Thomas - 1 Month

Thomas is already one month old!  How did that happen?!

We went to his one-month pediatrician appointment today, and here are his stats:

• Weight: 10 lbs 9 oz (71%)
• Height: 21.5 inches (75%)
• Head: 15 inches (80%)

Our only concern at this point are his blocked tear ducts.  Both still seem to blocked, despite my efforts at massaging them and putting breast milk in them.  We hope they go away on their own soon.

Thomas is clearly a great eater based on his weight gain.  But his nursing style is so completely different from Lola's.  He likes to eat quickly and frequently, so I usually feed him every 1.5-2 hours (just whenever he's getting fussy and looks like he wants to eat).  I would love to stretch him out to 3 hours, which would help get him on some sort of schedule/routine, but so far I haven't been able to.  He is sometimes fussy when eating and lets go to cry, probably because the milk is coming so fast.  I remember Lola doing that sometimes too.  I'm trying different positions to see if that helps.

His sleep patterns are still pretty irregular.  He usually wakes 2-3 times a night to eat, but the other night he only woke once, so not much consistency.  We started to try to give him a bedtime this week by putting him down in the rocker around 9; before that we were just letting him hang out with us until we went to bed, holding him while he slept.  He is currently sleeping in our room in the rock-n-play sleeper.  He will usually last in there until 4 or 5 in the morning, at which point he gets fussy and just sleeps with me in bed after eating.  I do love sleeping with him - he's so cuddly!  He would sleep in until 9 if he could, but unfortunately we have to get up and take Lola to school.  I usually let him sleep in bed while we get ready to go.  We will likely move him to his crib this weekend.  Like Lola, he makes a lot of noise, and it keeps us awake.  We will see how that goes.  Naps are pretty inconsistent too.  He naps really well if I'm sleeping with him (2-3 hours); otherwise it's just short catnaps for 30 minutes or so.  I have fallen asleep with him and then gotten up after an hour, and he has stayed asleep for another two hours, so that's good.

We haven't seen any true smiles yet, although I think he's been close, so hopefully that will be soon.  He is definitely more alert and likes to take in his surroundings.  Lola is still in love with him and says, "I just want to hug him and kiss him."  It's really sweet.

Overall Thomas is a great baby so far.  He is "needy" in the sense that he likes to be held constantly, but luckily we like to hold babies.  He likes being worn in the carrier and will sleep while in it, so that has helped me on days when I need to do things around the house.  He doesn't really seem to like the swing, but I think that's just because he'd rather be held.

Not happy with the pink bouncy seat (or Lola's hands)

Sweet face

Asleep on my chest - my favorite

Floor time

Sibling cuddles in bed

Thomas was not pleased

Happy 1 month, baby boy!