Sunday, December 10, 2017

month one

^^ Some really poorly taken and poorly edited iPhone pictures. Even still, he's pretty dang cute! ^^

Size: Judah is wearing size 1 diapers and some newborn but mostly 0-3 month clothes. Four days after his arrival he was just a couple ounces shy of his birth weight and at one week, he was 8 pounds, 5 ounces. His doctor asked several times at both appointments, "this is all breast milk?!" At almost five weeks he was 10 pounds, 2 ounces and 22.75 inches long - 47%tile for weight and 90%tile for height. 

Eat: Exclusively breastfed and nursing like a champ. It took us awhile to find a good rhythm, especially on my right side, for whatever reason I'm not sure. But I think we've got it figured out now. It's no longer painful and his latch feels really good and relieving. He nurses about every 2 hours during the day, with one longer gap during his long nap in the afternoon, and every 3-5 hours at night, typically with a cluster feed an hour apart before bed. I haven't tried too hard to get him on a set schedule, I tend to just feed him whenever he seems hungry, but I'm pleased that he has regulated himself - makes planning my day and activities (with three kiddos!) a lot easier when I can predict things like that. 

Sleep: Judah's a pretty great sleeper! His bedtime isn't consistent, he'll go down for the night anywhere from 8-11, but he consistently does a five hour stretch and then wakes to eat every three hours after that. So, depending on when he goes down, he wakes just once or twice a night. Uriah and Ezra wake up at 7, and typically, that is Judah's second or third feeding, so we're all up for the day at the same time. He has a good hour or two of awake time in the morning as we're all getting up, fed, playing and getting ready for the day. After that long stint, he tends to sleep for an hour, be awake for less than an hour and so on until his long nap around 1-4. He has another long stint of awake time in the evening around or after dinner time. 
He is, however, a pretty loud sleeper. After that first five hour stretch at night we have to listen to a lot of grunting, moaning and straining. He's not fully awake and he never cries out, he just makes noise! It's not always followed by a bowel movement so I'm not entirely sure what causes it but Ezra was the same way and grew out of it around two months so we're just crossing our fingers he follows in the same footsteps. He can be quieted down with a binki or by rocking his rock and play (that he's currently sleeping in because it seems to lessen the straining compared to sleeping in his crib). So he's getting good sleep, I'm just not ;) 

Milestones: Well, he still mostly just eats, sleeps and poops. But I wouldn't trade this stage for anything! I love the newborn stage! When it was just Uriah and I, I felt like it was so hard but now? It's so easy! ...And wonderful! He has given us a few smiles and I can tell he's on the verge of doing it more often and much more deliberately. As if he wasn't cute enough...! ;) He's also starting to track with his eyes, focusing on items or people's faces and watching as they disappear from view, trying to follow their path. 

Likes: He seems to love being outside and definitely loves being worn in the Solly or ring sling (and I love wearing him!) He quite often quiets down when looking at Uriah and can hear his voice talking sweetly to him - I think Uriah will be the source of his first genuine smiles! He likes laying in the water from the bath and getting it poured on his belly, even his head. He likes his bum being patted while held and will fall asleep in my arms so easy, and he's definitely a binki baby! 

Dislikes: He isn't a huge fan of sleeping on a flat surface and doesn't particularly care one way or the other for his car seat. He likes the warm water of the bath but not the getting washed up part. He'll occasionally protest to getting his diaper changed but only if he's hungry and having to wait. Honestly, he's been super easy going and content and I'm so thankful! 

Things I want to remember: His "turtle face" that reminds me so much of baby Uriah - his puckered lips, stretched out neck and little forehead wrinkles. His blonde, blonde hair...! I can't believe he's my first born blonde baby - I love it! Especially after his bath when he's so fuzzy... I love rubbing my cheek against his soft head. His sweet, sweet profile - watching him nurse is my favorite view.