Jonah: 1 Month Update

J-MAN: ONE MONTH

Weight: 8 lb 14 oz

Length: 21.5 inches

Milestones:

-Jonah’s been able to lift his head pretty much from day one.  We first noticed it when we held him over our shoulder to burp him.  He’ll lift his head and turn it toward your face and root around, looking for a nipple, I guess J

-He startles at loud noises, focuses on faces (especially Mom’s) and can find his fist and thumb to suck on. 

Favorite Activities:

-Bouncing on the exercise ball with Dad.

-Sleeping on a pillow in mom’s lap.

-Rocking on the front porch.

Bouncing on the exercise ball with Dad.  

Daily Routine: 

Calling it a routine at this point would be generous, but here’s what a typical day might look like, starting with our nighttime routine:

9pm: I nurse him and change his diaper and hand him off to Jake who puts Jonah to sleep. He doesn’t normally sleep as well between the 9pm and midnight feedings; it takes some coaxing to get him into an extended period of quiet sleep.

Midnight: Jake gives Jonah a bottle of breast milk, sometimes supplementing with formula if necessary. 

3am: I tap Jake out, nurse Jonah, change a diaper if necessary and then put him back in his crib while I sleep in the guest bed.

6am: Another feeding. Sometimes he’ll go back to sleep and I’ll get another 45 minutes-1 hour of sleep and sometimes we’re up for the day.  We head downstairs, I get a Diet Coke, open the blinds, and we turn on The Today Show.  Sometimes we sit on the porch and watch as people drive to work.  Around 8:45 we eat breakfast with Dad and send him off to work. 

Morning: Another feeding, then I’ll get dressed and we’ll head off for our morning outing.  I try to schedule at least one outing every day; it’s been really good for me to get out of the house. Some days it’s a trip to Buy Buy Baby; others it’s a Nursing Mom’s support group or a trip to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.  I’m much more comfortable venturing out into the world with him now; I try to keep him in his car seat and away from stranger germs, and he’s been great while out and about.

Afternoon: I’ll grab a quick lunch and feed him again.  Sometimes I’ll get a short nap when he’s sleeping.  In between feedings and naps I try to get a few chores done around the house or work on a blog post. 

Evening: The first month we were lucky enough to have friends bring us dinner three nights a week.  This means we have visitors (and tasty food) several nights a week.  It is nice to catch up with friends and sometimes we even convinced them to stay and hold the little man while we ate.  For some reason Jonah almost always demands to be held right as we sit down to dinner J Around 9pm I’ll feed Jonah, sometimes downstairs while we watch Jimmy Kimmel and sometimes upstairs, while Jake would read from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

Sleep: 

Jake is in the nursery on Jonah duty from 9pm-3am while I sleep in our bedroom, that way I can get at least 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  At 3am (or whenever Jonah wakes up for that feeding), we swap and I’m on Jonah duty. 

Feeding: 

He’s eating 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours.

Health:  

He’s a monster gas-making machine, which unfortunately makes him cranky.  Otherwise, he’s as healthy as can be, gaining weight well. Look at that big 'ole belly! 

Best Moment: 

The sweetest moments are either when he’s alert and calm or when he’s sleeping.  One of my favorite moments was lying next to him on the sofa while he was awake, but calm.  I talked to him and sang to him and he just watched me, moving his mouth in big O shapes to try to imitate me.  He has such big bright eyes.  I love when I get to look at them.  Then he slowly got drowsy and drifted off to sleep while lying on my chest. 

Things I want to remember: 

How amazing my mom was the two weeks she spent with us.  After a really hard start to motherhood, she got us back on track and helped us figure out our nighttime routine, which has been essential.  Aside from all the help with Jonah, she did so much around the house and was a huge emotional support for me, encouraging me, crying with me, and helping me find my confidence as a mom.