Alexander, you are getting to be such a big boy. We had your one month check up at the doctor today and you were 9lbs.13.5oz and 21.25" already! The doctor was very impressed and asked me if I was supplementing breastfeeding with formula, especially with the latching problems you had early on. Ha - nope, you are getting only the good stuff, which apparently I make with a high fat content. It won't be long before you have your sister's chunky rolls!
You are generally a pretty chill baby. You still nap much of the day, but thankfully you are a great sleeper at night, too. You are sleeping in the swing in our room - we tried your bed and the bassinet for a few nights, but you just weren't having it so we switched to the swing and you instantly started giving us 2-3 hour stretches at night. The last few nights you've given us a 4-4.5 hour stretch and then a few 3 hour stretches after that, which is WONDERFUL! You have been getting good at feeding, changing, feeding some more (and then pooping AGAIN and changing AGAIN) and then going back down to sleep. However, you are quite the GRUNTER! You keep daddy and I up for awhile while you work to digest and get comfortable - you grunt and grunt and grunt some more. Eventually you do fall back asleep but sometimes you grunt for over an hour.
You are slowly growing out of your newborn clothes and are starting to fit in your 3 month clothes. You are officially out of newborn diapers and are into size 1's. You eat about every 2 1/2 to 4 hours - usually right around 3 hours.
You are certainly a spitter upper but not as bad as your sister was. It still doesn't seem to bother you so we have held off on any reflux meds at this point. You are a VERY gassy baby and after dinner you get pretty fussy and your tummy gets very uncomfortable. Mommy and Daddy usually switch off trying to console you. We've tried gas drops but I'm not sure how much they help. Mommy is going to try eliminating some things from her diet to see if that helps. Usually if we wrap you up in a really snuggly blanket and walk around shushing you and patting your back that settles you down pretty well.
Daddy: Your daddy amazes me with how good he is doing with the transition to 2 kids. He is so excited to see you every day when he gets home from work. He is also sooo good with Makenna and lately has been spoiling her rotten with lots of play time and silly daddy time. I love to see them play together and laugh together and I look forward to the day when you are big enough to join in, too. Daddy calls you "Alligator" to which Makenna usually corrects him and says - No!! He is Alex! Daddy's favorite thing to do with you is snuggle you and sing to you. Tonight he snuck upstairs after dinner and I caught him rocking you and singing his favorite Better Than Ezra songs to you while listening to the CD. He used to do the same thing with your sister to calm her down and you both love it! On Sunday mornings at church, Daddy loves to hold you - he always takes you out of your carseat and snuggles you during the service.
Mommy: Oh Alex, time is flying WAY too fast for this mama! Part of me can't believe it has been a whole month already and part of me can hardly remember a day when I didn't hold you in my arms. I absolutely love spending every waking minute (and sleeping minute I suppose) with you and am very sad to be going back to work already in just a week and a half. I know it is only a few days a week, but I will miss you more than you could imagine. I love you SO much and want to bottle up every minute.
I have to keep reminding myself that I was the same way with Makenna- I didn't know if we'd be blessed with another baby so I remember holding on to each moment, afraid for her to grow up - that I'd miss something or that it would be my only chance to enjoy that stage. Yet I found that with each new stage she just got more and more fun & sweeter and sweeter. I know the same will be true with you - and I keep reminding myself of that. But I do know that you will be our last and I forgot how much I LOVE the newborn stage. I have already put away a few of the outfits you have grown out of and that makes me a little teary eyed, I must say!
I love everything about you - you are starting to recognize my voice more and more and I can get you to smile if you are in the right mood. I like to say la la la at you and you try to imitate me with your tongue. I love your baby sneezes and the way you sometimes try to sneeze and can't and the sweetest little aaaaahh comes out - I am still trying to get it on tape. I secretly love the time we get to spend together just the two of us at 2am. I hate getting out of bed, but you always make it so worth it - you have the sweetest looks on your face after you eat and you are so snuggly and sweet. I could do without you puking down my shirt in the middle of the night, but hey, we'll work on that one. I love you, buddy!
Makenna: Alex, your sister adores you. She is sooo sweet with you and does a good job of giving you your space yet always wanting to make sure you are ok. If she hears you crying, she tells me - "Mama, your baby is crying!" or "Mama, give your baby some of your milk" or "Mama, your baby has a poopy diaper!" Lately you have been pooping right after I change your diaper to which I like to say "Buudddy, you pooped again!" Makenna has started mimicking me and saying the same thing - I love the way she says it, it sounds just like when I say it. Makenna is such a good helper and is so good about getting me whatever I need when I am busy feeding you or changing your diaper. Your sister thinks you are I are inseparable these days and if she sees me without you, she says "Mama, where's your baby?". She will tell people we see "look, my mama's baby came out!". At night, she loves it when I bring you into her room and lay you in her bed with her while I sing you your lullabies. Alex, you have a great big sister who loves you very much!
Now onto the good stuff... pictures!!
Love the pose here! And check out those monkey feet!!
After your doctor's appointment today we paid our favorite nurse Theresa from the infertility clinic! She was SOO excited to meet you! We also saw the embryologist that took such good care of you when you were frozen and helped to thaw you out! She may have been the same one that told us to send you and your sister back as I mentioned in this post:
http://snowflakebabygirl.blogspot.com/2013/10/dear-baby-boy.html Ha! I actually did give her a hard time about that today - I couldn't resist:)
Happy one month birthday baby boy!!
And just for fun....
They do look pretty similar, eh?
