1 Month Old

As I sit here watching you enjoy your wake time in your swing, I sadly look back at the last month (and first month) of your life…
You decided to be slightly stubborn when it came to be born. You made mommy and daddy wait 8 LONG days on top of the 280 days it took to bake you…and you still weren’t ready. Mommy tried to bribe the doctor for many weeks and he just laughed and said “see you next week.” Do you realize how impatient your mommy is? You came into this world one month ago and Mommy and Daddy have never been happier! Most people may say that they hated their time in the hospital, but I secretly liked it. There was no schedule, no dirty bottles, no cleaning the house, no animals to take care of…just Mommy, Daddy and you. I really enjoyed cuddling with you in bed, since I really couldn’t get out of it! I got to spoil you by wrapping you in blankets and laying you on my chest as we watched TV. You still love that when you get super fussy. The nurses always wanted to take you so I could sleep, because they just couldn’t get enough of your cute little face. At nights, I would let them and I would take some much needed sleep.
When you were 5 days old, we started you on a schedule. Yes, many people criticize, and I had some trouble in the very beginnings when you would cry a little, but it has been such a good thing for the whole family. You spend your days on a 3 hour schedule and your nights on a 4 to 5 hour schedule. We always eat, then play, then you go to sleep for about 1 ½ hours. Then, the schedule starts again! We put you in your crib when you are still awake and you yell for a couple minutes and then you are fast asleep! You rarely cry, and when you do, I know that means you need some Mommy time and then we cuddle. Then you fall asleep in my arms and I put you back to your crib. I always have to wake you up to feed you, which I hate to do, because you are so stinking cute when you sleep. You wake up like a dream and get your diaper changed and then start screaming for your food! You know, when you wake up, whether I wake you up or you wake yourself up, you need your food NOW! You have been drinking from a bottle since you were a day old, and since you were about 10 days old, you have only been drinking from bottles. Mommy and Daddy decided that we would put my milk in bottles for you so we would know how much you were eating, because when you would nurse, you would sometimes wake up an hour later starving, and that would mess up your sleeping schedule. Since you have been eating from bottles, you have been doing wonderful with your schedule!
You enjoy spending your wake times with Daddy. He always reads to you, sings to you or tells you some interesting stories. Usually, if Daddy is handling wake time that means Mommy is asleep! Mommy is always exhausted but only because of the middle of the night feedings. Soon, you will be sleeping through the night, and Mommy will be a lot more rested for work!

You do love your car seat. You cry the first moment we strap you in, but then in about 30 seconds, you realize you forgot you liked it! We go on walks a lot if the whether is nice, and Mommy is starting to finally run some errands with you. It took a long time for Mommy to be able to carry your car seat without hurting herself!
You are really now starting to focus on your little animal friends that hang from your swing or your activity mat. You love watching them and sometimes I think you are going to have a soar neck after staring at them when you are in your swing! Daddy says I’m crazy to think that since you muscles aren’t all that developed yet so they can’t hurt! You love your bath times! You get one everyday, because you end up smelling like rancid formula and breast milk! You spit up so much that it gets stuck in your hair and it gets all crusty! I can’t stand a stinky baby so you get a bath daily. You don’t scream at all when you are in the bath, but you do sometimes give me your angry face until the warm water turns on! You scream for a minute when I take you out, but then I bundle you in a towel and a blanket super fast and you are content again!
You haven’t smiled yet, well, Grandma said you did, but Daddy decided that even if you did, it didn’t count because Mommy or Daddy is supposed to get the first smile and laugh. I am anxiously awaiting that moment so I know if you are a happy kid! Sometimes I just don’t know.

We haven’t gone many places yet. You do fantastically in the grocery store and Target. You sleep in your car seat while Mommy and Daddy shop. You even got to go on a trip to Daddy’s school last week and got to meet all Daddy’s teacher friends.
My Mommy and Daddy came to visit for a few days when you were just a few weeks old. They spoiled you rotten like I knew they would. We went shopping for the first time with Grandma and Grandpa. I was too afraid to do it by myself so I waited until they were here. Grandpa loved laying on the floor with you and watching you play on your activity mat. He even fed you too! We miss them everyday and Mommy is actively trying to get them to move here for good! But that seems to be taking time.
Daddy’s mommy comes and steals you from me weekly. She is absolutely in love with you and she babysits you for a few hours a week so Mommy can sleep. It is so appreciated and it makes me a better Mommy. I think every time she comes over, she brings more and more clothes for you! She loves to shop!
You have had many visitors in the last month. The girls from work have come by many times, Brian and Michelle came by for a day, our neighbor from down the street came by, even our mortgage broker! Everyone loves you and never wants to put you down.
Elwood and Jakey, Patches and Sammy all love you in their own little way. Elwood is taking it the hardest. He hissed at you the day you came home and stayed as far away from you as possible. He was very depressed for about a week as Daddy wasn’t able to spend as much time with him. He is doing much better and will sit next to you now, but doesn’t really enjoy it. Jakey still does the same stuff he ever did before. Sleep! He is 3 times the size of you and it is pretty funny when we lay you both down next to each other. He sniffs your head and then goes on with life. Patches sniffs you a lot but really wants to just climb on Mommy, but I haven’t let her since my belly has been hurting. Sammy I think is just waiting until you get to eat solid foods and will be able to eat whatever drops on the floor. Sammy always wants to come in the house in the middle of the night when you wake up. She even cries at my bedroom window when she hears you wake up at 3 am! She’s a good little protector. She hasn’t figured out yet that when I take you both on a walk, that she shouldn’t walk in front of the stroller as she gets ran over every time!
This last month has been somewhat of a blur due to major exhaustion, but we wouldn’t change it for the world! We love you so much and can’t wait to see what you become. You will hit many milestones in your life and we want to be here to help you through them all. Happy 1 month birthday, Jared. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!
Love, Mommy and Daddy

Here are some moments we won't forget...

The day you were born

The second day you were home, you peed on Daddy!

Laying in the sun to help your jaundice

More time in the sun, but this time you didn't like it too much. You were flipping me off!

Hanging out with your buddy, Jake.