leo is one month old

Everyone is still alive. I'd say it was a successful first month.

Leo's one-month check-up was yesterday. He weighed in at 10 lbs 5 oz (60%), 23 in long (97%) and still has a giant head. He's been declared pretty much perfect. He barely fits into newborn clothes anymore, and has mostly graduated to 0-3 month clothes. He is wearing size 1 diapers.

One of the first things Charlie decided to share with Leo was his germs. I knew this would happen, I just didn't plan on it happening so soon! Charlie had a little cold and he passed on a runny nose to Leo. Luckily, some nasal congestion has been Leo's only symptom, but the poor little guy does not like to have his nose suctioned. It's probably caused some additional fussiness - it's hard to know what's the cold vs. typical newborn neediness - especially since he got sick shortly after two weeks of life so there wasn't a lot of time for us to get to know his norms before we added this bump in the road. It has potentially interrupted some sleep, but for the most part, it hasn't made him too miserable. He's still eating great and sleeping fairly well.

Every now and then we hit a 1-2 day stretch with increased fussiness - wanting to nurse all the time + waking up more at night. I've mostly chalked these up to little growth spurts, but the cold could also be to blame. These little episodes aside, he usually nurses every 2 hours during the day, and then every 3-4 hours at night. Sometimes he goes back to sleep easily, but the last few nights it's taken a little more effort because he's eating so much that he's basically drowning in milk when I try to put him back down. He usually spits up and then needs to burp a lot before he can go back to sleep. All said and done, this process can take about 2 hours. We moved the rocking chair into our room to help with the nighttime soothing. So far, it has worked. Last night, it only took 1 hour for him to eat, burp, and then rock back to sleep. He sleeps in the bassinet next to me, and luckily, is a pretty quiet sleeper so he doesn't bother us...although I'm tired enough these days that I'd probably sleep through anything!

The last 10-14 days or so, Leo has wanted to be held all. the. time. We haven't quite mastered how to be awake and content so he's either eating, sleeping, or awake and demanding attention, which means being held - preferably while walking, swaying or rocking. He loves the rocking chair because it combines his two favorite things - being held and motion. But sometimes only nursing will soothe him (especially in the evenings when he is the master of cluster feeding). Once asleep, he'll happily transition to his rock n play or mamaroo. I've tried really hard to get him to take a pacifier, but no dice (so I get to be his human pacifier....yay!). Every blue moon, he might accept it, but it's pretty rare.

The magic bullet is the soft baby wrap. Whenever he is fussy, I can put him in his wrap and he'll settle down and fall asleep. If he doesn't settle down in the wrap then I know it's just because he's just wants to nurse. I like wearing him because I can have my hands free (and because it calms him down almost instantly), but my back isn't such a fan of baby-wearing. We might be in real trouble as little man gains weight. I definitely enjoy all the snuggles, but it can be a challenge to have a baby who wants to be a held all the time and a toddler who wants to get into trouble at least half of the time.

Leo often cries when first being put in the car seat, but once he's moving, he'll usually fall asleep. Best of all, once he has fallen asleep in the car seat, he'll stay asleep even once he's out of the car and no longer moving.

He likes bath time except when it's time to get out. He loves being warm and cozy, and can't be wrapped in enough layers. He seems to enjoy his swaddle even though it means he can't access his hands, which he has already discovered are fun for chewing. I have a feeling he'll eventually be a self-soothing thumb/finger sucker, but for now, he'll just gnaw on his hand for a bit before mama lets him eat.

Now that all the grandparents have left, we are starting to figure out life as family of four. Jon is still working from home most days, but we try to think of them as trial runs for being back at work. We pretend he's not here and leave the office door closed for him to work as much as possible, but he usually pops out to eat lunch with us, and I know he's available if I need to call an SOS. He'll generally rejoin us after Charlie's nap around 4:00 p.m. and then go back to work after dinner and Charlie's bedtime. He has gone into the office a few times in the afternoon, and once for the whole day this week. It was a long day, but we made it. I don't know what we would have done these last four weeks without helpful grandparents and dada being home.

Being alone with both boys is manageable as long as we all just stay home in our pajamas! But I still have no idea how I'm supposed to get myself and both boys ready and out the door - especially for a morning activity. It takes me a while before I'm really awake in the mornings...and it all depends on the unpredictable nature of Leo's sleep. I know I'll figure out things eventually. For now, I'm anxiously awaiting nicer spring weather so we can play outside in the backyard or go for walks. Anything that doesn't involve getting the kids in the car and anywhere on time. :)

Around the two-week mark Leo decided he wanted to stop pooping multiple times a day and become more of an every 48-hours (or longer) pooper. I don't mind not having all those dirty diapers to change, but it's an odd elimination schedule for a one-month old. Luckily, he's perfectly content with this arrangement, and it's probably part of the reason he's gained over 2 lbs this month.

The rejection of the pacifier was only a glimpse of things to come. We tried a bottle of pumped breastmilk last night for the first time. As much as I love Leo, I would like to eventually leave him for more than 2ish hours at a time. However, the bottle was met with fast rejection as well. I went to the store and bought about 10 different types of bottles to try. Fingers crossed that we can eventually find one he'll accept.

Charlie continues to be the best big brother. He tries to help as much as possible - shoving pacifiers in Leo's mouth, covering him with blankets, offering kisses when he cries, and pushing the buttons on his mamaroo. He has learned how to help burp the baby, and he's even tried to pick him up a few times before we intervened, of course. He always wants to know where the baby is, and says goodbye to him if he leaves the room. He also likes to laugh at his brother for no apparent reason. It's been adorable to watch him assume the role of big brother. It melts my mama heart.

Have I mentioned how excited I am to no longer be pregnant? I like having Leo on this side of things so much better. Sometimes when I pick him up I can't believe that just one month ago, he was still an inside baby. I mean, how did he even fit in there? But he's the perfect addition to our family, and we can't imagine life without him.