Boden 1 month

I can't believe that an entire month has already passed since Boden became a part of our family! I was worried about the adjustment to two kids (rightfully so) but we survived (mostly because Boden is an amazing baby!) Here are some highlights from the first month of Boden's life.  

The first week is always a bit of an adjustment. Diaper changes are a pain with a healing circ and umbilical cord, etc. Boden's cord finally fell off at 11 days of life and I was pretty excited about that :) Rowan didn't seem to care too much that he was there for the first few days, but after about a week realized he was staying and has really taken to him. He loves to hug him and "share" his toys with him.

Boden is an amazing nurser which if nothing else has made my life so much easier than my first few months with Rowan. I can't even believe how different my breastfeeding experience has been this time around. I don't know if it's because Boden is a good eater, or because I've done it before, or because I've spent the last year of my life teaching other women how to nurse..but whatever it is, I am so grateful! He has also been a great sleeper. Sleep deprivation is what scares me most about newborns and so far I haven't been too bad at all. He eats about every 1.5-3 hours during the day but will sleep 4-6 hour stretches at night (amazing!) For a couple weeks I had to wake him up at the 5-6 hour mark to feed him. For the first week he slept almost constantly. I was almost worried that something was wrong with him (of course I couldn't just enjoy it, I had to be paranoid about the fact that he was just an awesome baby :)

He was born with a clogged tear duct so I felt like I was constantly cleaning out his eye for the first couple weeks, but it seems to have resolved in the last week or 2, yay! The first 3 weeks he pooped about 6 times a day and then all of a sudden he stopped. I talked to my friend who is a peds nurse (it really pays off to have connections at the hospital) and she said that it could be normal for breastfed babies because their body is able to use almost every single thing in the breast milk. Pretty crazy! Also crazy how different every baby is. Finally after 8 days he pooped again! (never been that excited to change a diaper) He really only cries if he is tired or hungry. If he's hungry, I feed him and he's happy. If he's tired, we swaddle him and usually give him a paci, and he is perfectly content to fall asleep. Luckily, he doesn't care too much about the paci yet and doesn't wake up if it falls out, etc.

By the end of this month, he is barely squeezing into newborn diapers (when preemie diapers seemed big on him in the hospital!) and is tipping the scales at 9 lbs 9 oz! He is starting to bare some weight on his legs and will push off when you stand him up on your lap. He lifts his head really well and will track a little bit with his eyes. He enjoys being on his tummy but sleeps great on his back in the rock n play. He sneezes in sets of 4 which is pretty cute and makes funny little creature noises, especially when he's stretching. His bottom lip/chin also quivers pretty frequently even if he's not upset or anything, it's adorable.

Perks of having a dentist for a dad...molds of his hands and feet to preserve the tininess :)

Beach baby! He already got lots of attention from some Okinawan women. They couldn't believe we were at the beach at day 10 of his life ;) Everyone comments on the fact that in Japan they are in the hospital for a week and then stay inside for much longer than that. In contrast, I seriously felt better at 1 week postpartum than I did with Rowan at 6 wks postpartum. It's amazing! I have been walking since about the first week and even did a little running after week 3. Check out that sweet bruise on my arm from my missed IV :) Poor corpsman having to stick a nurse...too much pressure, haha.

Love love love baby stretches.

Brotherly love (what Rowan doesn't understand is that his head weighs twice as much as Boden's entire body :) I do a lot of head supporting when he's "cuddling" (squishing) with his brother.

Love the wrinkly knees because he's so skinny. Don't worry, in this very short month he has more than filled out his skin!

 Officially applied for his passport and birth certificate. My soon to be world traveling baby...

They like for babies to be back to birth weight by their 2 week appointment. Boden went from 5 lb 10 oz at 2 days old, to 7 lb 5 oz at 2 weeks. This gave me comfort that I could let him do his longer stretches of sleep at night. He's getting plenty to eat ;)  Cuddling after our first official appointment (we did Rowan's 2 year appointment in the same visit. We're going to miss Dr. Carroll-another hard part of military living, having to change providers often. He was also one of my favorites to work with on the floor)

Worn out from their doctor appointments :)

 Maeda at 2.5 weeks old...

  Wanted a silhouette with the little man now that he's not in my belly anymore. Crazy how things can change in a few short weeks!

Just like with Rowan, EVERYONE talks about how he looks "exactly like Grant"!

I call this "the many faces of Boden Kai" haha. So expressive!

Hanging out with Grandma. SO glad she could come to meet him and spend time with us!

 Our new outdoor swing is such a comfy spot.

 ONE MONTH OLD!!! (with Rio the llama) Boden, you are a perfect addition to our family. Please keep up this awesome baby thing, we are loving it (and you!) Can't stop staring at and kissing this adorable face.

And I think we'll have another little beach lover on our hands (I hope!)