One Month

Jax...you're one month old today. In some ways the time has just flown by and I can't believe that we've had you for a month already, and in other ways, it seems like you've always been here with us! Maybe that's the lack of sleep causing us to lose track of time as you've kept us hopping on our toes all month long!

But we're getting better...slowly but surely we're learning all of your signals. Which cries are for real, which ones are fake. Which ones mean "Feed Me!" and which ones mean "Change me, please!" and which ones just indicate a need to be held for a few minites. At first they all sounded the same, but you're teaching us each and we've really appreciated your patience with us while we're figuring you out. (That was sarcasm, in case you didn't get it..)

At one month old, you're really getting a handle on holding your head up all by yourself. I would say that you can hold up your head for about 30 seconds before you go all "floppy" on me again, and that's excellent progress! It helps with the burping...and your eyes aren't quite as cross-eyed as they used to be. You're starting to focus them in (without crossing them!) and you stare intently at nothing on the ceiling for long periods of time. You also stare at us, too. You follow voices with your eyes and since you can move your head so well, you follow with your head too...especially mommy's and daddy's voice. You are fascinated (it seems) with big brother and big sister. You stare at them very intently for long stretches, which is nice because it occupies you and gives mom and dad a much-needed break every once in a while.

You are starting to smile. On cue, and not from gas. We think that in the last week we've heard a laugh/chuckle or two out of you, but it's not quite so frequent to say that you're actually laughing. But you're getting there!

You have mastered the art of rolling onto your side. Especially to the right side. Which makes diaper changes even more challenging than they already were - dodging pee and all is SO much fun! You prefer to lay on your side now, but still sleep mostly on your back as I'm a little nervous about the side-sleeping thing. Since you can move your head so well, I probably shouldn't be, but that's how moms are...

Your digestive tract seems to have settled itself within the last week. You're still taking mainly breastmilk, and the diarrhea that plagued you (and us!) those first few weeks seems to be slowly going away. You're still dirty at most diaper changes, but it's a LOT less than it was, in both volume and messiness - sorry if that's TMI! And that's helping the constant diaper rash that you had the first few weeks of your life. Does that mean that nakey-nakey time on the front porch has to stop? Oh no, no, no - you LOVE being nakey-nakey outside and I wouldn't take that away from you for anything! So obviously we're still working on the focusing without crossing our eyes thing...maybe I shouldn't mark that skill down as "Mastered" quite yet...

You also love your bath time still, especially at the end after all the washing is done and mom/dad take you out of the infant sling and let you "float" in the water. That's your favorite thing!! (And no, he's not really floating, we're holding him in the water, just allowing him to move around freely in it...we're not just seeing if he can swim.)

You've finally got your days and nights fixed it seems...for the most part. You still like to act up once in a while and not sleep one night here and there, but that's normal too. You're sleeping 4-5 hours at a time now, which we really appreciate. Now, if you could just stop with the grunting and groaning sounds...they're SUPER loud and wake us up still during that last hour before you actually wake up. Mainly because we think that they're a signal that you're about to wake up and so we get ready to get up...then come to find out, you're just squirming around and making noise while you're sound asleep! Let's work on NOT doing that, ok? Thanks! I think that he's thinking "Whatever, crazy lady!"

You're eating 3.5 ounces right now during the day, every three hours. And I've started slipping you a full 4 ounces in the bottle that daddy feeds you before bedtime...maybe that's helping you sleep better, huh? A full belly! You're still taking mainly breastmilk, but I've got three or four types of formula on standby awaiting my decision about whether to continue breastfeeding or not within the next week or two. The past few days I've noticed a change in my milk production, so it may be decided for me...who knows? All I know is that you're growing well...some of the newborn size clothes are getting too tight across your belly, so I know that you're being well-fed for now!

You're just too cute for words...but then again, I'm biased. You are a blessing to us...even on those hard days/nights. We wouldn't trade you for anything, and we're just so excited to see more and more of your personality show itself during these next few months!

Love you, baby boy!