One Month

Wow, Mr. Dempsey! One month sure flew by pretty fast!! It's a hard feeling to describe, but although it seems like just yesterday that you arrived it also feels like you have been a part of your dad and I's lives forever. You have changed so much over the past month it is hard to describe really!

You weighed 7lbs, 10oz when you were born and 8lbs, .05oz at two weeks. Mom took you to a breastfeeding weigh-in group two days after your one month birthday and you weighed 8lbs, 12oz! You are what the doctors (on the internet) refer to as a banana baby - long and lean. You really are just like your dad!

You had jaundice when you were born which scared your dad and I (especially when we were told as they were bringing a light bed into our hospital room in the middle of the night after it took a long time to soothe you to sleep). The nurse warned us that you would be super fussy and to give you a pacifier to help calm you down when you were on the light bed but you didn't mind at all and slept like a champ! You looked kind of funny all lit up in a funny little scrub pouch. Luckily you only needed the light bed for one night and it cleared up within a couple of days - you had to have a couple extra doctor's visits just in case!

Dempsey the glow worm

One consequence of your jaundice was that you needed formula since Mom wasn't producing enough breast milk and the only way to clear up the jaundice (which is actually an over-accumulation of bilirubin in your liver) is to poop - a lot! So we gave you some formula plus whatever you could get from Mom. We supplemented with the formula only for about four days and then Mom's milk supply was good to go. However, you had decided that not only was milk from a bottle better because it came out so fast, you also liked the feel of the silicone nipples in your mouth. This meant that you wouldn't take from mom and often pushed me away and got very frustrated when I tried to breastfeed you (WHERE'S THE DANG BOTTLE LADY!?!?!). This meant long feeding sessions for Mom who had to pump for 2 minutes, then try to nurse you for 15 to 20 minutes on each boob, then feed you a bottle, then pump for another 10 minutes or so. Needless to say, Mom got pretty tired and frustrated. Thank goodness your Dad is so amazing and supported your Mom through it all. I finally got a little silicone nipple shield to put over my own nipple and you were happy as a clam to suck away! Hooray! In the days just prior to you turning one month I was able to get you to latch onto my boobs without the shield at all!

You were pretty sleepy in the first couple of weeks but really woke up during your third week and threw your Mom and Dad for a loop! We have finally gotten you figured out a bit better and can tell your different cries apart (at least a little bit better than before). You eat about every 2 hours during the day, although some days you will be attached to Mom for many hours straight eating away! Your night time feedings vary; sometimes you will sleep for a 5 hour stretch but many nights you are up every 2-3 hours. Either way you get your midnight snacks and go right back to sleep so it's all good. Your Dad gets up every time you cry and changes you and soothes you before sending you on over to the food cart (that's me!). :)

You've smiled a few times that haven't been followed by you passing gas or filling up your diaper with smelly stuff. Speaking of diapers, you go through a ton of those! Nearly 80 a week!

You've had so many people come to meet you this month and all have had nothing but good things to say about you! Your Dad and I agree; you are a pretty fantastic kid.

You've started to outgrow some of your newborn clothes and a couple of your pants look like shants (short pants or man capris). Thankfully people have bought you more than 100 outfits (I'm serious, I counted) so we have plenty of clothes to put you in as you grow over the next year!

Your aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and great-grandparents all love you to pieces and you got to meet  a lot of them in your first month! You are a lucky guy to have so many incredible people around you to help you grow up big and strong. We all are excited to see what kind of person you will be - no doubt you will be smart, funny, athletic and all around perfect!