Leaps and Bounds

... they say that's how they grow - and it's true!  Our little Peanut is growing by leaps and bounds!  I can't believe he's 4 weeks old today... and that his one month birthday is Friday!  It doesn't seem like a month ago that I was in the delivery room huffing and puffing (and sneaking the occasional 'Nila Wafter to keep me energized) anxious to meet our little boy!

Just look at how he's changed!

Just minutes after birth...

 May 24th - 27 days old

He went from weighing 9lbs 5oz at birth, to weighing 10lbs 15oz at his last checkup (May16th)!
He went from 21 inches long, to 23 inches long.  He's such a big boy!  It's hard to believe he's only a newborn when you see how big he is :) 

Here he was in his first car seat ride - 3 days old.

(We may have assumed he'd be a bit smaller... probably didn't need all that padding!)

And here he was on his 3 week birthday, heading out for a celebratory dinner on the town!

 

(Bill thinks he could be cast for the next ET movie with that hood up on his head) ;)

I couldn't imagine life without our little one.  I absolutely love being able to stay home with him all day and watch him as he grows and develops.

He already has great eye contact skills - and has recently started smiling and cooing when I look at him!  He's getting a lot of strength in his neck too, he loves being held up on a shoulder (like in burping position) so he can pick his head up and look around.  He enjoys bath time more now than he used to, especially the hair washing.  We do it in our bathroom and his favorite thing is to look at me through the mirror while I bend over him giving him the bath (I lay him on the counter on a towel and sponge bathe - he still has his cord stump).  He doesn't like getting dressed/undressed - I guess that's just a boy thing.  :)
He loves when momma sings to him too - I usually just make up songs, but he likes it a lot and it usually can calm him down if he's upset.  One day I even caught Papa singing to him.. the "C is for cookie" Cookie Monster song... I guess Cookie Monster was on the diaper and that's what spurred on the song :)
He likes his swing a lot right now too, awake or asleep he will sit in there for a while just content to swing and listen to the music.
He loves to suck!  In fact, he was born with a 'sucking blister' on his wrist from sucking on it so much while he was in my belly still!  If he can find his hands and fingers he's a happy camper, he still has some trouble keeping them in his mouth, but with a little assistance from mom or dad, he can suck on his fist/first finger like it's nobody's business! 
We actually gave him a paci for the first time yesterday.  We don't want him to become addicted to pacis or too dependent, so we only give it to him as a last resort (after we've tried feeding, changing, swaddling, holding/cuddling, etc), but he took it like a champ and really likes it.  We also decided not to give it to him if he's freaking out (crying hard) because we want him to continue to learn how to self soothe (or for us to be the ones that sooth him at this early stage) so we only give it to him once he's calmed down and/or if he's trying really hard to suck on his fingers and just can't get it. 

But he does look awfully cute with that thing in there! :)

Another recent 'first' was his first bottle!  On the 22nd I pumped for the first time, and he took his first bottle!  He took it like a champ too!  He gave me a funny look at first, but once he tasted a little drop of the milk he latched right on and ate it up!  (sorry, all I have is the cell phone photo - it was late at night and we were already in bed)

We plan on giving him at least one bottle a day, just so he's used to it.  That way if we need to go out for a date, or if I need to go somewhere alone, whoever is with him can feed him.  I don't plan on pumping a huge supply or anything, just one bottle a day.  I do about 3-4 oz and he doesn't quite finish it all, but at night he's feedings are closer together and that's when we've been doing the bottle. 
Papa gave him the bottle for the first time last night.  It was so sweet to see him holding O and looking at him and talking to him while he ate. I'm excited that Bill can feed him now and have that as more bonding time for the two of them. 

He's still sleeping sporatically, though he usually takes a long nap in the late morning/early afternoon, and again in the early evening.  For the most part he sleeps 1-2 hours, wakes up, eats, has a little awake time and then naps again.  At night time his bedtime routine usually starts around 9pm.  He'll sleep for 2-4 hours, wake up to eat, sleep for 2 hours, wake up to eat, and then it's usually 1 hour shifts the rest of the morning.  We usually lounge upstairs until 9 or 10 am on that routine.  The good thing is, he usually goes right back to sleep after he eats - usually.  I'm hoping we get more 2-4 hour shifts in the mix soon, the every hour thing is pretty tiring - hence staying up in bed until 10am. :)
I think I covered all the basics!  He's such a good baby.  Almost always content to just sit and look around or to be held.  He only cries if he's over-tired.. it's only a fuss or two if he's hungry or needs to be changed. 

I love, love, love being a stay at home mom right now.  I'm so thankful that God blessed us with this little boy and that He's providing me the opportunity to stay home with him and see him grow and change every day!