Happy one month, little boy! You are joy to our family and we are very blessed to call you ours. This month has been a bit of a blur for me, especially since I'm still only getting 4 hours at most of sleep at a time. Thank goodness for a husband with flexible hours and willingness to get up with the kids so that I can get an extra hour or so of sleep in the morning!
Joey eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day, which make it a 7 hour-a-day job because he takes 40 minutes to eat at this point! It's been a tricky balance between feeding Joey, taking care of Gia & Trey, trying to keep the house clean and meals made and still remain connected to my friends, family and church members. I know that once he nurses less frequently and for fewer minutes at a time, things will calm down again. For now, I'm just going with the flow, trying to get the most important things done (meals, dishes, laundry & time with the kids), and working out our new normal. Oh, and trying to get sleep. I need more hours in the day :)
Some stats on Joey:
Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz (on our home scale)
Length: he's definitely getting longer, but still fits into newborn onesies and outfits. He is still in newborn diapers, but that won't be for long... 1s are right around the corner.
First smile: 3 week birthday! Bobby says he got a smile the day before, but I know for sure that I got a big, open-mouthed smile on October 23! So far, he smiles in the morning after his feeding, but not later in the day.
He LOVES to snuggle with me! I pick him up and he just curls up to my chest and snuggles in. It's the best. He is partial to me (Mama) but loves to stare intensely at Daddy. He also loves Gia and Trey, and he calms down when Gia talks to him.
His blue eyes are dark, so I'm pretty sure they will be turning brown. I wonder if they will be dark like Trey's and mine or have some green in them like Gia's and Bobby's?
He has two dimples... I'm so excited!
So far, no jealously with Gia or Trey. It's been the most amazing experience to watch them both love and adore baby Joey. Trey gets up every morning excited to hug and kiss his baby brother. Gia can't wait to coo to Joey and try to get him to smile at her. I pray every night that God would make my children best friends, and we as parents try to foster that love between them.
I finally understand what people mean when they say they miss the baby stage. He is so sweet, and I know I'm going to look back on these days fondly.
With Gia and Trey, I didn't leave the house for a couple months. This time around I was desperate to get out of the house and be around people right away. I wanted to see friends and go to church and be social. But, I over did it the first week by booking our schedule solid. After that, I had to relax a little bit, let myself heal and get some rest.
It's been really hard not being able to lift things, especially when it comes to raising Trey. He loves to be held, which I could do. Also, trying to lift my 30 lb son into the crib, car seat, highchair, etc... was impossible. In a couple weeks I should be back to normal and able to pick him up. Thankfully, my mom was here to help for a couple weeks after Joey was born and Bobby has been awesome with helping me.
