One Month

I can't believe we have a one month old on our hands!  I was telling Will the other day that in some ways I feel like Liam has been here for a really long time already but then when you put a number to it, it seems like time has just flown by.

Our first week with Liam was a little rough.  We left the hospital on Sunday (also the day we FINALLY figured out what to name him) and were told by the nurse that we would need to make an appt with the pediatrician for the next day because his bilirubin levels were a little high.  So the next day we go to the pediatrician and learn that Liam has dropped from 8 lbs 11 oz (his weight on Sunday before leaving the hospital) to 8 lbs 3 oz and his color is definitely a little orange so we have to take him to get another heel prick to check his bilirubin levels.  His bilirubin is at a 13 which is on the high side.

We go back the next day and Liam's weight has dropped another ounce and a half so the doctor tells us to start supplementing formula every 12 hours.  We also need to go get another heel prick.  At this point I'm a little bit emotional- I felt like I wasn't doing a good job at providing for my baby.  Luckily, his bilirubin level had gone down to about an 11 or 12 so we didn't need to go back to the doctor until Thursday.  On Thurs we went back and Liam's weight was up to 8 lbs 7 oz. and his color was looking much better.  Progress!  The doctor said we didn't need to come back until Monday.  On Monday his weight was up to 8 lbs 14 oz so the doctor said he would let us go a whole week without coming back.  A whole week without a doctor's visit!  When we went back our little Liam was up to 9 lb 7 oz!  This also counted as a 2 week check up - he had gained 9 ounces and grew an inch in that week!  The doctor was very pleased with his progress so now we don't have to supplement with the bottle anymore AND no more doctors visits until his 2 month check up!  I was so glad to have all of that over!

We've had a lot of "learning experiences" like how to change a baby boy's diaper without getting peed on (Will got peed on 3x in 24 hours once) and learning how to function on very little sleep. Our 2nd night home I wake up and look for Liam.  He had been asleep in our bed and wasn't there anymore so I wake up Will and ask him where the baby is. Will immediately starts looking under pillows, under the blankets and even over the edge of the bed before going "Oh! He's in his crib." We've also learned that our baby is a gassy little one and man, he sure can stink sometimes!  I had no idea babies' gas could be so lethal! 

Some Liam facts:
*he tolerates tummy time pretty well
*he likes to be "walked" to sleep.  Most of the time sitting and rocking just doesn't cut it, he likes you to walk around with him.
*he's long.  Most newborn clothes are too small in the arms and legs for him.
*if Will sticks him in his sweatshirt and holds him like he's in a sling, he's out in 2 seconds. 
*he has the most adorable smiles.  At first I just thought they were gas smiles but I think they're getting real now.
*he likes to chat.
*he's a kicker - I guess I should've seen that one coming considering how active he was in the womb.
*his first few weeks at home, he thought that 12 am - 2 am was awake time.  He wasn't fussy if you were holding him - he was just wide awake and would stare at you. As soon as you put him down though, he would cry.  Luckily, he's mostly done with that phase and will even sleep up to 5 hrs at night.
*he loves his bath time.  He will practically fall asleep in there. But he hates the "after bath" routine of lotioning him up.