first month
Dear Buns,
I know--a week late. But the pictures were taken promptly and I even made some notes over the course of the month so that should get me a few redemption points, right? And you did come a week early so...
This first month (*cough* five weeks *cough*) has really gone by quickly. While subsequent children seem to get the shaft, one nice thing is that you also inherit somewhat seasoned parents. Even though your sister was a newborn not all that long ago, there were some things I forgot about. Like that you newbies need to be burped. And there are some differences since you're a boy and diaper changes are a little more interesting (oddly, more diaper fails). But all in all, I've been pretty relaxed when it comes to you. I'm not freaking out over every little anomaly. I think that's good. (That's not to say I haven't freaked out at all...)
So "Buns." We obviously call you Buddy and Buddy Bear. You get called by your given name a lot as well as "My" (a la your sister). And then I started calling you Honey, Honeybuns, and finally Buns. I'm sure you'll be thrilled as you get older.
You must have been fairly quiet right when you were born since I noted that you sounded like a kitten or a bird. I'm thinking I meant volume-wise because I'm pretty sure you've been grunty from the beginning. GRUNTY. You're now a bit louder. When you cry, 9 times out of 10 it's because you're hungry. That 10th time is about 9:00 or 10:00 pm when you just get grumpy. Unfortunately, the grumpiness comes right when Mama would like to be getting ready for bed instead of pacing the floor with you. So it goes...
Speaking of sleep, I'm not getting much. You were nocturnal at first. That, thankfully, resolved itself within a week. You go to bed around 10:30 and then are up between 1:00 and 2:00. Then you're up again about 3 hours later. THEN? About 90 minutes later. And again, about 90 minutes later until it's time to be up for the day. You want to eat each of these times and are often quite grunty in between (which makes it hard for Mama to sleep). Cluster feeding for about 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening. Bigger stretches in between. You sleep for longer stretches during the middle of the day, too.
You're a great eater. You have been from the beginning and that is evident by your increase in size. We went to the doctor today to check your jaundice (I'll write more about that next month) and you had grown 2 inches and gained almost 3 pounds in these 5 weeks. Good heavens, child! I think about a pound of your weight is in your cheeks. And your thighs. They've been beefy and strong since you were born.
You've, not surprisingly, had several firsts this month. Two fun ones were your first bath (you did fine) and your first trip to the zoo.
One weird and interesting detail is that you were born on Harry Potter's birthday. That alone is pretty cool but the really weird part is that when you get mad (which comes with lots of grunts), you get this red mark right on your forehead. Granted, it's shaped more like a line than a lightening bolt but still... What are the odds? It's hard to get a good picture of it but you can see it a little bit here.
As the month has worn on you've started spending more time awake. You are more alert and can focus better with your blue eyes. You love looking at me and sometimes you get grunty because I've walked away. I think sometimes you're just lonely. Oh, and you're cuddly. You love to be held and to sleep on people (meaning me). I should add that you sleep best when on people or in the swing. We've tried lots of sleeping arrangements but the best seems to be me on the couch, you in the swing or on/next to me, Daddy in bed. I'm going to try to transition you to your crib sooner than later so that you can be grunty in private. We'll see how that goes. I started to try once but as soon as I laid down in bed without you nearby, I missed you. Sigh. Mama's sappy.
And speaking of sappy... Before your sister came along, I heard that some mothers instantly feel that crazy love for their children and others don't feel it for weeks or months. I felt it pretty quickly with your sister but it was immediate with you. When we were on our way to the hospital to have you I got teary. When I knew you'd be there with the next push, I cried. And I didn't even know you had red hair then...
Even though Mama is tired (and apparently all over the place when it comes to writing), it's been a good month. I'm glad you're here. Our family is complete. I can't wait to see who you become.
I know--a week late. But the pictures were taken promptly and I even made some notes over the course of the month so that should get me a few redemption points, right? And you did come a week early so...
This first month (*cough* five weeks *cough*) has really gone by quickly. While subsequent children seem to get the shaft, one nice thing is that you also inherit somewhat seasoned parents. Even though your sister was a newborn not all that long ago, there were some things I forgot about. Like that you newbies need to be burped. And there are some differences since you're a boy and diaper changes are a little more interesting (oddly, more diaper fails). But all in all, I've been pretty relaxed when it comes to you. I'm not freaking out over every little anomaly. I think that's good. (That's not to say I haven't freaked out at all...)
So "Buns." We obviously call you Buddy and Buddy Bear. You get called by your given name a lot as well as "My" (a la your sister). And then I started calling you Honey, Honeybuns, and finally Buns. I'm sure you'll be thrilled as you get older.
You must have been fairly quiet right when you were born since I noted that you sounded like a kitten or a bird. I'm thinking I meant volume-wise because I'm pretty sure you've been grunty from the beginning. GRUNTY. You're now a bit louder. When you cry, 9 times out of 10 it's because you're hungry. That 10th time is about 9:00 or 10:00 pm when you just get grumpy. Unfortunately, the grumpiness comes right when Mama would like to be getting ready for bed instead of pacing the floor with you. So it goes...
Speaking of sleep, I'm not getting much. You were nocturnal at first. That, thankfully, resolved itself within a week. You go to bed around 10:30 and then are up between 1:00 and 2:00. Then you're up again about 3 hours later. THEN? About 90 minutes later. And again, about 90 minutes later until it's time to be up for the day. You want to eat each of these times and are often quite grunty in between (which makes it hard for Mama to sleep). Cluster feeding for about 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening. Bigger stretches in between. You sleep for longer stretches during the middle of the day, too.
You're a great eater. You have been from the beginning and that is evident by your increase in size. We went to the doctor today to check your jaundice (I'll write more about that next month) and you had grown 2 inches and gained almost 3 pounds in these 5 weeks. Good heavens, child! I think about a pound of your weight is in your cheeks. And your thighs. They've been beefy and strong since you were born.
You've, not surprisingly, had several firsts this month. Two fun ones were your first bath (you did fine) and your first trip to the zoo.
One weird and interesting detail is that you were born on Harry Potter's birthday. That alone is pretty cool but the really weird part is that when you get mad (which comes with lots of grunts), you get this red mark right on your forehead. Granted, it's shaped more like a line than a lightening bolt but still... What are the odds? It's hard to get a good picture of it but you can see it a little bit here.
As the month has worn on you've started spending more time awake. You are more alert and can focus better with your blue eyes. You love looking at me and sometimes you get grunty because I've walked away. I think sometimes you're just lonely. Oh, and you're cuddly. You love to be held and to sleep on people (meaning me). I should add that you sleep best when on people or in the swing. We've tried lots of sleeping arrangements but the best seems to be me on the couch, you in the swing or on/next to me, Daddy in bed. I'm going to try to transition you to your crib sooner than later so that you can be grunty in private. We'll see how that goes. I started to try once but as soon as I laid down in bed without you nearby, I missed you. Sigh. Mama's sappy.
And speaking of sappy... Before your sister came along, I heard that some mothers instantly feel that crazy love for their children and others don't feel it for weeks or months. I felt it pretty quickly with your sister but it was immediate with you. When we were on our way to the hospital to have you I got teary. When I knew you'd be there with the next push, I cried. And I didn't even know you had red hair then...
Even though Mama is tired (and apparently all over the place when it comes to writing), it's been a good month. I'm glad you're here. Our family is complete. I can't wait to see who you become.
Comments
enjoy *~*