Judah at 1 month

Look at this little chunk! He's really grown in his first month, and we love every squeezable inch of him. He had his one month check up last week & measured 23 inches long (90th %) and weighed 10 lbs 3 oz (50th %). His first month has been full of precious moments and challenges. He loves to snuggle and we are trying to treasure that. I love feeling his soft skin, rubbing his velvety head, and smelling that perfect baby smell. I love when his eyes are open big taking us in, and the goofy crossed eyed expression when you get too close. At the same time, we've struggled with lots of tears. We had feeding trouble from the beginning, and he still cries often while nursing. We asked the dr for reflux meds because I definately see symptoms of that (Maelyn was the ultimate reflux queen) and that has helped him to sleep more soundly at night. He can now do 3 or 4 hour stretches and goes back to sleep most of the time after night feedings. Our days on the other hand have gotten harder & harder... by his fifth week he was crying more often than not when awake. Sometimes just fussing & wanting to be held, other times full on screaming inconsolably. His tummy obviously hurts terribly sometimes. This week I finally decided that he has the dreaded colic. After reading & talking with friends, I know that he doesn't have a severe case. Most of the time we can get him to stop crying eventually, and after devoting lots of time to it this week we are figuring out some things that sooth him. I had a good cry about it this week - I want to enjoy every moment of my last baby & that is hard to do with a little red faced screamer! At the same time, it makes me love those quiet content moments he has all the more. Dealing with Mae's struggles taught me such perspective... I am so blessed to have healthy babies who outgrow their crying & sleepless nights while so many don't have that hope. I also learned a great dependance on the Holy Spirit for patience - His never runs out! I pray that we don't deal with these things for over a year like we did with her, but at least now I know that hard babies become fun & easy going toddlers/kids, and that God will be with me & grow me through it. Despite everything, we LOVE this little guy. I can't imagine our family without him.

*eating: mostly every 2 hours during the day - changing nursing position over the last couple days is helping with the gassy tummy

*sleeping: now in the bassinet in our closet so I don't hear all his little noises, usually nursing around 10, asleep by 11pm for the night, waking again at 1 or 2am & again around 5 or 6am. I get 5 to 6 hours of sleep now instead of the 4 hours of broken sleep before the Zantac - yeah!

*likes: the swing, watching his sisters, the ceiling fan, the sound machine on white noise, the vacuum cleaner, sleeping on daddy's chest, nursing for a long time, & LOVES the bath tub

*dislikes: being swaddled when awake, pacis most of the time (still forcing him though!), hiccups, the carseat when awake, gas bubbles!