Don't blink, am I right?
This post is already late but we had company all last week so I just never got it completely finished. Full disclosure since I had most of the post written last week I don't feel all that guilty about pre-dating it ;)
I might have mentioned (six dozen times) over the past four years that I love having a baby in the house. I know that for some parents the newborn days are a little intimidating and dare I say, not all that much 'fun'. And they would be justified! I can't help myself...in spite of the sleep deprivation...I just love these early days. I can't believe that Hugh is already a month old and would do anything to freeze time right now.
We are all settling in and trying to find our groove as a family of five. Establishing any sort of routine has been pretty much impossible on account of the fact that we have had company for the last three weeks. First my sister came, next amazing family friends and my high school bestie were in town, and this past week another of my best friends and her husband were here. I am so ridiculously blessed to have spent this time with four of my favorite women on the planet (not to mention their families). This hormonal hot mess could cry just thinking about it, who are we kidding I'm balling like a baby. I know I told each of you in person how grateful I was for the help, the love, and the laughs, but it never hurts to say it again. Thank you and I love you with my whole heart.
Speaking of my bursting heart. This baby. Oh.my.god. this baby. It is all I can do to keep from squeezing him twenty two hours a day. Some days I feel like I hold him that many hours a day...but you can't spoil a newborn right?! Today was a particularly hard day for a lot of reasons, but so far Hugh really has been an easy baby. Don't worry I knocked on wood as I typed that, but also, I have been jinxing myself all over IG so I figure why stop now!
The biggest question we get, "Who does he look like?" The answer is, we can't decide. Maybe Lily? There is definitely some Ben there too. Trust me when I say that I have studied every detail of his tiny face and I really didn't think he looked like either of my other two babes, that is until I started looking back at their baby pictures. I don't think that either of my other kids look like Matt or myself...but they do look like each other for sure! I have a comparison post in the works, but it is so hard because every time I start looking at those old pictures I just can't stop and it is too hard to choose just a few to compare.
Without further rambling let's get on to the update shall we?!
Likes: Nursing, napping on someone's chest, being swaddled, baths, getting up for the day at 4:30am, paci, being held, clutching a burp cloth to his chest as though his life depended on it, getting head pats and kisses from Lily and Ben, the front pack, squirming, the Mamaroo, riding in the car.Dislikes: Being put down, sleeping between the hours 4:30am and 9:30am, the booger sucker. (Short list! haha)
Nicknames: Hoo, Hughtiepie, Hoopie, Blueberry Hughtiepie (most if not all of these are Ben's)
Milestones: Haha, he is one month old! He eats, he sleeps, he poops. Everything is a "first"!
Feeding: Hugh is a fantastic nurser. Only very rarely does it take him more than a second to latch. I am used to babies that only nurse for a few minutes on each side and Hugh is no exception. That being said I would estimate that he gets at least two ounces from each feeding when he gets down to business. He has been a trooper about nursing in public which, given that this is my third, has literally been all over the state of Maine. We have been on the go go go and as a result Hugh has had no choice but to lay under his whale blankie and get it done no matter where we are (a park bench at a fair, on a boat, the dinner table at a restaurant, in the car, at the beach). We have been busy!
At 3w5d he took his first bottle. In the spirit of being super Mainers it was around a campfire. Since then he has taken a few bottles from Daddy while out and about. In the last few days we have decided to do a bottle before bed so that I can get a little extra sleep and we can ensure that he goes to bed with a full belly.
Sleeping: Hugh is a good sleeper. He is only a month old and I know that SO MANY THINGS can change BUT so far I am digging his sleeping routine. We go to bed around 10:30 and Hugh sleeps until as late as 3:30...that is a FIVE hour stretch. Ben didn't sleep for five hours until...well...does last night count?? (I'm kidding he does finally sleep through the night, most of the time). The problem is that Hugh goes right back to bed after nursing on both sides at 3:30 for an hour. ONE HOUR, then he is up. As in UP for the day. No matter what I try I cannot get him to settle in and sleep after 5am. He isn't interested in nursing. He just wants to be held and to look longing into my eyes...which I am desperate to close. I entertain him until 7:30 when Matt gets up at which time I practically throw the baby to him as he leaves the room to get up with the big kids. My husband is a saint. I am not an early riser and am so grateful that he will get up with all three kids so that I can get some extra sleep.
Odds and Ends: We are so lucky to have so much family living close by. The help and the support have been a life saver. The highest of fives goes out to any mama managing her kiddos without a whole army of helpers. I have been there ladies and I know how difficult it can be, you are amazing! I will fully admit that I don't think I would be enjoying these newborn days very much at all without Matt's dedication to me and the kids and the flexibility his job affords us. I don't know what I did to be so blessed. It is all I can do to give my kids a fraction of the love I receive from them every single day.
You are so loved little boy. Please don't grow up too fast!
Up next: The final days of summer, a long awaited wedding, and the start of a new routine
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