John William- One Month Old (Almost One Month Ago)

One Month Stats: 

10 lbs. 5oz.

22 inches

 John was one month old on September 21st, which was almost another whole month ago now, but alas, such is the life of the third child.  I did take these pictures on the 21st of September, so I consider that to mean that I am still on top of it.  Winning. 

John is a good little guy.  He sleeps like a champ, which is amazing.  At one month, he gets up about twice a night, at about 1am and 4am.  He eats and goes right back to sleep right away.  He poops constantly, like crazy.  In his first few weeks of life, he went about 12 times a day.  And that is not an exaggeration.  Yeah.  Everything works.  But he's still gaining weight, he regained his birth weight before his one week check and continued to gain well from there.  He's a good eater.  Marin told someone the other day, "John's a good sleeper like me, and a good eater like Emilie!"  Guess she's heard us say that a few times. When we first brought Marin home from the hospital she slept like a champ, but we had a really hard time eating.  Emilie was just he opposite.  She latched right away, but was a bit more finicky in the sleep department.  So far, John seems to be the best of both worlds! 
With good eater comes good spitter-upper, it seems.  I'm once again covered in it, as is he.  The smell absolutely repulses Jason.  I guess I'm used to it.  

John is very alert.  He's been this way since he was only days old.  He loves to look around and I think he recognizes our faces; especially the girls and I who spend most of the day in his face.  The girls love to say, "Look at me, John John! I'm your big sister!"  Marin especially loves to say this.  And then Emilie says it because Marin just did. ;)  He likes music and to be sung to.  We sing "You are my John John" to the tune of "You are my Sunshine".  He loves to snuggle, especially facing your chest, all nuzzled up under your chin.  He still curls his little legs into a ball, and I love this because it reminds me that even at 10 pounds, he's still a tiny little bundle. 

In the wee hours of the morning I whisper to him that he's my sweet baby boy and I tell him I love him 4,000 times while kissing the top of his head.  Sometimes during various points in the day I kiss his cheeks until it's almost weird.  And I just literally want to eat him whole.  He's such a sweet little yummy munchkin and I love every inch of his baby skin. 

We all make John predictions.  Will his hair be light like the girls?  Will it be curly? What will he love?  What will he make of all the pink tutus in our basement?  Will he happily play princesses?  How will he change this estrogen palace?  What will be the dynamic between he and his sisters? Will he cure cancer? I can't wait to discover.  I can't wait to see his dreams come true.  I can't wait to watch him grow.

We love you, John John.  You have stolen our hearts.    

One Month Old

Marin was one month old on Sunday. I think this last month goes down in history as the fastest passing month ever. The number of things that have changed in the last month are incredible. Now when I sing in the shower it is usually "Mary had a Little Lamb" (or "Marin has a Big Doggie" to mix it up) to keep Marin from crying while I quickly clean a 5am feeding and the subsequent diaper change off of me. I'm lucky if I get a comb through my hair. The days that the blow dryer comes out from the depths of my drawer are nearly miraculous. Forget makeup all together. Ha. Makeup. That's a good one.

Words like "passie" (short for pacifier) and poop (even though I hate this word) are a totally normal part of Jason and my conversations now. Nothing spices up the romance in a marriage like a conversation about your baby's bowel movements. Once upon a time 4 hours of sleep would have had us walking around yawning and acting like zombies all day. Now if we get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep we not only consider it a "great night" but Jason runs client meetings without a cup of coffee and I get the laundry done and straighten the house. Today I even made banana bread!

These changes of course are all for the best reasons. And while my eyes haven't closed for the day this early since I was a child myself, there are many, many amazing changes as well. Tiny coos, baby smiles, little fingers gripping one of ours and the echos of "Daddy's home" every night are among them-- the "Daddy's home" proclamation by myself, of course- happy for the help an extra set of hands can lend. I had heard it a million times before I became a mom, and it is perhaps one of the biggest parenting cliches, but it couldn't be more true; becoming a parent changes everything. In the best ways possible.

Marin is changing herself quite a bit too. She is much more alert during the day now, and she makes little noises like she is trying to talk to us. She likes to look at bright lights and out the window, and she likes her little toys that dangle from her activity mat. We read a lot of books during the day, and even though she doesn't know what I am saying, she likes to look at the pictures. And of course, she is still besties with her dog, Norah. And while Norah is a little perplexed about why this thing that cries at 2am hasn't left yet, she is very gentle with her and still very protective of her.

Change is good.