One month update

Our Little Prince is one month old today. It’s hard for me to believe that this little one has been part of our life for that long and also for only that short of a time.

He’s doing amazingly well. I haven’t weighed him recently, but he feels heavier every day. While he’s still mostly in newborn sized clothing, he’s at the stage where he’s in between newborn and infant cloth diapers and is almost out of the newborn disposable ones. He’s learned how to scream and how to fight sleep, two really fun things in combination. Thankfully we can usually get him to sleep by walking him around. When he’s awake he loves his playmat. He also loves looking up at things, I think it’s the ceiling fans. When he falls asleep he makes the cutest face that I’ve never been able to catch on camera. He also prefers to sleep on his side (or at least fall asleep on his side). His little nose spots are almost gone and I miss them. He also has a touch of baby acne and a little bit of diaper rash that just won’t finish clearing up.

Here is a compilation some videos that we’ve shot. Most of them are of him asleep.

Nursing has been going pretty well. He takes to both sides without a nipple shields, which is awesome. We work best with the traditional cradle hold and the side nurse. At night, once we get him to sleep, he’ll half wake up with these cute noises and if I start to nurse him, generally he’ll take to it and just fall back asleep, usually nuzzled up to me with a hand on my breast. Sometimes, especially when overtired, he’ll suck and then pull off and start to cry, almost like he’s choking on the milk. So I got him a pacifier to see if he would take that at that time, the idea being he wanted to suck but didn’t want milk, but he doesn’t seem to want that at that time either. I’m not the best at reading his “I need to be burped” cues. I’m also not so great at burping him, but somehow we get by. Then there are times when he has this gurgle in his throat and if I hold him upright for a while, he’ll eventually spit up a bit.

I’ve gone from someone who has never changed a diaper in her life to someone who’s a pro at it, especially because we have days where I swear his diaper is wet as soon as we change it. I’ve learned that I can fall asleep in amazingly bizarre and somewhat uncomfortable positions, if they give LP access to nurse and keep him calm and asleep. I’ve also learned how to worry. I worry he’ll stop breathing (he hasn’t); I worry the covers will suffocate him when we sleep (somehow I wake up every time they’re over his head and move them); I worry that he’ll freak out if I leave him alone for two seconds to run to the bathroom or something and I’m not there if he wakes up (he doesn’t, mostly); I worry the choking and spitting up means he has acid reflux (but he doesn’t fit the symptoms); I worry when I walk around with him upstairs that he’ll somehow squirm and magically fall over the banister or I’ll fall down the stairs with him (haven’t even come close!); I worry we’re doing all this wrong and somehow we’re going to seriously damage him (but I doubt it).

Darius and I are doing pretty well. We’re both learning how to put someone else’s needs above our own (although I think I’m doing a better job of it). We’ve learned that Darius does not function well at all when sleep deprived, so I’ve been trying to give him some time to fall asleep before taking LP into the bedroom. Unfortunately this means that our sleep schedules are off, as I tend to wake up later as a result of this. Darius is really good at holding LP and getting him to calm down and playing with him when he’s alert. He’s also great at giving him a bath.

Yesterday when alert, I gave LP some tummy time and he did this:

As for me, my recovery seems to be going pretty well. Every day I feel stronger and stronger. I still get tired easily, but it’s not that overwhelming exhaustion I used to feel. I even walked with LP in his ERGO to the mailbox and back yesterday and didn’t have to stop to rest at all. I’m trying to make sure to eat enough, but it’s hard to catch meals all the time, so I end up snacking (or trying to) throughout the day. My pelvic pain that I had during pregnancy is gone and my hemorrhoids are clearing up (didn’t you need to know that?). I am experiencing some lower pelvic pain when I’m lying down and have to go to the bathroom, which is strange but the midwife said was a common symptom of a slightly dropped bladder (fun?).

Mentally I’m doing very well, except for when everyone is overtired and LP is screaming and won’t nurse or fall asleep. Then again, I think that’s trying for everyone. I love to hold him when he’s asleep, either in my arms or in my wrap, and he tends to stay asleep much longer that way then when I put him down. With the need to start pumping soon (this week or next) and LP going into daycare in just over a month and a half (really?? so soon???), I know I’ll need to change this behavior, but for right now I don’t think I could hold him too much.

So happy one month, my Little Prince. I love you very very much!

Originally published at my baby blog. Please leave any comments there.