02 October 2012

One month

This is a couple of days late, but I only just found this 'format' on another blog and I love it. I'm thinking I'll keep Paxlet's updates as monthly things from now on.

Weight & Length: Paxlet is growing like a weed. At the last neuvola appointment, which was actually just after 3 weeks, he weighed 4718 g (10,4 lbs) and was 54,5 cm (21,5 in) long.

Sleeping: There are the occasional nights where Paxlet stays awake anywhere from 2 to 3 hours at a time, but most often he will wake up, eat and go back to sleep.

So far, Paxlet has been sleeping in the bed with us. Neither Mr Siili nor I worry about rolling over on him or anything like that as we have 12 years experience of sleeping with cats and never had any incidents with them. In the last few days, I have on occasion tried putting Paxlet to sleep in his little bed right next to our bed, but he almost immediately wakes up as soon as I put him down. I think it has to do with going from a warm embrace to a cold bed. In any case, I did managed to get him to stay a sleep exactly one time so far for about 45 minutes. It was blissful to have our bed to ourselves! Actually it was so great that I almost couldn't sleep because of the giddiness I felt.

Eating: This, not so, little boy eats like a champ! I'm so grateful to have plenty of breast milk for him to eat. Even when my nipples are a bit sore at times.

Paxlet does seem to choke quite often when eating. I am sure some of it is happening when my milk lets down at the beginning of a feed, but the other times I'm not sure. I find it quite scary when he chokes and gasps for air. As I'm patting his back to get the milk out, I find myself fervently thinking "breathe, breathe, just breathe" and then a big sigh of relief when he does breathe easily again.

Diapers: We're still using disposable diapers. I still want to use cloth, especially since we now have quite a few thanks to MIL. I just need to figure them out and start using them. The one time I tried a cloth diaper, it got completely soaked through and leaked everywhere!

Clothing: He's already grown out of some newborn clothes. We wore a couple of them on his one month birthday, photographed them and then retired them. I'm sad that he's outgrown them already as they are so cute, but I am loving seeing him grow.

Hair: He's still quite bald on top and short dark hair around the sides and back. Just like his granddad (my dad).

Personality: I like to think we're already seeing Paxlet's personality shine through. We're sure he's going to be a stubborn and determined little boy. He already frowns at us if we bug him while he's eating. And he definitely doesn't like his hands to be covered by a blanket or held by my hand, especially when he's eating! He'll fuss and flail his hands around until they are free to move where he wants them too. Once the hands are free, he settles down immediately. He also makes raspberry sounds when he fights waking up.

Milestones & Firsts: It's amazing how one month or even 10 days makes such a difference in a baby's life. Looking at pictures, I can already see many changes in his looks and growth. He's definitely not going to stay small for long.

One evening, around 3 weeks, we were changing the sheets on the bed when Mr Siili was laying on the bed with Paxlet talking to him. Mr Siili stuck his tongue out and Paxlet copied him. Not just once, but many times.

A day before his month birthday, he smiled at us! And he hasn't stopped smiling since.

Paxlet's head is already quite steady when he's up right. We've has several people remark how strong his neck is.