A Most Jolly Month!

I can't believe it's been a month.

In some ways, it seems far too long. I remember touching his squishy vernixy head and watching it emerge and looking at his purple face for the first time like it was just a moment ago, but I think that those first moments are probably as indelibly etched into my mind as say, my wedding day, because it's the only day that can compete with it in terms of happiness and sheer unadulterated joy.

In some ways, it seems far too short, because it feels like Jolyon has been a part of us forever, and the time before his arrival seems distant and very different. It hasn't been a very difficult adjustment to make, caring for a child, and I really have a hard time thinking about myself not as a mom.

Jolyon has, throughout the month, been a baby who really likes to sleep, and he does so soundly. Although that was a source of a lot of worry in the first week, when there was absolutely no waking him up after he was done with a feeding after which we were supposed to supplement with a bottle, that is now a source of great delight. We can use powertools nearby and he still is very capable of falling asleep. We know we are really, really lucky. Last night he had another 5 hour stretch of sleeping. We've stopped taking Jolyon to bed at night because it makes me nervous, so if he's awake and not sleepy after the second installment of sleeping, I take him downstairs for his alert period, and then I return us to our respective beds. I think crib in the same room is working out really well for us, and think we'll probably continue it for another few months. The only problem we've had is that Stephanie is a really light sleeper and Jolyon a very noisy one, so she sometimes wakes up thinking it's time to feed the baby, but he's still totally out and there's no feeding him.

When he's awake (e.g. after daytime feedings), Jolyon has become increasingly alert and interactive. His absolute favorite thing is kicking, which he does with glee and switching back and forth between legs, then simultaneously, then back to the right for a bit, then the left. For this reason, he really prefers being stretched out and having his legs free, on his back. Listening to the classical station in his crib seems to be the only thing that improves the endless delight of kicking periods. He stops kicking during the announcer's interruptions of the music, and then starts up again, with frequency correlated to the pace of the music.

Jolyon tracked me with his eyes one of the first days at home, but he also spent a lot of time staring off into space at light sources or the ceiling. We've had a return to greater focus on the person holding him, of late, and it's so fascinating to watch him watching you.

His first awake smile was on the second Saturday with him, when I was holding him at the table with Stephanie's mother and Stephanie sitting there, and he looked up at me and cracked this wide, gummy grin. Since then, he's been doing it more and more, during some of his alert periods. We had a really intensely smiley period about two days ago that just about made me melt. It's not really caused by anything we're doing, yet, but it's definitely smiling because he's having an especially good time.

He's started vocalizing a lot more, with happy coos and not just angry squawking. It's so fun to listen to. He's also still a snorty breather, which is pretty hilarious.

Other things that have worked very well during the first month - when he's overtired and getting cranky, swaddling calms him down nearly instantaneously. He also really enjoys sucking on things when he's definitely not hungry anymore, as a way of soothing himself into sleep. A few days ago we finally tried the pacifier, which we weren't wild about but was a logical way to prevent wrist pain from holding my hand in his mouth for long periods. But swaddling is still the best way to calm down our squirmy baby if he's agitated and overstimulated. He still loves baths and showers, too, and massages have also been a fun thing to do together.

Playdates have been more fun for the parents than for Jolyon, and I think that might continue to be the case for a while, but he's definitely a happy traveller and a very portable baby that enjoys going out and about on errands.

It's been an amazing first month, and I can't wait to see what comes next. We were excited about being parents in the abstract, but it totally pales in comparison to how excited we are about being parents to Jolyon. He's such a fun, happy little boy, and if we were using it, the nickname "Jolly" would definitely fit his personality.

Here are pictures from the fourth week!