Graham is one month old!

      

       This post is a little late, but life with two under 2.5 is pretty crazy and busy. But I am getting the hang of it and while the dishes aren't always done right away and there is always a load of laundry waiting to be folded and put away, I have managed to keep both kids (and the husband) alive for over a month now. Yay! 

       Having two kids though makes time fly by even faster. I cannot believe that Graham is already more than a month old. He is growing and changing so fast and I know he'll be crawling and walking and talking in no time. But for now, here's what he's been up to...

At one month old, Graham was:

Weight: 9 pounds, 11 ounces (six ounces less than Owen at that age, for those who might be wondering) 

Height: 20.75 inches long (an inch shorter than Owen at one month)

       Graham has done a lot of losing and gaining weight since he was born. He got down to 7 pounds 9 ounces at his lowest weight after birth and was back up to 8 pounds 10 ounces at two weeks old. Now he is at 9 pounds and 11 ounces which is almost exactly on track for the one ounce a day the pediatrician wants him to gain. We had a lot of issues with Graham losing weight at the beginning and were having to go to the doctor every other day to have them check on him so I'm happy that his weight is going up and he's growing great. 

       Graham was also jaundiced after his birth and we had to check that. Another struggle we had during the first month was with a yeast rash. I am not exactly sure how it started, but it was on my nipples from breastfeeding and appeared as thrush in Graham's mouth. We took him to the doctor for his two week check-up and the doctor prescribed an oral antifungal medicine for his thrush. Then a week or two later after I had taken an antibiotic to get rid of it in me, his yeast infection reappeared as a really bad diaper rash. He is almost completely healed from that now after lots of baking soda baths, diaper free time, an antifungal cream, and Aquafor. 

Eating: 

       Graham basically eats every 2.5 to three hours like clockwork. He eats about three ounces at every feeding, but at a month old we began feeding him four ounces at a feeding. Graham seems to spit up a ton and we go through burp rags and clean outfits like crazy. I am constantly doing laundry because of this. 

       I breastfed for almost a week with Graham, but with his weight issues and the yeast infection which made it very painful for me and risked us passing the infection back and forth, I began pumping and have continued that like I did for Owen. I really enjoyed breastfeeding to begin with, but it quickly became frustrating and excruciatingly painful. I felt a lot of guilt initially from giving it up and tried meeting with a lactation consultant several times. Unfortunately, breastfeeding is difficult for me in general and Graham is what I would call a narcoleptic piranha (he tries to bite my nipples off and then falls asleep before getting anything to eat). Pumping is not ideal, but it is what I'm used to and I like knowing exactly how much Graham is eating (he only began gaining weight and his jaundice went away after I started pumping and bottlefeeding) and I like that Tim and our family members can feed him as well. And lucky for me, I have a great milk supply and have even begun freezing breastmilk. I have over 180 ounces in the freezer. I pump about five times a day to get between 30 and 40 ounces of breastmilk. 

Sleeping: 

Graham is a pretty good sleeper. He catnaps off and on throughout the day and his only long nap time is in the middle of the afternoon about the same time Owen naps (yay!) At night he generally falls asleep sometime between nine and eleven and will sleep for 2.5 to 3 hours before needing to be fed. Then he will sleep for another 2.5 to 3 before wanting to eat again. And then he will sleep for another 2.5 to 3 before needing to be fed again. His typical nightly wake-up times to eat are between 1 and 2, sometime around 4 and again at between six and seven. I wake up with him most often in the night, but Tim will help with a feeding every couple of nights and will sometimes on the weekend handle two feedings in a row to allow me to sleep more. Graham currently sleeps in the Fisher Price Rock and Play in our bedroom. He sleeps swaddled with a pacifier (which he spits out after falling asleep) and our white noise machine playing the sound of rain. He is a very noisy sleeper and is frequently grunting as he either tries to break out of the swaddle or use the bathroom. It makes it very difficult for me to sleep since I am basically attuned to any little sound he makes and will wake up or be unable to fall back asleep when he is making these noises. He also spits up a ton after eating in the night because he is straining so hard that he causes himself to spit up. 

      Graham is most fussy in the evenings. I wouldn't call it colic, but he does want to be held and he really fights going to sleep. We take turns holding him and rocking him and pretty much every other trick we know until he falls asleep. 

Other Things I Want to Remember: 

      Graham can wear size newborn and size 0-3 month clothing. He wears newborn and size one diapers when he isn't in cloth. We had to take a hiatus from cloth diapers while he had his yeast infection because the infection can contaminate the diapers and then the rash can reappear.  

      He has lots of hair. It has lightened some and is almost blondish in some places around his face. His eyes are dark blue and we are interested to see whether they will turn brown like Owen's and mine or remain blue like his Daddy's eyes.

       Graham frequently has gassy smiles and we cannot wait to see a real one. He smiles with one side of mouth and has a dimple in his right cheek. 

        Graham has been pretty fussy this month, though he has been through a lot with all of his issues so I can't really blame him. He is pretty fussy anytime he is awake and only has brief awake periods where he is content. He mostly wants to be held when he is awake and cries off and on if I try to put him down on his playmat or in his bouncer seat. He is definitely a momma's boy and seems to calm down quicker when I am holding him. He is also calmed by being swaddled, though he still puts up a fight against it. Car rides are calming and he typically falls asleep in his carseat. 

        Graham does not hate tummy time as much as his brother and is already really good at holding up his head. He is amazingly strong for such a little baby and is always trying to lift his head and look around and tries to stand up in his carrier and on our laps. He actually drives me crazy because he is always trying to push away from me in his carrier and I have to hold behind his head to make sure he doesn't lose head control and hurt himself. Eventually he falls asleep though. The Moby Wrap is still one of my favorite newborn must-haves and helps us calm Graham and get him to sleep.

        Graham hated his first bath and continues to dislike being bathed most of the time, but he is getting better. He tolerates it if I make it fast. 

        Like most babies, he is entranced by ceiling fans and lights.

        Big brother Owen is quite in love with him and enjoys getting to hold him and helping with diaper changes. He also wants to try to feed Graham his bottle and will try to help put his pacifier back in his mouth if he is crying. Owen tries to hug and kiss his brother a lot and I have to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't accidentally hurting Graham. 
       Graham and Owen, like most siblings, are alike and different in many ways. I enjoy seeing the ways they are similar, but it seems like Graham is trying to make it known that he is his own person and has his own personality and likes and dislikes. I am excited to see more of these similarities and differences as Graham gets older.