Lucas is 1 month old!

Month 1 Recap:

Breastfeeding -  Nursing proved to be harder than I ever imagined, at first. We didn’t get off to a great start at the hospital, and you went from your birth weight of 7lbs, 11oz to 7lbs by the time we were discharged from the hospital when you were 2 days old. When you were 3 days old on January 28, we went to your first pediatrician’s appointment and you continued to lose weight and were down to 6lbs, 15 oz, which is 10% below your birth weight and cause for concern. The pediatricians wanted to give us a chance so we didn’t have to supplement with formula, so they put us on a strict feeding schedule – every 1-2 hrs in the daytime and 2-3 hrs at night – and we were to wake you from sleeping to feed until you got back up to your birth weight. From there on, you continued to gain weight and grow! You were back up to your birth weight by your two week doctor’s appointment on February 9^th. And by February 25^th for your 1 month pediatrician appointment you were up to a whopping 9 lbs, 14 oz! The doctors wanted to see you gain 1 oz per day, and between your 2-week and 1-month appointments, you were averaging greater than 2 oz per day! FINALLY, we were into a groove and you were eating and growing like a champ! You were also up to 21.75” long (from 20.5” at birth). You actually started to get some fat rolls on your legs and arms, and you even were sporting what seemed to be a double chin – our little chubbo! Feedings were lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour during that first month, so I always felt like I was feeding you! Those times were very special to me and were great times to bond with you, Lucas, but they were also very demanding and frustrating. By the end of the first month, though, we were both getting the hang of it, and the time it took you to eat became less and less.

Sleep - From the first night in the hospital, you were a wonderful sleeper! You slept in our room in the hospital both nights and when we brought you home, you slept in our bedroom on my side of the bed in a vintage cradle that I slept in when I was a baby – you even used the same sheets! You went down very easily and usually only required a little rocking. As long as you were asleep when we laid you in the cradle, you slept until it was time to wake you to be fed. Once we hit the 2 week mark, though, and you were back to your birth weight, we no longer had to wake you up in the middle of the night to eat – instead you woke me up! We were getting a good 4 hours of sleep each night and you would only wake up once a night to eat! Boy was that rejuvenating!!  You were also a great napper and would sleep anywhere – in your crib, the bouncy chair, pack and play.

Development – The day before your 1 month birthday, you started to give us what we thought may have been smiles. You still go cross-eyed when you’re focusing on something or someone close-up, but the important thing is that you are focusing!

The last two weeks have been filled with lots of excitement and firsts! First Superbow. First photoshoot at home. First Valentine's Day. First celebration of Daddy's birthday. First bath. First time in the stroller. First walk at Swarthmore.