Monday, November 30, 2009

One Month Old

So, here is Henry's one month picture. You just have to check back at Isabel's pictures and you will see how much they really do look alike. Some of the pictures I was looking at I was like, "Hey, it looks like Henry in a dress". Although, I think you can see the subtle differences that make him look more like a boy & her more like a girl.

Let's see -- what has he been up to. He has been smiling a lot lately. He's a pretty happy little boy. He's really been figuring out his hands & arms and sometimes she he is suposed to be falling asleep he is playing with his hands and just seems in awe of them.

Well, unlike his sister we are not swaddling him. He doesn't seem to need it, in fact, hates his arms being compressed. But he does like his blankets and seems to fall asleep faster if we cover him with a blanket. He is not fond of cold, which is different fron his sister who is not fond of it being too warm. I guess we'll see if he gets a heat rash like she does.

He does well taking a bottle & paci amd if he really wants to suck and doesn't have something he will find his thumb. His sister didn't do any of those. She started a paci at 7 mo.

He does have baby acne that he will outgrow in the upcoming months. His sister didn't have this, so it's new to me. Another difference is that he is not allergic to his poop like she was, so with him we have to pay attention to whether or not he pooped because when she did she cried right away & needed to be changed.

One thing they both have/had that is the same is that they have greasy heads. His hair is actually quite blond (I think even more blond than hers might have been initially) but within an hour of a bath his greasy head makes it look darker.

So, at birth he was 21 inches (87th percentile) and now a month later he is 34.5 inches (100th percentile). And his head went from 14.75 inches to 15.5 inches. I will get a weight on him on Thursday when I take him to the Baby Stop Clinic. You don't have to tell me that he's growing - oh! I know! He grew 2.5 inches in a month (his sister grew 1.75 inches in the first month).

Actually, it does not thrill me to say this but we have started to give him 2 oz. of formula at night before he starts his first nighttime sleep. Before he starts nighttime sleep he is up for 1.5-2 hours generally and likes to cluster feed and gets quite angry when he has sucked me dry. So, daddy gets to give him 2 oz. of formula in a bottle (which is all he seems to need additionally). He doesn't cluster feed any other time, just then. But the past few nights that we have had to supplement 2 oz., he started sleeping 3-3.5 hours during that first stretch, unfortunately that is when I am still awake for half or more of it. His second stretch is usually 3 hours, but the next couple stretches have been 2 hours, which kinda sucks because by that point I am exhausted and it is so hard to get up after that first 2 hour stretch. Generally I am up about 20 minutes after each time to nurse him and change him (if needed). We have been lucky where he generally likes to go back to sleep at night and didn't have nights/days reversed.

He is starting to get into a bit of a routine with napping & awake times, but it is still too early to have anything definite. But he does seem to like to have have 3 periods of awake times that are 2 hours long now. So, he isn't sleeping quite as much. His naps are usually 2 hours long and he has three of them.

The last couple days have been good for pooping. He used to poop pretty much everytime he nursed, but the last couple days he is pooping a lot about 3-4 times a day rather than a little bit 10 times a day. So, that will be good and help him with sleeping longer. But he sure does pee a lot. I have heard that from other moms of boys, that they pee a lot more than girls. The amount of pee is why we have wardrobe changes, the diaper just can't hold enough and it doesn't seem to matter which brand we purchase. But I do remember a conversation a couple years ago that moms of boys had about putting diapers on their boys that were a size larger than they needed at that time. So, we are using sz. 2 diapers at bedtime (don't want clothing changes at that time) and we are trying to use the rest of the sz. 1's in the meantime.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Playing Around

This is a picture of Henry as he watched mommy & his sister decorate the little trees the kids have up in the hallway by their rooms.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Recent Pictures

Today, Henry is four weeks old. Isabel still loves to be around him whenever she can and we let her hold him every now & then. I was looking back at her 4wk/1mo pictures and they sure do look alike. Monday he will be one month old and I will do length & head measurements and on Thursday I will get a weight when I take him into BabyStop (it's similar to the Amazing Newborn Clinic in Owatonna, but this one is in Faribault and they have Sibcare for the older ones, not sure if going there right after preschool is going to be too much for Isabel, but I thought I would try it at least this once and if it's ok we'll try a couple more times, as BabyStop is only for babies up to 8 weeks.)
This was his (first) Thanksgiving outfit. I bought him this cute top that says "I'm Thankful for Mommy & Daddy", but we had a diaper malfunction and moved onto a second outfit after a couple hours, and then a couple hours after that we moved outfit number three, which you see below.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Weekend

Uncle Tony came to visit this weekend and we took a picture of him holding Henry. Yesterday, Uncle Chris & cousin Travis were here to visit. Chris & Tony were nice enough to come hlpe daddy work on the kitchen project. There is just a couple more things to do in there (touch up in a couple spots, put the trim work back up, clean up all the drywall dust, and reassemble the eat-in area.)
This is from Saturday. Henry likes to take naps with daddy (or mommy too.) He would much rather sleep with someone than by himself, or at least does so much more easily sometimes. Although, we try to put him in his bassinett all the time, but sometimes he just likes to be held and will wake up if we put him down.
Today he smiled at his sister too. We ar definitly getting smiles from him and I think we will see that increase more & more.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Three Weeks Old

Well, today Henry is three weeks old and his sister is 3 1/2 years old. Although, other than a picture of her holding Henry she wouldn't let me photograph her today.

Daddy & I are both sure that Henry smiled at us. It's early for a smile. Isabel was early at 4 weeks with her first smile. He smiled at both of us on separate occasions today and was looking at us and gave us a big open smile. It was a very nice smile and was glad to see it. And now, it wasn't gas. He doesn't smile when he has gas, he furrows his brow and sometimes purses his lips when he has gas.

Tonight he came with me to see the movie New Moon. He nursed for a while and then quietly interacted with me for a bit, then went to sleep. He did get a little jumpy when the werewolves first jumped out and the noises that accompanied that, but as soon as he fell asleep he was not bothered by the loud noises, although I still kept my hand with blanket over one ear (the other ear was pressed into me since he was laying on his side in my arms.) It was nice to get out to see a movie, even if we chose the opening day for a popular movie (it was crazy there.) He could not have been a more perfect baby there.

Next week he gets to go with me to Ladies' Game Night, which is at a friend's house.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Monday

This is a picture from Monday. On Monday, he came with me to book club. I have a Mom's Night Out tomorrow night and a Ladies' Game Night next week that he will have to come with me to as well. Hopefully these events for next month he will be able to stay home, but that will depend upon on how much milk I can get & keep in the freezer and if he has longer sleep stretches.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Visitors

We had lots of visitors today. Our friend April and her two boys, Kallen & Noah came to visit and then afterwards Uncle Al & his girlfriend Lisa came to visit.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Two Weeks Old

Grandma & Grandpa Miller are here to visit today and this afternoon we have some friends coming to visit. Last night he decided to increase his sleep lengths and slept for 3 hours at a stretch, which is good for mommy.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Tummy Time & Floor Play

This is some pictures of Isabel & Henry playing after we came back from his 2-week well-child visit. He now weighs 9 pounds, 9 ounces, which is a pound more than his birth weight. His head circumference is now 15". I will do the same chart I did with his sister that tracks monthly growth. So, stay tunes for that in another month.

Isabel is so in love with her little brother. She just wants to be around him all the time and I frequently end up holding them both on my lap at the same time.
This was from earlier this week when we started putting him down for tummy time. He lasts longer on his tummy than his sister did at this age, but I think he is distracted by her and wants to see what she is doing that he tolerates it longer.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Weekend

The top picture is from today. We stayed home all day as his sister has not been feeling well. Hopeully she doesn't get any of the rest of us sick. She is really sad about being sick because we won't let her hug & kiss Henry.
This is from yesterday when we took Henry to his first park visit at the Straight River Park. It was such a beautiul day. There were so many people there. I seriously had never seen that many people at that park at one time. He pretty much slept though the entire park visit.

Friday, November 6, 2009

One Week Old


It's hard to believe it has been a week already. If it weren't for his sister's schedule, our days would just run together with nursings every two hours, diaper change right after a nursing (so far he seems to like poop while he nurses). He is actually not bothered (sensitive) by poop like his sister was, so if it's weren't for the telltale breastmilk-fed poop and the pooping sounds we wouldn't even know. He only seems to be bothered if there is a diaper malfunction and his clothes get wet.
We are really having to re-learn things, not because we forgot things but because he & his sister seem to be very different babies. His sister fussed with snug diapers, but he doesn't seem to care and if they are not snug enough then we have a diaper malfunction.
One thing we learned last night was that he was actually interested and distracted by the mobile in his crib. His sister could have cared less about it because it meant she was put down and she would much rather be held.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

More pictures from last 2 days

Today we have started to welcome some visitors. Unfortunately, he slept through this morning's visitors and may very well sleep through the ones this afternoon.
Today he is wearing an outfit that once belonged to Isabel's friend Rachael. Gotta love the gender neutral outfits that can be shared regardless. It has a little jacket that can be worn with it too. It is a nice warm outfit. He is also laying on the blanket that our neighbor Cindy gave him. It is so soft and has the same fabric in brown on the other side and has a matching burp rag, which is almost too nice to use for spit up. :)
5 Days Old

This is from yesterday. I put him in his cribso he could check out the crib mirror toy while I folded clothes in his room. He wasn't so sure about the baby in the mirror. It will be fun to watch as he starts to interact with himself later on.

Tomorrow he is a week old already. This week is sure flying by. He has more & longer alert times. His sister is just in love with him. she tells him he is so cute all the time and wants to be there whenever he is awake to help with however she can and watch him.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Pictures from today

This picture was taken less than an hour ago. We have already gotten more use out of this pack-n-play with him in the few short days since his birth than we did all of Isabel being an infant (well, almost as much.) Since we spend more time on the main level of the house since that is where Isabel is too, he needs to take naps here. So far, he has been one of those babies that can sleep anywhere. I sincerely hope that keeps up.
Finally got a picture of him with his eyes wide open. His eyes are a dark, dark gray blue. I really think he looks like his sister in this picture when you compare it to the picture we used for her announcements when she was one week old.
He also take a pacifier or will find his thumb if he wants to suck on something and a breast or paci si not available to him. We did try a small amount of water in a bottle the other day and he did fine with that too.

We gave him a bath at home tonight. Isabel was very excited to help out. she helped me take off his pants and used the washcloth a tiny bit. She did show him some of her bath toys and wanted to share her bubbles with him, which we told her he was too young for. Afterwards, we let her use the baby hairbrush and gently brush his hair. She loves to be able to help take care of him.


Sunday, November 1, 2009

2 Days Old

Finally, some more pictures with mommy. I had to ask daddy to take these since I am usually the one taking pictures (so that means I am usually not in them.)

My milk came in by the 3am feeding (about 48 hours after birth) and at that feeding he filled his belly and slept for a nice long stretch, then woke up and fed again and had another nice long stretch. Now, if there wouldn't have been daylight savings and his sister would have slept in, it could have been a nice 3 hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep for mom. I did nap with Henry this afternoon, so I feel good.
Since it was sunny out and in the 50's I bundled him up in a borrowed (too big) snowsuit (which was probably overkill) and we walked around outside & then in the stroller while his big sister rode her bike and then helped push him in the stroller. She likes to be able to help out when she can.


Isabel took this picture (she does a good job, I really need to get her her own camera again). Anyways, this is daddy, Henry& Lucy watching the Vikes beat the Pack. Henry is so good about being held and sleeping with daddy.

These are the flowers that our friend Lori, John & Rachael sent us at the hospital to congratulate us. Very pretty fall colors.