Seriously!! Just look at how different this boy looks after a mere 4 weeks in the outside world:
Today we went in for James' one month check-up/weigh-in. In the past 2 weeks, this kid has gained a whopping 1 lb 11 oz (the average for breastfed babies is 6 oz per week), bringing his weight up to 9 lbs 12 oz (no wonder we had to switch from the newborn diapers to the size ones this week)! The doctor said that he has most likely been playing catch-up, since he lost a bit more weight than average during his first few days of life. Most babies gain an average of 2 lbs over their birth weight by the time they reach the one month mark, so James is now really close to that average (he started out at 8 lbs exactly). He's grown enough to fill his carseat (and his adorable outfits) a bit more than last month: 
A few things have changed this week as we transitioned from 4-week-old baby to one-month-old baby. James no longer likes being swaddled at night, so he's spending his night-time hours in a sleep sack instead (they're awesome, like little wearable sleeping bags for babies). The big boy is also sleeping in his crib now, in his own room, as opposed to the bassinet in our room. This has improved sleeping conditions for all of us (when we're all sleeping, that is)! Here he is down for a nap this afternoon: 
And one more big thing... James had his first bottle tonight (pumped breastmilk, since we're holding off on formula for as long as possible - we're hoping to make it to 6 months)! As per the pediatrician's recommendations, Jay served his son a 4.5 oz bottle at "bedtime" in the hopes that packing in an extra ounce or so would help the boy sleep a longer stretch (we'd been getting at least one 4-hour stretch and one 3-hour stretch between feedings at night throughout the first 3 weeks, which we thought was pretty awesome for having a newborn in the house, but that all changed this week when James started to mix up his days and nights, and went through a growth spurt - needless to say, it's been a rough week around the Lindsay household and we've been operating on 3 hours of broken sleep per night). The pediatrician says that based on James' weight and the number of feedings he's having per day (usually 8-10), he is probably taking around 3 oz per feeding, so adding an ounce at his "last" feeding for the night could make a difference, but we shall see! We had been holding off on giving James a bottle until we passed the 4 week mark because we wanted to be sure breastfeeding was well established first. Then, since we had the doctor's appointment scheduled for today anyway, we decided to wait just a little longer and talk to the pediatrician first. She really is great - very thorough, and very detailed and patient when answering the long list of questions we show up with (as she should). Here is James enjoying his first bottle and the new bonding time he can share with his daddy:
We've also gotten some amazing advice from my friend Karyn this week, a seasoned mommy of 4 (soon to be 5) beautiful kids, that I feel I should share with the other new parents I know. We're now doing supervised belly naps during the day to help with the gassy tummy, which James seems to love (he sleeps more soundly), and we're no longer trying to keep him awake during the day in the hopes that he'll sleep more at night. Little did we know, but we were actually making things worse by doing that, since babies need good solid sleep during the day in order to not be overtired (and thus, fussy) and restless at night. Karyn also suggested having Jay soothe James back to sleep if he wakes up in 2-hour increments at night, rather than me feeding him every time he wakes up "hungry", so as not to start a pattern of feeding him 4 times per night (we do want to keep our sanity, after all). We're also trying to get him into a bit of a routine in the evenings (play time - transfering from one activity to the next to keep him awake for 1-2 hours, then a short nap if needed, followed by a bath, story time, and finally feeding), but it may take a while... Karyn says not to give up on anything until you've tried it at least 5 days in a row. Most importantly, we're (and when I say we, I mostly mean me) learning to stay calm and stress less. What will be, will be, and we'll surely get through it. Obviously the boy is thriving, so there is no need to worry. James is our "fantastic baby", even on the not-so-good days! Here are photos of the little guy sleeping (something he does perfectly during the daytime!) on his belly during tummy time and passed out in my lap for a cat nap after play time yesterday evening (we can barely snap those little Gerber kimono onesies shut now, so we think James is going to have a long torso like his daddy):
Today we went in for James' one month check-up/weigh-in. In the past 2 weeks, this kid has gained a whopping 1 lb 11 oz (the average for breastfed babies is 6 oz per week), bringing his weight up to 9 lbs 12 oz (no wonder we had to switch from the newborn diapers to the size ones this week)! The doctor said that he has most likely been playing catch-up, since he lost a bit more weight than average during his first few days of life. Most babies gain an average of 2 lbs over their birth weight by the time they reach the one month mark, so James is now really close to that average (he started out at 8 lbs exactly). He's grown enough to fill his carseat (and his adorable outfits) a bit more than last month: A few things have changed this week as we transitioned from 4-week-old baby to one-month-old baby. James no longer likes being swaddled at night, so he's spending his night-time hours in a sleep sack instead (they're awesome, like little wearable sleeping bags for babies). The big boy is also sleeping in his crib now, in his own room, as opposed to the bassinet in our room. This has improved sleeping conditions for all of us (when we're all sleeping, that is)! Here he is down for a nap this afternoon: And one more big thing... James had his first bottle tonight (pumped breastmilk, since we're holding off on formula for as long as possible - we're hoping to make it to 6 months)! As per the pediatrician's recommendations, Jay served his son a 4.5 oz bottle at "bedtime" in the hopes that packing in an extra ounce or so would help the boy sleep a longer stretch (we'd been getting at least one 4-hour stretch and one 3-hour stretch between feedings at night throughout the first 3 weeks, which we thought was pretty awesome for having a newborn in the house, but that all changed this week when James started to mix up his days and nights, and went through a growth spurt - needless to say, it's been a rough week around the Lindsay household and we've been operating on 3 hours of broken sleep per night). The pediatrician says that based on James' weight and the number of feedings he's having per day (usually 8-10), he is probably taking around 3 oz per feeding, so adding an ounce at his "last" feeding for the night could make a difference, but we shall see! We had been holding off on giving James a bottle until we passed the 4 week mark because we wanted to be sure breastfeeding was well established first. Then, since we had the doctor's appointment scheduled for today anyway, we decided to wait just a little longer and talk to the pediatrician first. She really is great - very thorough, and very detailed and patient when answering the long list of questions we show up with (as she should). Here is James enjoying his first bottle and the new bonding time he can share with his daddy: Everything else the pediatrician checked on James (heart, lungs, eyes, ears, etc.) is still in perfect working order, and we were given another "good job" as parents. She also gave us some other tips for helping James sleep better at night, since we're all pretty sure he's having gas issues (or the "tummy crummies" in Lorax speak). We're going to start giving him Mylicon with his afternoon and evening feedings, to try and get it in his system before he is laid down in one position all night. We may also help stimulate a bowel movement before bed, to see if that makes a difference (for anyone who wants these instructions, just let us know, but we'll spare the general blog readers). She also suggested to keep offering the pacifier anytime that James fusses to be fed in less than 2-hour intervals. James could really care less for the pacifier (at least, most of the time), however, he does seem to like my pinky finger. Here he is enjoying my freshly trimmed nails:
We've also gotten some amazing advice from my friend Karyn this week, a seasoned mommy of 4 (soon to be 5) beautiful kids, that I feel I should share with the other new parents I know. We're now doing supervised belly naps during the day to help with the gassy tummy, which James seems to love (he sleeps more soundly), and we're no longer trying to keep him awake during the day in the hopes that he'll sleep more at night. Little did we know, but we were actually making things worse by doing that, since babies need good solid sleep during the day in order to not be overtired (and thus, fussy) and restless at night. Karyn also suggested having Jay soothe James back to sleep if he wakes up in 2-hour increments at night, rather than me feeding him every time he wakes up "hungry", so as not to start a pattern of feeding him 4 times per night (we do want to keep our sanity, after all). We're also trying to get him into a bit of a routine in the evenings (play time - transfering from one activity to the next to keep him awake for 1-2 hours, then a short nap if needed, followed by a bath, story time, and finally feeding), but it may take a while... Karyn says not to give up on anything until you've tried it at least 5 days in a row. Most importantly, we're (and when I say we, I mostly mean me) learning to stay calm and stress less. What will be, will be, and we'll surely get through it. Obviously the boy is thriving, so there is no need to worry. James is our "fantastic baby", even on the not-so-good days! Here are photos of the little guy sleeping (something he does perfectly during the daytime!) on his belly during tummy time and passed out in my lap for a cat nap after play time yesterday evening (we can barely snap those little Gerber kimono onesies shut now, so we think James is going to have a long torso like his daddy):
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