Joah: One Month

Joah is one month old. This first month with him has flown by quickly just like we knew it would, and suddenly this child that we anticipated for months is now here in our arms and in each everyday moment as if this is the way it has always been. I don't know if a mother ever gets over the instant, indescribable love for their children (no matter how many they have) and the way the heart just instantly grows the very instant you receive each new precious gift. And though you never completely forget the previous, precious days with just one child and then two (and so on), there is still a place that each subsequent child fills, a void that you never felt or knew existed before them, that would forever feel incomplete not to have them there now that they are. Motherhood is the most beautiful gift and even in the overwhelming and frustrating moments I pray that I would never lose sight of the privilege and responsibility that it is. I'm holding tiny hands and wiping tiny faces, but I'm entrusted with tiny, eternal souls. It's a weighty responsibility with eternal value!

I am so thankful for this first month with Joah, and I look forward to all the days ahead with him. Here is a little look at what Joah is like at one month old:

Wearing: beginning to move out of his newborn clothes into 0-3 month clothing now; size one diapers.

Weight and Height: At 2 weeks and four days he was measured at the pediatrician and was 20.5 inches long and 8 pounds 10 ounces. He had gained 20 ounces in 14 days (since our last visit)! I have no idea how much he weighs now but based on that I would guess in the 9 pound range?? He is growing very well, and it looks like he has just gone through a growth spurt! He is looking more chubby and filling out.

Appearance: I think he looks a lot like James as a newborn with Jude's darker features, but I think he is a good combination of both boys. And he is really developing his own look. He still seems to have an olive complexion, lots of dark hair, and it appears that his eyes may stay blue (I feel like Jude's were already changing at this point.)

Eating: Nursing on demand, all the time. With a third baby, I don't even have time to really calculate how many hours between each feeding. He eats several times during the night as well.

Sleeping: on his very best nights he will do a 3.5-4.5 hour stretch from around 10:00 to 2:30 and then another 2-2.5 hour stretch (before we get up with him somewhere in the 5:00-6:00 range). Of course, he is sleeping a ton throughout the day still and there really aren't any consolidated sleep times yet. I am managing to get them all to have overlapping naps most days.  His wakeful periods are still brief; maybe less than an hour each time. He sleeps swaddled in the rock n play sleeper in our room. Right now he makes lots of little grunts and noises in his sleep that make me think he's waking up when he's actually not.

Interactions: he is beginning to become more alert and observant; he looks around the room now and looks really inquisitively at our faces when we talk to him. He smiled at me (a big wide mouth smile) for the first time after a feeding on the morning he turned four weeks old. He seems to like the attention of his brothers and probably prefers their noise to the complete quiet. He really looks intently at the birds that hang from his swing and Baby Einstein toys on his playmat (when his brothers aren't monopolizing it). He is also beginning to cry more lately and let us know when he is unhappy. In the early days he rarely ever even cried.

Outings: we haven't been out a ton this first month and it is harder for me to do this time with three (than when Jude was a newborn). We've been to the grocery store/Walmart several times, Target once, a trip to the library, the park, the doctor's office, James last soccer game, a trip to the McWane Center, waking in the neighborhood and on the middle school track, and church for the first time last week. We haven't eaten out with him yet. Jude's second birthday is this weekend, so he will be out a few more places with his cousins/grandparents this weekend as we celebrate Jude.

Things he seems to like: being held (mostly by Mama), being worn in the ergo carrier (especially when he's fussy in the evenings and it's the only way I can do dinner and bath time when Stephen has visitation and church nights), he is finally starting to like his pacifier but still not as much as either of his big brothers, riding in the car (most of the time), bath time

Things he dislikes: The only major dislikes right now are probably diaper changes and being put down for any long period of time (all of our kids are/were in arms babies)

Health: he has been extremely healthy and we have not had any sickness or concerns so far. The only thing I've noticed is that he is more gassy than probably our other two, needs to be burped more, and wakes up at night with gas pains. I'm trying to work that out with the lactation consultant and make sure it's not something I'm eating. He is a little fussy lately and spitting up some, but nothing that causes me concern with having a big-time reflux baby before him.

Temperament: I hate to compare him to my other two, but he is somewhere in the middle of the two temperament wise, for now anyway. He is not as easy-going as Jude was but not as fussy as James as a newborn either.

Relationship with his brothers: Both boys have been great with him, although Jude had the harder transition being so little. They love to hold him, talk to him, and get diapers for him. They like to watch/help with his bath. Jude loves to point to him, say his name, and asks about him when he's not as visible in the ergo carrier. Although we are working out a new schedule and normal, they are adapting well and really don't appear to be jealous (maybe just a little bored on certain days that we are mostly at home. Hopefully that will improve as he gets a little older and we can do more.)