The Dail Family: One Month Old

Technically he is five and a half weeks today, and more than likely I will be late on posting anyway for future months! This will be a somewhat boring post because there isn't a lot going on with a one month old except eating, crying and sleeping.

5 week pic

G trying to help

Height & Weight: He is currently at 11.69 pounds and 22 inches long. He has grown 2 inches in 5 weeks! Holy smokes! His weight is in the 81st percentile and his length is in the 53rd percentile. Hopefully he will keep growing to distribute that weight. Although I love his chunky little legs and cheeks. Garrett was chunky until after the age of two and then he thinned on out. He is still SOLID...ha!

Health: We went for our check up today and we have an overall healthy baby. As most of y'all know I was involved in a pregnancy study where they tracked me with exercise. The study has continued to our babies at this point if we want to continue the study. I decided to continue on with the study. They performed an ultrasound on his heart, and EKG and MRI (from shoulders to knees). I agreed since there was no radiation involved and they didn't have to put him to sleep, etc. When we did the heart ultrasound they found a hole in his heart. They said this is completely normal, but his was a teeny bit larger then what they normally see. They said not to worry, but they want to follow back up when he is 6-7 months old. So we will see what happens.

Our first three weeks were an adjustment and hard for everyone. Carter was in pain (reflux/gas) and we were sleep deprived and couldn't figure out what was going on with him. We went through three formulas and Zantac. Experimented with rice (per our pediatrician) and just kept at it. He's still not good, but has improved a lot and that's all we can ask for. The doctor increased his Zantac and said to keep on it through the weekend and if we haven't improved she has given us a new medication to start to see if that works. We will see what happens!

Picture of the EKG...so many wires!

Sleep: Oh sleep, how I have missed you and took you for granted. Wow! We forgot what the first bit is like. Wow. I have an AMAZING husband that I can't tell you how much I appreciate! He is alternating nights with me. We take turns every other night staying up with Carter. This has worked out amazing for us (except not seeing each other at night as much). The first three weeks were a crap shot and we were all over the place. In the past couple of weeks we have seen improvement and as I said we will take improvement. He has finally made it to every 3 hours pretty much at night time. We have had the occasional 4 hour stretch which are so EXCITING!!! We are just continuing on and know that eventually he will sleep through the night. Being able to recoup every other night makes the biggest difference.

He is sleeping in a rocker (see previous post on blog) and it has helped so much. We will see what happens when he goes to daycare and sleeps in a crib. We will start transitioning to a crib around 4 months. Or until he outgrows what he is sleeping in :-)

We started off swaddling him because G couldn't sleep without it. Well Carter didn't want it. As soon as he gets control of his limbs I think he will sleep well in the crib, but he wakes himself up at this point. At night time he is in a sleep sack.

We currently do not have to rock him. G had to be rocked for 30-45 minutes before he would fall asleep so this is great for us.

During the day he is in our arms a bit, but I've decided that I'm going to enjoy it. He is our last baby and if we snuggle more than normal than so be it. He will sleep by himself too (he currently has been in his sleeper for about and hour and a half) so that's OK with us.

Clothes/Diapers: The boy busted out of newborn clothes after the first week. He is pretty much in 3-6 month clothing. He is in size 1 diapers.

Social: He has started smiling, giggling and cooing. So awesome. He is also able to reach out and grab things. He knows my voice and will turn his head when he hears me. It is going to be hard going back to work. I have created a bond with him and will miss it tremendously.

Diet: He is currently on GentleEase and is taking 4 ounces. We have gas drops in each bottle along with 2tsp of rice. He eats pretty much every three hours except at night time when he occasionally hits longer stretches.

Baby Gear Love: At this point there isn't a lot to play with. He loves black and white. We have a play mat (pictured below) for him to lay under that he will laugh and giggle with it. I get so tickled listening to him giggle. He also loves anything that crinkles.

This is a picture of it.

Crying: It's not terrible. He doesn't cry too too much, but when he does, be prepared! He can flip in a heartbeat. when he is angry you will know! That little face goes beat red and the alarms go off! Ha. I can usually calm him within 5-10 minutes (that feel like 5-10 hours sometimes). We have had times where he goes for 30 plus minutes. We are hoping his medication will improve him.

Likes: Loves baths, food and having his diaper changed. He will sit in the bath and just chill. He looks like a little old man sometimes in a hot tub! Ha! He enjoys sleeping in our arms. He also burbs and farts like the big boys. My life with boys will be loud and interesting!

Dislikes: Sleeping on his own...ha. We really have gotten better with this, but if he could sleep on his belly I think he would sleep for HOURS. He sleeps so well. But he can't safely sleep at this point on his belly. Eventually when he can roll back and forth maybe he will become a stomach sleeper.

At first the sun was not his friend. He wouldn't even open his eyes. Now he will open them :-)

Not a huge fan of his car seat. It's a 50/50 chance on if he will ride peacefully or scream.

Milestones: He can now focus on objects and reach and touch them. He does amazing at holding his head up. When we do tummy time he can lift that big head and turn from side to side! He is sleeping longer by himself and at night. We are not on a schedule by any means and don't plan on being on one anytime soon. We are still in "survival" mode and just taking it day to day.

Firsts this month: Well since he just came into the world, everything is new. The smiles and giggling are what stand out.

What I'm thankful for: God, family and friends FOR SURE! I could not do this without all of them. We typically listen to Christian music during the day. It calms me and I think he does too. I have also started reading Jesus Daily and it is point on! I love it. We are so fortunate to have family that lives in town. Without them we would not have been able to be where we are! Praise the Lord for them. I am also thankful for a sweet five year old that LOVES his brother and does an amazing job dealing with the crying and new schedule of this new life. I am so proud of him.

Pictures from his first month: sorry for the number