Jake~1 Month

My little baby is now a month old!  In some ways, I can't believe it's already been a month, and in others, I can't believe it's only been a month!  From the day he was born it just felt like he'd always been with us.  He is a sweet and very easy baby.  If I thought all my babies would be as easy as him, I would have ten more!  He eats great, sleeps well, and pees and poops all day long!  He has his job as a baby down pat!

 

We went to the doctor last week for his one month check up.  He weighed 10.1 lbs. (up from 7.8 when he was born) and was 22 1/2" long (1 1/4" longer than when he was born).  With as much as he eats, I was not at all surprised by his growth!  He is a fantastic nurser, has been from the first try, and I love how easy it is going for us.  It took 5 1/2 weeks for Cooper to get the hang of nursing, and that is a long time with a newborn!  

Jake isn't really on a schedule yet, but he typically eats every 1-2 hours, except in the evenings.  He eats constantly in the evenings! Sometimes I'll get an hour break between feedings then, but that's all.  In general, he eats when he first wakes up, then he has a little wake time, and then he has what I call a "dessert feeding"-he eats a little more-and then falls asleep.  He loves to cuddle, and I am very guilty of letting him sleep on my chest as much as I can, which is only when Cooper is not here or is napping or it's the middle of the night.  Nevertheless, he loves it, and so do I!  The part that really melts my heart about it is as soon as he gets snuggled up on my chest, he'll reach for a handful of my hair with at least one of his hands.  He holds that handful of hair the whole time he sleeps.  I guess it's kind of like a security thing for him.  Whatever the reason, I think it's very sweet, and I don't mind getting my hair pulled by this little cutie!  

He gets up 3 times at night to eat, but this week we've had three nights when he's only gotten up twice.  I'm hoping we're moving in that direction and it's not just a fluke!  He's a fast eater, but he has pretty bad acid reflux, so I have to hold him upright for awhile after he eats.  He goes right back to sleep after he eats at night, and I honestly enjoy the time I spend holding him upright, as it is our only quiet one on one time together!  I think he would probably sleep through the night if I held him like that and didn't put him down.   

He's been sleeping in his pack and play by our bed since we've been home from the hospital.  This would have been a big no-no with Cooper.  Coop went in his crib from the first night because Karl said "we should start out in the direction we wanted to go."  I agreed because I also thought it was best for Cooper (and us), but deep down inside, I kind of wanted him with me.  After Jake was born, I was so much more sore from my c-section, so that's how Jake initially got to stay in our room.  It was just easier for me during the night to have him right there.  Then the reflux started and neither of us was comfortable not having him really close by.  He'll be six weeks old next week, and I think I'm about ready to move him to his room now.  He's taken a few naps in his room, and he sleeps really well in there.  We'll see though.  He's the baby of the family, and I'm already letting him get away with things his poor big brother never did!  Shame, shame!!  

Speaking of big brother, Cooper has done an amazing job with his new role.  He loves his little brother and is always willing to help when it comes to Jake.  Now with Karl and me, not so much.  He has been majorly disobedient lately, but I'd much rather him act out with Karl and me and be good with the baby.  I knew we could't rock his whole world and not have some repercussions!  Jake loves Cooper too and responds to him faster and better than he does with us.  Cooper got the first smiles and has gotten them constantly since.  It's pretty sweet to see that bond.  

It took a couple days, but now Jake smiles at us too, and he smiles so easily!  He is such a happy little thing, especially if he has people around.  He does not like to be left alone!  The only times he fusses are when he suddenly realizes he's by himself, if he has a dirty diaper, and if he's hungry.  He's not wild about sitting in the car rider line when we take Cooper to school and pick him up either.  If the car is moving, we're good.  When we're stopped, he's not too happy!  He hasn't really figured out the whole paci thing yet, but hopefully he will soon.  That will help us a lot during those sitting times!  

Although he doesn't cry a lot, he does grunt.  He grunts all the time: when he stretches, when he's done eating, when you pick him up, when he gets his diaper changed, etc.  I wish I could describe the exact sounds he makes because they are so very cute!  He sounds like a baby caveman!  Thankfully he is much cuter than a caveman though!  

See...

Yep, that's right!  Jake has his own elephant for monthly pictures just like big brother did!

He's kind of cutting his eyes at him and nudging him in this picture like, "Hey mister, you're in my personal space.  Can you scoot over some stranger!".

And here he's saying, "Say what, Mom?!  I seriously have to do this every month for a year?!  Really?!"

Get ready, Buddy!  You might get out of a lot of pictures because you're our second child and so far what they say about not getting as many pictures of your second is true, BUT I love marking my babies' growth each month with their own personalized stuffed animal, and I love you, my big little baby!  You are one precious gift, and we know we are beyond blessed that you are ours!  Happy 1 Month Birthday, Jake-a-Roo!