1 month old

Dear Jack,

I can't believe you're 1 month old already. This last month has flown by in a blur of sleepless nights, lots of cuddle time, and an inability to get anything done but to feed and cuddle you. Everyone agrees that you are the cutest little thing. Of course your dad and I think you're the most beautiful baby ever. And sometimes we even "fight" over who gets to hold you. I've been completely enjoying holding you as much as possible and cuddling you, even when you sleep. I can only do this for the first little bit of your life because we want you to actually sleep in your bed and at this point in your life you are too little to actually form habits.

We do put you in your bed every night now. I never thought I would be one to co-sleep, not because there's anything wrong with it but because babies make so many little noises when they sleep. However the first night you were home from the hospital we found you in our bed, snuggled between us. It was the only way we could all get a little sleep at first. Now you stay in your bed until the early morning hours when you come to nurse and stay in the bed with mama while dad goes in the other room and gets a good chunk of sleep. Almost every night now you do a good 4 or 5 hour stretch and we all appreciate that. Four hours at a time is the most sleep I've gotten since you were born and as I can't wait for you to sleep through the night I will also miss our middle-of-the-night cuddle time.


At this point I think we finally have the breastfeeding thing figured out. You had no problems from the start but it's been a little challenging for me at times. Everyone says that it isn't supposed to hurt. Well, they're full of crap. It has gotten less painful, but it's still uncomfortable. The good news is that I think the hardest part of it is over and you are clearly thriving. I took you to the doctor when you were exactly 4 weeks old and you weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces.


You also hit a milestone today. We were getting you ready for your bath and you were having some naked tummy time in the bathroom. While you were squirming around you rolled over by your self for the first time. That kind of this usually doesn't happen until at least 2 months for most babies but you are a little advanced. Daddy and I both cheered and I'm glad that both of us were there to see it. It's okay to slow down though, you've got plenty of time to grow up.

People always ask me if being a mom is different from being a nanny. And to some degree it is. The biggest difference is breast feeding. After that it's the physical reaction I have to you crying. It never did bother me when other people's kids cry but when you cry I leak milk and when you really get going it actually makes me physically nauseous. Those are the only differences so far. The truth is that I've been a mom for a long time, I've just been a mom without a baby. And the reason is because I was waiting for you.

Love,
mama