squeals and he makes all sorts of happy cooing noises too (usually in the mornings…that’s his best time of day). I can now usually tell the difference between his hungry cry and his “I’m bored” cry and his “this sucks, I’m annoyed” cry. And as someone who loves speech and language and all things communication, I work on his early skills a little bit every day.
Things I want to remember: The way he yawns crookedly, his pretty standard concerned/thoughtful look (that’s his face 90% of the time he’s awake), the way he smells so good all the time (and especially his squeaky clean smell after a bath), the way he smiles with his mouth open super wide, how he tries to suck on my nose if I put it too close to his face haha, the way Alex cares so sweetly for him, how unbelievably squishy his cheeks are and how it feels to smoosh my face on them and kiss them 50 million times a day, how he farts pretty much any time he’s waking up (hahaha), the way he pecks at my shoulder with his whole head when he’s hungry, how he gets binky lines on his cheeks after he’s been sucking on it for awhile, and the face he gives me every time I’m holding him while brushing my teeth (pictured right below).
This has been THE BEST month of our lives so far, no contest at all. We’ve been unbelievably blessed with this little boy and it just gets better every single day! Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of our son.
Milk with a Meal 