Daniel, the first month

  9 lbs 13 oz, 21 inches 



Wow, I can't believe Daniel is over a month old now.  I have been slacking on keeping up on the blog, which I need to make more time for so years from now i can look back at this blog and be reminded of our first month together.

It's amazing how quickly the days pass by.  People ask me if we have a routine down yet, and I really haven't been focused on getting into a routine.  I'm more just reacting.  Most days Daniel is a great baby, but he does have his fussy days.  Mostly fussy b/c he is so gassy and some days it is really really painful for him.  We've been giving him drops to help the gas, and they do help a little, but they don't eliminate the gas altogether.  We have also been doing his gas exercises - bicycling his legs and similar movements - which seem to help him release the gas.  It's crazy - if you just heard his toots and didn't know any better, you'd swear there was an adult male in the room blasting those kinds of toots!   It's funny until he becomes red face, screaming baby and writhing in pain until the gas passes.  I hate when that happens.  Sad face.

Let's see, what else.  In the beginning he was eating about every 2 hours.  This is 2 hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next.  So by the time he eats, we burp, change diaper, etc, we have about an hour and 15 minutes til the start of the next.  Yikes.  Recently we've got some longer stretches out of him and it seems like it's never less than 3 hours, and sometimes he'll even be fine for up to 4 or 4 1/2 hours. Turns out that breast milk digests quicker than formula, so breastfed babies get hungrier sooner.  Makes sense given that he is CONSTANTLY pooping.  Seriously, I can't keep the kid in a clean diaper it seems like!

Speaking of poopy diapers, we definitely have learned our lessons the hard way of getting peed and pooped on and have come up with some good methods to keep ourselves (and our carpet) safe during diaper changes.  However, that little stinker has impeccable timing.  One time, for the very split second that I lifted his legs up to remove the dirty diaper and get the clean diaper under him, he squirted poop (mustard yellow, mind you) out over the rim of the changing station and all over the carpet.  I tried to stop it with my hand, but of course it didn't work and I just ended up with poop all over my hand and arm.  Oh well, I'm already over having perfectly white carpet and unstained upholstery :)  He's totally worth it.  If anything, it just makes me laugh.

Most mornings we get up and go for a walk in the stroller before it gets too hot out.  Daniel usually really likes the stroller and it usually lulls him right to sleep.   And I really appreciate being about to get some fresh air and some exercise.

Some days I can get quite a bit done around the house, but other days not as much.  He has times when he just really doesn't want to be put down, which usually is just fine with me unless we have to go somewhere and I'm trying to get ready, then it becomes a challenge.  But I've started just wearing him around the house in the Baby Bjorn carrier and then I've got both hands free, usually that works.  Yesterday we were going to my work to visit so I had to get myself ready (which doesn't happen very often these days!) and I actually straightened my hair and put on my make up while he was in the carrier on my chest.  Worked well, I just had to pick lots of my hair off of him afterwards!

Likes:

• Eating! It's his favorite thing to do.  He is a LOUD eater.  Omg, so many noises, it's hilarious.  Sometimes I'll call Cody when I'm nursing and the first thing he says is "Daniel's eating, huh?" I really should record it b/c I'm going to miss the sound of it someday.
• Sleeping is a close second in favorites.
• Being held (especially laying on the chest of whomever's holding him) and having his back or bottom patted
• Pacifier
• Stroller
• Tummy time (usually)
• Looking around while he's on his back - usually at the ceiling or towards the light.  I think he can focus on me, but sometimes I'm not sure if he's just looking past me. 
• Bath time - I found that he only likes bath time if we leave the tub water running.  He loves the sound of it. In fact, sometimes when he's fussy I'll just go stand by the sink and run water and it calms him.  But he hasn't made a single cry during bath time once we made this discovery.

Dislikes (not too many):

• Gas
• Getting strapped into the car seat.  Omg, he screams sometimes, but then once the car is in motion he is good.
• When I clean the gunkies out of his eyes - he has a lot b/c he has clogged tear ducts so it builds up pretty frequently.  Dr said the mattery eyes will come and go for the up to a year, but that it's very normal. We just massage his tear ducts and it usually clears itself up within a few days. 
• Diaper changes - he doesn't hate it, but doesn't love it. 
• Changing clothes - again, doesn't hate, but doesn't love.  And usually makes him annoyed with me. 
• Tornadoes.  Within the first week of coming home from the hospital, we were in the basement with sirens going off twice.  Ok, Daniel didn't know the difference, but mommy & daddy were not fans of envisioning trying to protect our baby from flying debris or worse.  Thank God our area was not hit - our hearts go out to those in Joplin and Sedalia who weren't as fortunate.

What calms him when he's fussy:

• Being held coupled with some or all of the following: walking around, bouncing, swaying, having his bottom patted, back patted, hearing mom/dad's voice, running water, vacuum cleaner noise
• Eating