Samson

Before:

After:





And when we add a little styling product (because otherwise his hair just falls straight forward):

Happy 1-Month Birthday!

My favorite family photo so far, taken yesterday

So in honor of our littlest man's one month birthday, I have decided on his blog moniker - he will heretoforth be known as........our Squeaky Son, or SS. (Unrelated to the WWII SS - just try to forget about them, okay?) Squeaky Son in honor of the loud squeaking he has done since he was born, which his pediatrician says is totally normal, and he does because his airways are still soft. He used to squeak the most when lying down, but that's mostly resolved, and now his main squeaks are while he eats, especially on the right side. It's very noticeable, and people comment on it all the time. So we have a Barking Baby and a Squeaky Son.

Newborn photoshoot at 10 days old

When I was thinking about this post, I wasn't sure what or how much I would write - and then as soon as I started, I realized he has so many little facts and nuances, some pretty standard for a one-month-old newborn, and some unique to him.

One week old

For example, SS falls asleep much easier with noise than in silence, probably due to all the noise his big brother (okay, and his mama and daddy) made while he was in utero. He will fuss fuss while it's silent in his bassinet, and then I will take him downstairs figuring he's just not ready to nap yet, and then I will glance at him on my chest or in his bouncy seat and with either music or TV or BB playing in the background he will be fast asleep. SS also loves to be held, and falls and stays asleep much better cuddled on J or I's chest or snuggled in Mama and Daddy's bed (which, by the way, BB calls "Mama and Daddy's Big Boy Bed).


Passed out on the playmat in the living room a few days ago

SS is eating great (breastfeeding is going totally smoothly after just a few days struggling to latch on the left side in the very beginning) and goes about 3-4 hours between feedings at night right now. During a growth spurt he might eat every 1 1/2 - 2 hours (and he sometimes cluster feeds like this at night too), and if he's not growing it's about every 3- 3 1/2 hours between feedings right now. Sometimes in the middle of the night after he eats he wants to stay up and have party time - he's spent some quality middle of the night time with J a few nights (apparently he's already been introduced to Deadliest Warrior). But the past week he is starting to seem like he has a little more of a routine and is going back to sleep at night pretty well - swaddling, his pacifier, and playing classical music (part of the bassinet) seems to help him relax and go back to sleep (as long as the pacifier doesn't fall out too early). He is still sleeping in the bassinet in our room, but has taken a few naps in his crib.


Newborn photoshoot

SS is definitely a comfort sucker, just like BB, and loves to suckle to help with tummy troubles and falling asleep. He got a pacifier on his second night home when he just wanted to suckle and be awake all night long.


Newborn photoshoot

SS loves to be cuddled and held. My homemade Moby wrap is great right now, because I can "cuddle" him and still have my hands free to prep food or water the garden - SS falls asleep in the Moby pretty quickly, all cozy on Mama.

His umbilical cord fell off after just 1 week! At his 2 1/2 week check up, SS weighed 7 lbs 12 oz (25th percentile) and was 21 inches long (75th percentile). Last week it seemed like he looked bigger (especially longer) every morning, so I'm guessing he's around 8 1/2 lbs now? He got circumcised at that appointment and was completely healed up within a week.

First bath together, after SS is completely healed from his circ (although I censored the goods)

He has started kicking his legs and moving his arms, and he cooed for the first time (just one little coo) yesterday. He's starting to hold his head up every once in a while - it surprises us when it happens. We have mostly been doing tummy time just with him lying on J or I's chest in bed or on the couch, but today I did a more official tummy time on the play mat and after a few minutes he decided he was not a fan. Poor boy got so worked up, he was crying and breathing really fast when I picked him up! And his newborn cry has definitely been replaced by a louder, more frustrated and insistent cry.

Newborn photoshoot


Newborn photoshoot

We have seen some gassy smiles, but last week SS gave me a little half smile when I was smiling at him. I talked to him and then smiled again, and he gave me another little half smile that really seemed responsive. And then on Friday evening our friend Hannah was over and he gave her some bigger smiles that really seemed responsive too, although he did a big poop afterwards.

Newborn photoshoot

Speaking of poop, the first week he pooped more times than I could believe. I kept saying that there was no way BB pooped this much. I even called him "my poo poo boy" once, and J quickly told me "Yeah, that can't be his nickname." Luckily (for us and his nickname potential), the poo poos slowed down to a more normal rate after a couple weeks.

Newborn photoshoot

SS has been to church and Target and the grocery store and even went to playgroup this morning! That's one thing that's very different this time around - with BB I tried not to go anywhere for 6 weeks, but that's just not really an option or very appealing this time around, partially because I have been feeling pretty much all healed up since SS was about 3 weeks old, which is such a different experience than with BB. I guess a fourth-degree tear versus a second-degree tear will do that to you. I am so thankful for how much more quickly I feel like I have bounced back after this delivery.


Our first family walk, to the park in our neighborhood, at 5 days old

So now you know a little bit about our precious one-month old Squeaky Son. We are in love with the newest member of our family and are trying to savor every aspect of his tiny-ness while it lasts. I know I'm going to blink and he'll be sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, just like BB. Cuddles and more cuddles until then.

Happy 1-month Birthday SS!


Tonight

Bendy

They're so bendy in the beginning!
(taken yesterday, at 3 1/2 weeks old)

Bowflys & Ell-foos

Just some memories...

The first few days after Baby Brother's was born, when J put BB to bed BB would want to pray for Daddy and Mama and BB, and J would ask BB if he wanted to pray for his brother and he would say "Nooo....". And then one night BB wanted to pray for Daddy and Mama and BB and Baby Boy (using his name) and we knew that BB knew that Baby Boy was a part of our family.

BB has been an amazing big brother so far - he wakes up in the morning asking where his brother is, and gently pats or kisses his baby's brother's head without prompting from J or I, and has tried to help put his pacifier back in his mouth. He hasn't shown any aggression towards the baby at all (which for some reason I am surprised by). BB doesn't completely understand how fragile the baby is , but does a great job of being gentle with him. The biggest change we've seen in BB's behavior is that he is throwing more fits, and screaming a lot more. Apparently becoming a big brother encouraged him to explore his vocal range - since Baby Boy was born we've heard octaves that we didn't know existed in his register.

Counting Baby Brother's toes

While J was on his 2-week long paternity leave we were able to take BB to library story time a few times and made a trip to the zoo, and last weekend we took BB to the movies, or as he calls it, the "big TV", to see the Winnie the Pooh movie. (He used to call movies "moo-moos".) At the zoo we saw an "ell-foo" (that's how BB says elephant) that relieved herself, and of course, that's the part of the zoo trip that he talked about the whole ride home.

The elephant was splashing herself with mud, using her trunk, and was really active.

When we walked up to the zoo entrance, BB listed off all the animals we were going to see, remembering them from our zoo trip from about a month before that (we have annual passes).

I feel remiss that it's taken me this long to show you something that has been such a huge part of our daily life with BB...Behold, the fuzzhead:

Ever since he was a baby, BB has had an area on the back of his head that gets super fuzzy when he sleeps. I figured he would grow out of it once he was able to move in his sleep and wasn't just sleeping on his back. Then I thought it would go away after his first haircut. But here it is, two years later, and the fuzzhead has only become bigger and better.

One more BB story:

While J and I were staying at the hospital getting to know our precious new baby, GG stayed at our house and took care of BB. Turns out our oldest son is quite the opportunist. When GG offered him breakfast, she offered him cereal and milk, which he doesn't usually eat (because I don't want to clean up that mess!) but loves to take bites of. Even though J is not a big breakfast eater, he does like to have the occasional bowl of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries as a treat - we don't think BB has ever even seen J eat this cereal though, because usually J treats himself during naptime or for dessert, when BB is already tucked into bed. Well, I had some (generic) cinnamon Life in the pantry as well, and my mom, seeing that was clearly the healthiest of the two options, offered him the Life. But BB told her "No, yellow cereal, yellow cereal", so my mom figured that if he knows the box, we must give him that kind, and that's how BB ended up getting Captain Crunch for breakfast the whole time we were in the hospital!! What a hustler! We don't even know how he knew what it was! But he knew...oh, he knew.

Welcome Gnome Baby!

J opened the front door Sunday evening, and what did he find?

A closer look, you ask?

That's right, the gnomes are BACK!

GNO WAY! Yes, yes, yes, yes!!

We love it. And the curiosity is killing us.

We have no idea who is behind this or either of our other gnomings, but we love you for bringing joy and surprise into our life, especially in celebration of our new little man!

Introducing.....

Born July 29, 2011 at 6:27 pm

7 pounds, 19 3/4 inches

The verdict is still out on what our littlest man's blog moniker will be, but Squeaky Mouse and Little Mouse are both in the running, as he is quite the squeaker!

We left the hospital Sunday morning and have been settling in and adjusting to life with two kids, with help from GG. Someday I will write the whole birth story, but the epilogue is that we are home and healthy after a peaceful post-birth experience, with no NICUs, no baby boxing-glove-IVs, no baby monitors (all after no epidural!), and lots and lots of bonding and cuddles.