Isaac is one month old! He's becoming quite the little chub and is cute as ever. It's been fun to see the rolls develop on his thighs. He had a bad case of baby acne, but it's already clearing up. And his thrush is still lingering, but thankfully it hasn't gotten worse.
I had my mom here for the first two weeks, and Brent had a week of paternity leave after that. But since then, I've been on my own. And it's been a lot harder to take care of the baby by myself! I'm convinced that women were meant to take care of children together in groups. I find myself wishing I lived in a small town where I was related to half the people. It just feels unnatural to spend ALL day (and most evenings) alone with a baby.
On Brent's first day back to work, he had to fly to San Diego for two days. And since then, he's been extremely busy-- working late nights and even working through this weekend. So Isaac and I have been able to spend a lot of quality time together.
Some days have been easier than others. On good days, Isaac eats regularly, will sleep in small chunks while I'm holding him, and enjoys laying on a blanket looking around when he's well-rested and full. (Which is why I can sneak small moments of personal pleasure to write on this blog.) On hard days, he wants to nurse almost constantly and fights sleep. He has yet to take a a real nap without being held. Heaven help me.
But it could be a lot worse. I was half expecting a colicky baby, which he is not. In fact, he's no fussier in the evenings as compared to the rest of the day, which is very unusual for a baby from what I've read. His fussiness usually seems to be evenly spread throughout the day. He does sleep a night, but gets up about every 2-3 hours to eat.
Even though it's been draining to take care of a newborn 24/7, it's also afforded some amazing experiences. Because we spend so much time together, I am able to notice every tiny development, and that is so special to me. He is beginning to hold up his head on his own when he lays on our chests. He makes eye contact with us and will even do staring contests. He is also much more aware of his environment--tracking the wood beams on our ceiling and already even getting distracted while he's nursing.
In just the past few days, he's also started to make just a few sounds that almost sound like cooing. It's funny how much those sounds stand out compared to the grunting and crying! He's rolled over once from front to back, but it was by completely accident and hasn't happened since. I actually wasn't in the room to see it, but Brent just happened to catch it on film. He still gets startled very easily, and so he has to be swaddled a night. And he loves his pacifier! Unfortunately, it doesn't help him sleep because he wakes up when he spits it out.
Here are a few pictures of him over the last two days:
Sleeping peacefully in his swing (for 5 minutes . . . ha ha!).
Waving his arms!
His best look of concentration.
Back in the swing-- all swaddled. For another 5 minutes. :-)
Here are his 2-Week Stats:
Weight: 8 lb 13 oz (57th percentile)
Height: 21.13'' (73rd percentile)
Head Circumference: 14.13'' (30th percentile)
1 Month Home Weight Test: 10.8 lbs!