Henry: 1 Month

Our little guy turns one month today!  I can't believe how fast time has gone.  Each day is super long but time as a whole has gone by so fast.  Henry had his one month appointment today.  The doctor said he is perfect, but we sort of knew that.  He gained almost 2 pounds since his last appointment three weeks ago so he weighed in at 8 pounds 14.5 ounces.  He is almost 21 inches long (the hospital and doctors' office measure length differently; he hasn't gotten shorter since birth).  At his last appointment, he was in the 10th percentile in weight and length, but now he's in the 25th.  His head circumference is also in the 25th. 

Thanks Tara and Trey for the month tags! I'll remove the flash next time.

These past couple of weeks have been pretty difficult for me.  If you follow me on social media, you know that the kid doesn't like to sleep.  One day this week, he only took two one-hour naps between 9:30 am and midnight.  The mornings and afternoons normally aren't too bad, but the evenings are pretty trying.  He typically wakes up from a nap around 5 and then doesn't go to sleep until between 11 pm and midnight, with maybe a 10 minute nap somewhere in there.  He cries A LOT during this time. We know he's tired, and sometimes he'll fall asleep, but as soon as we put him down, he's wide awake.  He can't seem to stay asleep until he's down for the count.

During this time, he likes to cluster feed.  The doctor actually mentioned that Henry may like his stomach extremely full before falling asleep, instead of the amount normal babies prefer.  Milk supply naturally depletes in the evening, so that may be the cause of his fussiness.  I'm going to load up on water to see if it helps in the evenings.  However, the doctor said he may be slightly colicky too, given that he typically settles down a bit when we walk, bounce, or take him outside.

In the beginning, he liked to be swaddled.  About two weeks ago, he decided he was done with the swaddles.  He would grunt and squirm until he broke free of the Swaddle Me.  The kid is strong-willed.  Now, he normally sleeps with his hands next to his face or straight above his head.  It's pretty cute.

Aside from his sleeping patterns, he LOVES LOVES LOVES to be outside.  I think part of it is the heat, but he also likes the sun on him.  If the wind blows, he starts to move his head like "Ah, that feels good."  His eyes almost instantly close, and his body goes limp.  This has been a life saver in the evenings, although as soon as we walk inside, he's fussy again.  He'd probably like if we set his sleeper up outside and let him sleep there. 

He is extremely alert.  Brett and I have noticed that he is starting to focus on things like our faces when we talk to him.  He used to look past us, but now it seems like he's looking at us.  According to the doctor, around one month, infants can begin to see outlines of faces, as opposed to being legally blind.  Around two months, their vision drastically improves. 

We learned that Henry likes music.  In the beginning, the King (George Strait) would calm him down.  Now it's just any type of music.  He seems to like when I sing Victory in Jesus so that has become his nightly song.  Brett says we have to start him early on those good ole Southern Baptist hymns. 

Here are some pictures from his first month.

The best daddy

The look of love and exhaustion

Piper has become really attached to him.  When he cries, she runs to check on him.  If I'm not in the room, she'll come over to me and look at me like, "Is he ok?"  When I'm nursing, she typically comes and lays right under his feet or his head so he props up on her.  Whenever we change him, Piper follows us into the room and lays down at our feet.  The other day, I leaned Henry against her stomach while she was laying down (don't worry, I was still holding him), and she just put her head on the couch and fell back asleep.  Henry seemed to be intrigued by the feel of her fur, but the coldness of her nose startled him.  It warms my heart and eases my mind to know Piper does well with him.  I was really nervous about that.

Henry got to meet one of his great grandparents this month too.  Mom and Dad braved the trip and brought Oba to our house.  Oba was enamored by him.  She kept saying, "I take him home" and "He such good baby."  When Mom went to take Henry so she could hold him, Oba said, "No," and gave Mom the stink face.  She just loves him.  With my grandparents getting old, I'm really glad he was able to meet Oba.  Next week, he'll get to meet Mimi and Pappaw!

Her first time holding him. I love her face here.

One of my favorite pictures. So much history in this picture.

Well, I think that's a good recap of his first month.  I have learned a lot and plan to write a post about some of the things people didn't tell me or things that I would stress with my vast amount of experience. Ha. Hope you enjoyed learning about our little guy!