My Second Boy: One Month Old

To my beautiful second boy,

 

This week you turned one month old.  We celebrated by staging a home photo shoot with the help of your Nanny S, which you mostly co-operated with. 

 

 

  It has been a turbulent first month for you and for us, with your early emergency induction and lightening-fast labour, your terrifying meningitis scare and the stay in hospital for you and I, the ongoing appointments with paediatrics, and then the general topsy-turviness of getting used to life outside the womb.  But you have mostly been a placid, sweet-natured little baby throughout all of this upheaval, and despite all that you've been through.

 

 

 

In your first month you have already changed so much. Born at just 5lb 11oz, and dropping to 5lb 3oz, you then began to put weight on at an astonishing rate.  At your last weigh-in a week ago, you were 7lb 8oz, so you're gaining at the rate of about 1lb a week!  You have taken to breastfeeding so well, and are obviously getting the gold-top from Mummy!  We can now see that you have a little double chin and chubby cheeks, and your previously skinny little body is becoming rounder.

 

  Your hair is growing: for the first week or two your head felt like velvet when you stroked it, but now it is more downy, with more and more fluff appearing every day.  You're going to be fair-headed, everyone agrees, just like your big brother.

 

 In the last couple of days, you have begun to delight Mummy with your very first smiles.  They're fleeting and not yet proper grins, but they're unmistakable and so beautiful.  We can't wait to capture one on camera.

 

 You sleep a lot in the day, but when you're awake, you're very alert and enjoy following us with your eyes, and listening to your family's different voices intently.  You've gradually unfurled your limbs in the last month, so that you're now less foetal and curled up, and are starting to enjoy stretching your legs and waving your arms.

 

You seem to be suffering with tummy discomfort during the night, and have taken a dislike to sleeping on your back, which is causing Mummy and Daddy a bit of worry, and a lot of sleepless nights.  Your discomfort (perhaps colic?) seems worse around 4-6am, so Mummy and Daddy are currently a tag team, taking it in turns to sleep in the spare bed in your nursery.

 

 Whenever we take you out in your pram you attract the admiration of everyone, who all comment on how beautiful you are and how small.  You make me so proud to be your mummy. 

You have slotted into our family perfectly, and we love you so much, little boy.