Samuel–1 Month

 

Stats:

At 19 days old: 9 lbs 5 oz

At 35 days old: 11 lbs 5 oz and 23 inches long

Wearing:

This Momma happily puts Sam in some newborn clothing still! We had to put a couple of sleepers away that were too small at the end of the first month. The first one caused me to burst out in tears! Other then the select few newborn items, Sam is wearing 0-3 month items!

I have to say, I never considered dressing a boy. Most people thought I was having a girl and so my head was wrapped around dresses and pink. I wasn’t sure how dressing a boy would be. But so far, I love it! Even though there isn’t nearly as much boy items in stores then girls, the stuff is SO cute! I love the ties, the cars, sports stuff, hats, plaid, overalls…etc…it all makes my heart melt.

Sam wore size newborn diapers until 3 weeks. At the end of the month he started wearing size 1. The larger size helps when he has longer stretches of sleep!

Sleep:

The day Sam turned 1 month, he slept through the night! I woke up in panic instead of celebration! I thought there was something wrong! For the most part, so far Sam has been a good sleeper. Up once most nights. During week 3 we had a couple of REALLY bad nights where there was no sleep at all. I was worried this is what life would be like but I think it was just a growth spurt and I soon had my little man back to normal schedule.

During the days, Sam sleeps for 2-3 hours after every feeding. He may have about an hour of awake time after every other feeding!

Eating:

100% supplied by Mommy! We are finally getting to the point where breast feeding is comfortable and just like second nature now! It really is an adjustment to life but I love it so far. I love the break it makes me take to focus 100% on Sam.

Some of the things that I have had to cut out of my diet were carbonated drinks of any kind and chocolate. If I have any of those items Sam will get really gassy and uncomfortable.

Sam took his first bottle of Momma’s milk this month so I could go have a pedicure and manicure in town! Thankfully he took it like a champ and the only problem was that I couldn’t pump enough to keep him full. The plan is to start regular pumping next month so we can store up a supply in the freezer.

Appearance:

Sam has very dark eyes and I think they will be brown like mine. Ryan is in denial and things they will be blue.

Sam was born with dark hair and none of it has fallen out yet! He has continued to grow more peach fuzz this month which appears to be growing in dark. He has always had this thick patch right on the back of his head.

I am convinced Sam has my nose. From day 1 I have said that I found Sam looks like Ryan! Now that he is filling out a little more there are multiple people that thinks he looks like me. I agree, he has my eyes and nose but there is still a look about it that reminds me of his father.

When Sam smiles for some reason I see my brother.

Likes:

Sam likes his Mommy and Daddy! He likes his Nuk soother and no other brand is expectable!

Sam loves his sleep sheep and sometimes I can hear him “talking” to it in the night.

It is important that Sam always stays warm! Any cold feelings at all and he will scream his head off!

Loves sleeping on someone’s chest! If he is fussy this is a guaranteed position to make him settle down. 

Dislikes:

Being cold is number one which includes diaper changes, baths, changing clothes and etc.

Sam dislikes when Mommy eats chocolate which has been really hard with all this Easter chocolate sitting around!

Sam is not a fan of patience. When he needs to eat he needs to eat NOW and there is no waiting even 2 seconds for me to pee before he explodes! Ha ha

Milestones:

Turning one month was the most exciting event! It feels like such an accomplishment to have made it through the first month alive and healthy!

Sam’s first Easter!

 

Easter also marked Sam’s first church service! I can’t wait to watch him grow up in our church family! It is such a special group of people in our lives and to have a church family support and love him is amazing.

On April 24th Sam had his first trip to the hospital except it wasn’t for him! Mommy and Sam had to drive and be with Daddy at the hospital as he developed and was passing a kidney stone. It was the scariest moment to date in the last month. I just kept reminding myself that Ryan would be fine and I had to keep it together for everyone’s sake. I needed to be the strong Mommy in this situation.

First bath which he HATED on April 15th!

On April 25th I finally got to make Sam smile for the firs time! It has been something we have been working on for about a week when he has awake time!

 

Sam and Mommy had their first trip to the city BY THEMSELVES on May 2nd!

Meeting Great Grandma Hamilton on your one month birthday!

Mommy:

As I mentioned before, I love being a Mommy! I take great pride in that title! The biggest thing for me this month is just healing from the labour and delivery! I finally felt 100% like myself on week 4! It’s certainly a process though! It really is the biggest workout of your life and your muscle pain reflects that. It is a learning curve those first weeks that it is ok to sit down and rest when all you really want to do is GO!

Hormones are a bitch…but more on that another time!

Breastfeeding finally feels natural and easy at the very end of this month! I’d be lying if I didn’t consider quitting at least 10 times. It is the most difficult yet rewarding challenge so far (besides labour and delivery).

Speaking of breastfeeding, I have to thank this method of feeding for me dropping all my pregnancy weight gain and then some in 4 weeks. It’s a funny thing because I find myself STARVING some times during the day and would eat everything in sight! Yet, I still see the scale going down! Of course my body is not nearly the same as it was before but I don’t hate it. In due time I’ll think about exercise and my diet again but for now that is not my focus. 

Daddy:

Ryan is seriously a natural at being a Daddy and I know it’s something that he has been looking forward to for a long time. Ryan has big dreams for Sam. And I don’t mean about what he wants to be when he grows up. His big dreams are little like teaching his son how to throw a ball, to make him laugh and to see him walk. I keep begging him to enjoy these newborn moments because it makes me sad to think of him getting big! ha ha!

Ryan’s biggest adjustment has been the lack of free time. Typically Ryan would come home and relax on the couch for 30 minutes to rewind after work. That’s not the case anymore!

It took Ryan a little while to get comfortable with changing Sam’s diaper. After a week and  a half of him never doing a diaper change I got really anger and forced him to do one! Ha ha! I assured him that for the next 3 years diaper duty is for both of us!

Ryan’s checks on Sam periodically everyday and he is the first thing he looks for when he gets home from work! It melts my heart to see them together. I think there is a bond a father feels with his son that is indescribable. It’s not that Ryan wouldn’t have been in love with a daughter but there is this manly bond that I don’t think I will ever understand that Ryan feels towards Sam.

The thing that makes me the proudest about Ryan is how supportive he has been towards me throughout the month. When I was in tears (MANY times) he was very supportive. He was constantly helping me with breastfeeding issues and taking Sam when things got tough in the late nights. He is been very involved in the medical appointments with the nurse and doctors always asking questions. He has also been very good with my recovery process making sure I did what the doctors wanted to help myself heal. 

Other:

Sam has wicked aim! Without warning he has rocket launched poop while I was changing his diaper! Once was it landed all over his nursery floor and another time all over me (hair and face included) right before we were leaving the house!

Boys and their peeing are VERY tricky and most of the laundry that I collect is because Sam has peed all over himself!

I have an easy “burper”. It is no struggle at all to make Sam burp and for that I am thankful!

Sam is already such a boy! When he is feeding he will stop mid-suck, lift his leg and let out a fart before continuing to eat!

Baby snuggles are officially now on my top 5 most favourite things on this planet!

Letter:

Dear Sam,

I know you don’t realize it yet and I doubt you ever will but you are by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You may only be a month old but I am so proud of you. I am so proud to introduce you as my son! You are absolutely beautiful and a pure reflection of what is important and good in life.

You may not “do” a lot yet but I have really enjoyed this newborn stage and wish it could last longer! Don’t get me wrong, I want you to thrive and grow but never again will I get to experience this “first time” newborn baby stage in my life again. It has been a learning curve and there were days that were honestly a challenge but I think we have both grown and thrived into our new roles.

There is honestly no way that I can sit here and describe to you the love I feel for you. I marvel at the fact that you were once inside of my belly and I had no idea who you were. But now I am confident that God has picked you for Mommy and Daddy. We were all meant to be together.

Thank you for making me a Mommy. It has been a roller coaster of a month and I am sure just a small stepping stone to the months ahead.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

 

xo