Fancy-Free Life: Weeks 3 & 4

Guess who is ONE MONTH OLD already?! You guessed it. Baby Jesse turned a month old on Saturday. The past two weeks have brought many 'firsts', and I am allowed to drive now so Jesse and I have been busy venturing out of the house. I have lots to update you on, and following this update, we will start monthly updates instead of weekly posts. I plan to write about our adventures with Jesse on a regular basis, though :-)

I took this picture on Sunday as we were getting ready for church:

...And only one month ago:

My sweet little baby is growing up!!!

Loves: Eating, sleeping on Momma and Daddy's chest, hearing people talk or sing to him, looking at bright lights or colorful objects, 'tummy time', sitting in his bouncy seat with the calming vibrations turned on, bath time, and sleeping.

Eating: Jesse is still doing great in the breastfeeding department! He eats every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day, and roughly every 3 hours at night. Sometimes he will "cluster feed" in the evenings and want to nurse in short spurts over several hours. He was 6 pounds 10 ounces when he was born, and I took him to the doctor's when he was a little over 3 weeks old to get checked out for some congestion... and he weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces that day. He's definitely growing!!! :-) I am so grateful that the breastfeeding has gone well - I cannot get enough of that sweet bonding time with my baby boy. We did introduce a bottle in Jesse's third week and he did great with it! His daddy usually gives him a bottle when he gets finished with his bath time.

Sleeping: Jesse's naps are getting less and less predictable. He was an AWESOME napper in the first two weeks... and then he started changing things up on me ;-) Some days he will nap after he eats... others he will be wide awake! When he's awake, I find it really hard to try to get stuff done around the house... not because he's fussing to be held, but because he's SO DARN CUTE and I feel like I should be entertaining/engaging him when he's awake. Maybe it's the teacher in me? In terms of night time sleeping, Jesse usually sleeps from about 10pm - midnight, 12:30 - 3:00, and 3:30 - 5:30/6:30. He's started doing this loud grunting thing when he sleeps at night. From what I've read, it's normal for babies to make these grunting noises when they sleep... but it makes it hard for Momma to fall asleep, that's for sure!

Fun Facts: ***In week 4, Jesse officially moved out of newborn sized clothes and diapers. We are now wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. So far, Pampers seem to be working the best for us. Jesse constantly leaks (both pee & poop) out of Huggies :-( ***Jesse absolutely loves having his hands by his face. Even when I swaddle him, he finds a way to work his hands out so that they can be by his face. I've started just swaddling him so his hands are already by his face to save him the trouble of trying to wiggle out - LOL. Some nights I will swaddle him, other nights he sleeps in a sleep sack. ***Jesse is so strong!!! He's already lifting his head, and he tries to pull himself up into a sitting position when you hold him by his hands. He also kicks really hard with his legs. When I lay him on his belly for tummy time, he can scoot himself across the play mat if I put my hands down under his feet to give him something to push off of. It just amazes me how strong he is!!! ***Jesse's eyes are still blue! In fact, when he was born they were dark blue. Now, they are starting to lighten right around the pupil and they're a beautiful electric blue color. I'm secretly hoping they stay this color... ;-)

Mommy Moments: Jesse has had some congestion over the past couple of weeks and it has been driving me crazy! I wish my baby boy just felt better already. We've been doing saline nasal drops, running a humidifier, sitting in a steamy bathroom, suctioning out his nose... we're doing it all. He's not stuffed up; he just has a lot of mucous draining from his sinuses to his throat. Sometimes he coughs/gags on it. :-( When he first started becoming congested, I called the triage nurse at the pediatrician's office and she told me to do all of those things I listed above. She said if he didn't get better within a few days, to call back and make an appointment. After a few days, the 'gunk' I was suctioning out of his nose turned yellow/green, so I called and made an appointment. The doctor basically told me to keep doing what I've been doing... there's just not a lot you can do for babies aside from what I'm already doing. He's not running any fever and the doctor said his lungs sound clear... so it's one of those things that we just have to let it run its course. Unfortunately, baby colds can last twice as long as adult colds... so it could be another week or so till he feels better. It just breaks my heart hearing him so congested. I've prayed and prayed over him... even told God to take the sickness out of him and give it to me! I'd much rather deal with it than see/hear my baby struggle with it. There have been a few nights of laying awake and listening to him breathe... sleeping with my hand stretched out across his back to feel him breathe... spending the night on the recliner with the baby sleeping on my chest because that position seems to be the best for him to breathe well. I definitely have a new appreciation for my Momma and all of those nights when she laid awake with me when I was sick growing up.

Firsts: Trip to the grocery store, stroller ride, trip to the mountain, trip to church, feeding with a bottle, lifting his head, reaching for toys hanging on play mat, riding in a baby carrier/sling, going to a birthday party (his distant cousin Lane), big boy bath in the baby tub (hated it then, loves it now).

Here's a picture from his first bath experience: