I stole this photo idea from other blogs that I read. I wish I'd done it for the girls! I'll do my best to photograph "Stu" here each month to see how much he grows and changes with time.
Speaking of the girls, they were chomping at the bit to get into the photo too! J had to literally hold them back for me while I snapped the pictures. After I was satisfied that I'd captured a good one, we let them have at it. Poor kid...I have a feeling this is only the beginning of his sisters meddling in his life!
Precious baby! Just like his daddy...it doesn't take much to make him sleepy! In this case, it appears his paparazzo mother wore him out. Ha!*****
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-I'm still obsessed with your hair! My favorite is your freshly washed hair. But if I don't towel dry it and comb it as soon as possible after your bath, you get a little tuft that flips up near the front. I don't know that I'd classify it as a full-blown cowlick, but I do my best to take care of grooming your hair right away so we don't have to deal with it. :0)
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-So much about taking care of you brings back long-forgotten memories about your sisters. I'm so happy that I'm recalling things about them because I failed to record much about their growing up. I'm grateful for the opportunity to remember some things about them!
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-My absolute favorite things to dress you in are onesies and matching cotton pants. (Like what you're wearing in these photos!) That's about all you wear! I'm stockpiling those pants in every size so you'll keep having them at every stage.
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-You're outgrowing most of your newborn-size tops and even some brands of 0-3 month onesies (Gerber brand, to be exact!). You're still able to wear newborn size pants, however. You have some "small" size pants, or 0-3 month size pants, and they fit you OK. They're big on you, but I can roll down the waist and make them work.
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-We decided to move you up to size 1-2 diapers since they seem to fit fine. You can still wear newborn size diapers, but just barely. So now we can get you Costco diapers since they start at size 1-2! We're happy about saving money, but secretly the sentimental mama in me is sad that I'll never diaper a baby in tiny newborn size Pampers Swaddlers again. They are my absolute favorite. I love how soft they are and their wonderful scent!! Today I set aside the last three that we had so I could put them in you and your sisters' scrapbooks one day. Until that day, I'll keep sniffing them! :0)
-M continues to call you "Stu", and we'll always let her. She's over the moon about you still! She loves to hold you, and when you're laying down somewhere, it doesn't take long for her to snuggle up beside you.
-Rosie adores you too, and when you enter the room she always exclaims "Ah bee-bee! Ah bee-bee! (Hi baby!)" She loves to pinch your cheeks, and she'll often "tickle" you while saying "teek-ah, teek-ah, teek-ah!", which is her version of "tickle, tickle, tickle!" like we say to you all when we tickle you.
-You spend a lot of time staring at the curtains, blinds, and black crosses we have hanging as decor on the wall in the living room. I'm sure it's the contrast in colors. Your sisters did the same thing!
-We tried to feed you a different formula the other day because we ran out of our normal brand and we happened to have a sample can of something else. You would have none of it! Luckily you had some regular formula in your diaper bag. Maybe you're going to be a creature of habit like your mama!
-You're currently eating about four ounces of formula every three hours.
-You really respond to touch. (Typical man! HAHA!) When you're fussy or discontent, oftentimes all I have to do is put my hand over your arms and you calm right down. I think you like the warmth and softness of skin!
-You're a big fan of sleeping swaddled still. We've tried to put you down in your cradle unswaddled, and even if you're conked out completely, you'll still wake up because you have no control over your arms yet.
-I can tell you're getting bigger physically. I'm trying to be OK with that. A small part of me is OK with it, though. I know the best is yet to come, and each new stage will be my favorite, just like it was and is with your sisters!
-You love to snuggle. And I'm OK with that! We spend many an evening after your dinner in Daddy's recliner, you asleep cuddled up against my neck.
-During one of said snuggle sessions a few nights ago, you sucked your thumb for the first time! You put your right thumb in your mouth, and it was so funny because you left the rest of your fingers spread out on your face. You had a look on your face as if to say, "this is comforting to me but a little weird at the same time...what's on my face?!"
-You're adapting to a schedule so well! I love it. I don't know if it's because you're my third child, but I feel so at ease taking care of you! I wish I had this same confidence with your sisters.
-You're still sleeping well at night and only waking once in the middle of the night to be fed. The last few nights you've given us at least one 5-6 hour stretch! Generally, you wake between 2-3 AM and again at 6-7 AM to be fed. (Now if only Daddy and I would get smart and go to bed earlier so we can get a 5-6 hour stretch of sleep, too!)
-You're so predictable--if all your other major needs are taken care of: full tummy, sufficiently burped, clean diaper, etc., and you're fussy, it's a clear sign that you're tired and want to take a nap. I love being able to read you so easily!
-I can decipher at least one of your cries: the hungry one. It's the most serious!
-Last Friday was Mama's first solo trip out with all three of you. We took Rosie to the doctor for her 18-month well-child check-up. You slept most of the time and were a dream! It felt like a three-ring circus for me, though...the girls were in the double stroller, and I carried you in the Bjorn carrier. Honestly, I wanted to cry. I felt like we looked like such a spectacle! But as we left the doctor's office, I suddenly felt so proud of us and our accomplishment. Maybe this isn't going to be so difficult for me to get out with all of you! Some of the nurses even commented that it looked like I'd gotten the system down. (Obviously, I'm a good actress! Ha!)
-You went to your first playdate on Monday this week at our MOPS friend Holley's house. There were 4-5 other moms there from my MOPS group along with their children. You seemed to enjoy watching all the "big kids", and you were rarely fussy there!
-You took your first trip to Rockwall to visit your future best buddy Hudson on Tuesday of this week. His mommy Nikki is one of my best friends, and we go up there a lot to play! Again, you really enjoyed your time with the bigger kids, and you were awake most of the time we were there. Maybe it was being surrounded by all the "boy" toys?! Nikki is expecting a new future best buddy for you--Harrison! He'll be joining you sometime in August! We're so excited to have two little guys so close in age.
-Today you took your first grocery shopping trip with mama and the girls. You've been shopping before, but the difference today? Mama was flying solo! It wasn't too bad, and Mama actually felt really good about how it went! You were fussy on and off most of the time there. Maybe you don't like shopping so much? No big deal...Mama doesn't really, either. Then again, it could just be that you were close to lunch time! We must have been a sight--now we're forced to use the humongous shopping cart with two plastic seats for older children. Your sisters are pumped--they're always begging me to use that kind, and I avoid it like the plague! When it was time to check out, I actually scoped out all the checkers and the people in line to find the most sympathetic looking people to stand behind in line and check us out. I opted to get in line behind an older couple that looked like they could have grandchildren themselves. Turns out I made good choices--even though you were crying, both the checker and the couple ended up "ooing" and "aahing" over you in your carrier!
-You still cry through most of your baths. And you make it so hard for me to sit you upright in your bathtub so I can wash your back! You won't bend your legs for me so I can put you in a sitting position. But when I'm burping you, it's never a problem to get you to sit up.
-Speaking of burping, you're still a champ at it. Your sisters were so hard to get burps out of. Oftentimes all I have to do is put you over my shoulder and you burp immediately without even needing pats!
-Your skin has gotten a little bit lighter.
-Your hair is still as dark as the day you were born.
-I'm pretty sure your eyes are turning from blue to brown! Could it be that you're going to have your daddy's coloration?
-You're still sleeping in your cradle in our bedroom near my side of the bed. One of my favorite parts of the day is when I go to bed, but not for reasons you might think. Most nights Daddy is still working in the living room when I go to bed, so there's a soft glow cast over your cradle from those lights coming in through our bedroom hallway. When I crawl in bed, I always start out laying on my right side so I can stare at my sweet sleeping swaddled pea pod and memorize the sight of a baby sleeping next to me. It's such a bittersweet, beautiful thing for me. I know that in a very, very fast few weeks you won't be in our room anymore, and we'll be disassembling and packing up that cradle for the last time. It was a gift from your Mamaw and Papaw, and it "cradled" all three of you precious children for your first few months of life! I remember the day they brought it over and assembled it for us. It's in perfect condition, and I plan to save it to hopefully "cradle" some of our grandchildren one day!
-I was so apprehensive when I found out you were a boy in my womb, but with each day I get more and more excited. You are perfect just the way you are, and I can't imagine our family without you!
2 comments:
precious post. every SINGLE word. well written...your kids are going to love going back over these one day.
what a handsome four week old!
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