It's hard to believe you've been a part of our family for one whole month! You are such a perfect fit for us; it's as if we've known you our entire lives and have just been waiting for you to get here...and we are so, so glad you've finally arrived. :)
You're also big! At your one month well-check, you weighed in at 11 lbs. 9 oz. (82nd %) and were 21.5 inches long (43rd %). Daddy and I joke that you're short and fat, but in reality you're the most absolutely perfect, snuggly, roly poly of a baby and, even though you make my arms tired, I hate having to put you down. Daddy says I'm spoiling you but he is, too, so we're even. Babe and Harry also LOVE holding you, so I hope you're feeling the love around these parts.
You wear size one diapers and 0-3 month clothes. We pretty much skipped the newborn sizes. Literally. I think you wore one newborn-sized outfit and we pretty much forced you to wear the two small packs of newborn diapers we'd purchased. Those things aren't cheap, big boy.
During the day, you nurse every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. At night, you'll sleep two four-hour stretches. I typically nurse you at 10:00, regardless of what time you previously ate, and swaddle you up in the pack-and-play in our bedroom. I can count on you to be up sometime during the 2:00 hour and again during the 6:00 hour. Daddy has been so great about taking your older siblings where they need to be in the mornings, which means that you and I get to sleep just a little bit later. It really is just a little bit, though, because since Daddy got his new job, it's become our responsibility to get Harris to school and Emmy to Ms. Ginnell's on the days she goes. Dad and Babe still make the morning commute together. You are a fabulous nurser. My milk came in during our stay in the hospital (for the first time ever!) and we haven't looked back. You've had 2-3 bottles here and there and don't have a problem drinking from them, either...in fact, you chugged about 4 ounces of breastmilk both times! You pee tons and always poop at every feeding.
I'm pretty sure you're my loudest baby ever. You grunt like nobody's business. All day and all night. I've only heard you "coo" twice, but your grunts never stop. Daddy and I have started calling you "penguin." For some reason, your noises reminded Daddy of the sounds penguins make. I wasn't too sure what a penguin sounded like, but we looked it up on YouTube and he was pretty much right on. My little penguin. :)
We also call you "Thatch," "Thatch Thatch," "Thatchy," and "Mr. Male Pattern Baldness." What little hair you had on the top of your head is completely gone, while the hair on the back and sides of your head seems to be hanging in there. It makes you look like such a little old man. :)
Now that your "belly button" has fallen off and you can be submerged in the water, you've become a fan of the bath. Your little body just seems to relax whenever I place you in the water. You've also found your hands already and will stare at them for long stretches of time, as you will the toys on your bouncy seat and play mat, too. You've been to Chick-fil-a quite a few times, and church, and even to have lunch with Harris at school. We walk at the mall on the mornings we take Emmy to Ginnell's. You've stayed with Granti while Daddy and me went on a date and you even stayed in the church nursery for the first time on the Sunday morning when Daddy was volunteering there.
You don't have much of a choice except to be flexible. Once Daddy went back to work and it was just you, me, and Emmy during the day, I quickly realized that there would be times you both cried a little more than normal, and I'm okay with that. You guys are, too. You do prefer to be held, but you're also perfect in your car seat and enjoy being snuggled up tightly in your swing. You don't mind tummy time, either, and are building up some strong neck muscles!
You are loved on so much by all three of your siblings. Harris is so sweet and tender with you and will do whatever he can to take care of you. Hadley loves you, too, but is a little more rough around the edges. She likes to play with your hands and get in your face and kiss you all over. She ALWAYS remembers to wash her hands as soon as she gets home from school, though, so I let her love on you all she wants. And Emmy has such good intentions. If you're fussy, she'll crawl to wherever you are and check on you. She will hug you and kiss you and try her best to give you your paci...she doesn't quite understand the concept of "gentle" yet. She will, though. I promise.
You are perfect. And I will try my best to not treat you like the "baby" of the family, but there are no guarantees. I can promise that you will not get away with more than your older siblings and that you will still have certain rules and morals and expectations to uphold, but I'm also pretty certain that I'm going to hold you a little bit longer and smell you a little bit deeper and treasure moments a little bit more (well, as much as I can in this crazy house!) because I know that this it...and that makes me both nostalgic and ecstatic.
I love you, Thatch Thatch. You complete us in a way that no other child could and I am so thankful to God for your presence in my life.
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