Benjamin - One Month Old

Amazingly, Benjamin turned one month old yesterday.  Ever since DH told me that he looked up where Benjamin fit in the infant growth chart I had been anxiously awaiting his one month appointment.  I know he came a little early and is eating a lot and having the appropriate number of diapers but, oh man, how I feared that scale.  Call it new parent anxiety but I felt so guilty thinking that ninety six percent of babies were bigger than my Benjamin.  Every time he ate I would think, grow, baby, grow!

So now the results are in!

(Someone was a little too tired for this photo.)

Weight and other stats: Eight pounds, eight ounces!!!  Up from six pounds, four ounces at birth and six pounds, eleven ounces at around two weeks.  He is now in the thirteenth percentile.  DH and I were so excited.  He is twenty one and one quarter inches tall, up from seventeen at birth.  This lands him in the thirty third percentile.  His head circumference is thirty seven point six centimeters (fifty eighth percentile). 

Size: Up until a week ago the clothes that fit him best were a pack of Preemie onesies.  Now he's solidly in Newborn sizes.  Newborn Pampers Swaddlers are our diaper of choice but we may switch to Size One soon. 

Eating: Benjamin is now being bottle fed exclusively.  I'm not ready to write about how we got here but I know it's the right decision for our family.  I am pumping to ensure he gets breast milk and he is currently eating around twenty five ounces a day, eighteen of which are breast milk.  This works out to be an average of ten bottles, but only about seven feedings.  This is because every now and then we'll prep a three ounce bottle and Benjamin will want more so we give him a second smaller bottle.  Usually we can expect him to eat 3.5 ounces in one sitting but he's been known to suck down six ounces every now and again.

Sleeping: I've seen so many other moms refer to their baby's "naps" which confuses me because, if Benjamin is not eating, he is sleeping, save for two wakeful periods a day.  So I guess he has four "naps" a day and then wakes up twice at night?  But when does the day start?  Anyway the kid sleeps.  He sleeps on a Jeep.  He sleeps with a sheep.  At around two weeks we started using the swing intermittently for "naps" and he loves it.  He also sleeps in his bassinet, Rock and Play, car seat or wherever we happen to put him down.  I would say he sleeps for about sixteen hours a day. 

Likes: Eating and sleeping?  Cuddling.  His monkey Wubbanub (but only in the car seat). 

Dislikes: Being changed.  Waiting for a bottle.  Being cold. 

We have a pretty great baby.  Since my last entry we've had two more road trips.  One for my sister in law's memorial about two and a half hours away.  We only had to stop for a quick diaper change.  The second was to visit my parents (also two and a half hours away) who watched him while DH and I went out on the town.  He slept the whole way there and back!

It's been an amazing month!