Month One
9 pounds 8 oz. (birth: 8lbs .3oz)
Length:
22 1/4 inches (birth: 21 inches)
Diapers:
Newborn Size
Clothes:
Mason was never able to wear the newborn size clothes.
0-3 month
Feedings:
Every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. All breast milk.
Mason has always been a great eater. In the beginning, as with all newborns, we fought some sleepiness from time to time, but the boy could eat for an hour straight if you let him, and at that age it was hard to turn him down. Nursing was REALLY hard in the beginning. I wish I could have put words into how I was feeling during this first month, but there are no words. Being able to read back over those thoughts would have been nice. Even now at three months, I have already started to forget what the beginning was like and why it was so hard. I am convinced that God takes that feeling away from us so that we will one day want to have another child and so that we will encourage others to nurse too. :) The same was true for my own postpartum recovery. Week one was incredibly hard, but each day became easier and easier. Now it is hard for me to remember exactly how painful it was. My mind tells me it was very painful, but my body cannot remember what exactly it felt like.
Thankfully Mason had no confusion between nursing and the bottle, so we started introducing the bottle at three weeks so that I could have some relief and get Mason use to the bottle before returning to work. The small relief that I had was a life saver. By week five things had gotten MUCH easier and we had finally settled into a routine that was relaxing and manageable.
Nights:
The first two nights we were home Mason had his days and nights confused. He wanted to sleep all day and enjoy mommy and daddy's company at night. With a little effort during the day, we kept him awake for several short periods of time and he started sleeping in four hour increments on the third night. For the first few weeks we swaddled Mason which really seemed to keep him happy and warm while he slept. Then suddenly he began grunting and inching out of the swaddler at night, so we had to transition to some pajamas. I used the gowns instead of footed pajamas at first since Mason was still getting up twice during the night to eat and get his diaper changed, so not having any buttons on his clothes made those night time diapers a breeze.
Mason made a lot of noise in his sleep while in the bassinet in our room during this first month! So by week five we had moved him out of our room and into the nursery. He absolutely loved having more room in his crib and we loved not having to be sooo quiet at night for fear of waking him. The transition was great for everyone, even Dusty who had chosen to sleep on the other side of the room after Mason's arrival. And the trek upstairs in the middle of the night was not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. So far I have not fallen once- which I must say is impressive considering how sleepy I am most of the time!
Solid 4 -5 hour stretches of sleep and 2 night feedings.
Down at 9-10, up at 2 and again at 5
Personality:
During the first month Mason also had a nasty eye infection that started as a blocked tear duct in his left eye and spread to a sinus cavity infection. After treating it with eye ointment and not getting any better our doctor took a more aggressive approach with both oral antibiotics and eye drops. Within a few days the infection was completely gone and Mason had become a different baby. During the two week period that Mason had the eye infection we were wondering if he had developed colic because of his dramatically increased state of fussiness. He was completely inconsolable at times. Once the eye infection was gone, we immediately knew it had been the sole cause of his fussiness. Shortly after, Chris caught the eye infection from Mason and was incredibly sympathetic towards poor Mason because he knew how uncomfortable and painful it was. Ever since we have had a happy and healthy baby.
His first bath was a moment of shock, but every bath that followed became a moment of peaceful relaxation that Mason, mom, and dad have grown to love and look forward to each night.
During the first month, Mason's entertainment consisted of time with mom and dad, watching the fan, and staring at the curtains in our kitchen (he must have spent hours each day doing this- if we walked by them his head would immediately turn to face them and we thought this was so strange, but so fun!). At this stage I was nervous to go anywhere, and often resorted to only going places with drive-thru windows.
Mason loved his swing during the first month and took naps either in the swing, on his boppy, in his bouncer or on a blanket. He rarely took naps in his bassinet or crib. His wind-up giraffe is one of his closest companions. He loves listening to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and touching his soft head.
Mason did not like tummy time at all during this first month. Placing him on his tummy set Mason off on a frustration frenzy where he was trying his hardest to move every inch of his body and moved to... no where. Poor guy, I would have been frustrated too.
Development:
Smiles, probably involuntary.
Mason's umbilical cord was taken off by the doctor at two weeks and his circumcision was almost completely healed by then too. The gauze and vaseline was tidious and time consuming, and talk about making parents paranoid! I have never felt so much pressure to keep something clean and healthy in my whole life. Glad that is over with. :)
Month Two
Weight:
11 pounds 3 oz (birth: 8lbs .3oz)
Length:
23 1/2 inches (birth: 21 inches)
Diapers:
Size 1
Clothes:
0-3 months and 3-6 months
Feedings:
By five weeks Mason had had a growth spurt and was eating at three hour intervals instead of two and had started sleeping in five hour intervals at night. At seven weeks Mason had another growth spurt and started eating at four hour intervals and had started sleeping in six hour intervals at night. His naps were not on a consistent day to day schedule but Mason was great about taking long 1 and 1/2 to 2 hour naps.
All breast milk.
Nights:
Solid 5-6 hour stretches of sleep and 1 night feeding.
Down at 9, up at 2-3 and 7
Personality:
Mason is so happy! He sometimes fights sleep, so when he gets tired he fusses. Sometimes he just gets bored sitting and wants a higher elevation, that usually does the trick.
Development:
At his two month appointment Mason was given 3 shots and one oral medication and while he did cry for about a minute immediately following the shots, he handled it like a champ and was a normal happy baby the rest of the day (with an initial dose of tylenol just in case of course).
Not much had changed in the area of entertainment, but Mason was becoming more and more aware of mom and dad each day. His smiles and laughs increased dramatically during the second month and by the end of the month he had started to intentionally laugh and smile at us. During the month Mason suddenly became aware of his hands and would watch them for hours, often hitting himself in the face with them. .
Month Three
11 pounds 11 oz (birth: 8lbs .3oz)
Length:
24 1/4 inches (birth: 21 inches)
Diapers:
Barely still in size 1. Believe it or not at first his dirty diapers did not stink, and now they do! He has at least five "soiled" diapers each day which I hear is a lot! His eyes are still really blue and we have had to cut his finger nails three times since he was born because he has scratched his face several times. We have not had to cut his toe nails yet, which I find very strange.
Mason does not like his diaper changed and has a fake cry at nearly every diaper change. We have begun to skip the middle of the night diaper change since Mason only wakes up once, if at all, around 4:00 a.m. now.
Clothes:
He is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, but still can squeeze into a few of his 0-3 month clothes. We have noticed he is very long but not quite as "thick" as most of the clothes for his age.
Feedings:
Every 4 hours. All breast milk.
Nights:
At twelve weeks Mason had had another growth spurt and had several nights of uninterrupted sleep, but is consistently sleeping at least eight hours with 1 night feeding some nights.
Down at 8, up at 4-5 to eat
Personality:
Mason is an unbeliavably happy baby. We know without a doubt we are so lucky to have such a content baby that falls asleep on his own in his crib at night and only wakes up if he is hungry. He loves doing chores in the Baby Bjorn and doesn't mind long road trips either. His only complaints are being cold, being hungry, and being late, haha, just kidding that is mine.
Development:
At ten weeks Mason suddenly rolled over from his back to his front. One day he started arching his back and kicking his right leg over and within a couple days he had rolled all the way over to his tummy. He became obsessed with rolling over. So much so that at night he was rolling over in the middle of the night and not sleeping. After two weeks of this he finally settled down and basically stopped rolling over cold turkey.
Mason's nap times are very predictable now and still sleeps pretty much anywhere we put him.
At the end of three months Mason is now holding his head up while on his tummy, a big improvement over burying his face during tummy time like he was doing at the beginning of the month, and Mason has begun to try out his jumper. Even though he can't sit up on his own or touch the ground, he really enjoys being bounced and plays with the toys surrounding it. His primary entertainment during the third month was his Tiny Love playmat with zoo animal friends. He giggles and smiles as he grabs on, shakes, and listens to them rattle. He also enjoys tummy time a lot more where he shows off his mini push-ups, but still has his moments of frustration when his legs move frantically and of course he still moves no where. Mason laughs and smiles at mom and dad, and even strangers, at all hours of the day now. He loves being read to and will watch your mouth as you read to him while smiling and listening intently. Mason has been swimming now nearly a dozen times at the lake, the river, and the pool and really enjoys "flying" across the water and looking into the water. He is going to be a water rat just like his mom and dad.
Meanwhile Mason has become more aware of Dusty now too and watches him and occasionally smiles at him. Dusty has grown to love Mason as well. He gives Mason kisses on his head and is careful not to step on him or wake him while he is sleeping.
Mason "talks" a lot more these days and will even talk directly at us or at his toys. He loves looking at himself in the mirror and will even talk and smile at himself or other babies.
These last three months have been a whirlwind and even though life with a three month old is hard at times and completely different from married life as two young adults, we cannot imagine it any other way. We love him more than we ever could have imagined loving anyone and are constantly on pins and needles waiting to see what each new day brings. We cannot wait to see what the next three months have in store, stay tuned!
Aww, thanks Holly! I really enjoyed reading that! I sounds like you guys are super lucky to have such a peaceful baby!
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