One month old

Luke turns one month old today. And I don’t know if it’s the sleep deprivation or the steady stream of out-of-town guests we’ve had since he was born, but it just doesn’t seem possible that a whole month has already gone by. And while part of my heart is lamenting that he’s already growing and getting older, part of me rejoicing that we survived our first month parenting two kiddos. And the other part of me is in the kitchen, funneling coffee down my throat. But, HEY!, I can sleep next year, right?

Just look at that adorable little man... Who in their right mind would trade taking a nap for an extra twenty minutes of trying to stick those cheeks in their mouth? I make some seriously smoochable babies.

And apparently I also make seriously HUGE babies as well. Luke is already filling out his three-month clothes and in size 1-2 diapers. At his two-week check-up he was just shy of ten pounds, and had already lengthened almost an inch and a half since he was born. And that was two weeks ago. He is literally growing right in front of our eyes. Which makes me wonder if he’s genetically predisposed to being a giant, or if I should start marketing my breastmilk as weight-gainer to GNC.

So while he’s most likely going to be a fantastically chubby infant like his big sister was, Luke also makes the same squeaky, animal-like noises when he sleeps like newborn-Taylor did. And because the bassinette is right next to our bed, there have been a number of occasions where I woken up feeling like our house had been inhabited by elephants or wild pigs. And he is also a pretty loud eater, and shrieks in delight the minute he starts feasting.

One thing that he loves that Taylor hated is being swaddled. And while his sister would kick herself free of the blanket right after escaping my womb, Luke adores being wrapped up tight like a burrito, which I’m sure feels familiar to him after being so cramped in my belly for nine months.

He’s also getting more and more alert with each passing day, and I love propping him up on my knees, staring into his big, blue eyes and watching him try to focus on my face and things around him. He definitely recognizes my voice, and will turn his head to follow other familiar sounds, like his sister. And for as rough as Taylor is with him, he never seems to mind. She’ll practically lay on top of him and kiss him all over his face, and he just lets her do her thing without so much as a peep, sometimes with even a slight smile on his face. Sometimes he’ll hear her coming and try to shield his face with this tiny hands, but he never screams or cries when she gets too aggressive. He loves her already. And I can only hope that she’ll be as tolerant with him when he gets a little bigger and starts climbing all over her and poking her in the face. Yeah, right. I can hear her squeals already, Leave me alone, YUKEY!

So Luke’s first month is already in the record books, and I’m just hoping that he stays such a chill little dude for a while longer as we work out the kinks and settle into a routine. I know that at some point he is going to wake up and start being a rough-and-tumble little boy, and I can’t wait for that. But for now, I am savoring my time with him while he is such a snuggly peanut, tucking his little head into the crook of my neck while wrapping my arms around him. I didn’t know how much I had missed having a baby in the house until having his soft, sweet-smelling skin pressed against me. It’s intoxicating. And I am loving every second of it. And having him nuzzled up next to me makes my heart a million times happier than doing something as trivial as sleeping. This is way too important to miss.