Maxyboy is already a month old!
We went to the doctor on Monday, June 16 for his one month check up.
He weighed 9lbs, 5.6oz at birth and was 22 inches long at birth.
Now he's at 9lbs, 12oz - 50% and 22.25 inches long - 70%.
We saw a doctor we'd never seen before - Dr. McKay - and she was very nice. She was happy with how much weight he's gained. She said ideally they should gain 20-30 grams per day and calculated him at 24 so he's pretty much perfect!
Max had a bit of jaundice at birth just like his sister (and just like pretty much every baby, right?) and we had to have it checked out - just like with his sister. We came home from the hospital on a Saturday afternoon and a home nurse came to check his weight and do a heel prick for a bilirubin check on Sunday. Based on those numbers compared to the numbers before we left, we had to go again on Monday for another check...and based on those numbers, we had to have yet another check on Wednesday of that week. We only had to have Lucy checked once more after leaving the hospital so this was a little rough for us - particularly since they had trouble collecting enough blood from him each time. At one check, they had to prick him THREE times to get enough! And this little guy hates having his feet touched so he really got pissed when they wouldn't keep their hands to themselves...
The levels were on the rise for the first couple of checks but by that Wednesday check, they were headed back down so Dr. D. said we could put an end to the heel pricks. But when we saw Dr. McKay, I mentioned to her that he was looking a little orange and asked her opinion...and she recommended that we have yet another bilirubin check done. I was dreading putting my baby guy through another multi-prick and heel-squeezing session but I followed the doctor's orders...and I am pleased and relieved to say that the levels had decreased significantly and the jaundice issue is officially in the past.
Lucy has been an amazing big sister! She loves her brother and insists on hugging and kissing him before bed every night. She wants nothing to do with diaper changes but enjoys feeding him bottles (for the first 30 seconds...and then she grows bored and walks away). She's always talking to and about him and has been a good helper. She's also been very aware and patient and independent. She never cries for attention when one of us is busy with the boy (like play with me instead!). She's even said things like, "When you're done feeding Maxyboy, can you..." We are so proud of her! We've been trying to do things with and for her to reassure her that she's special and important but of course things have to change.
She stole his B (pacifier) this weekend - not out of his mouth, though...he wasn't using it at the time. So it took her 5 weeks to try that one!
She'd been giving us a little bit of trouble at bedtime...just stalling and then crying once up in bed and making multiple requests - having to go potty, needing a drink, wanting to be covered up, needing one of her babies from the basement, etc. It started to get out of hand so we instilled a bedtime chart where she earns a star for every night (or nap time) that she goes straight to sleep without arguing or crying or calling for us after we'd gone back downstairs from putting her to bed. She earns a prize for every 6 stars and she's already earned one prize (a bubble gun!) so we're on the right track.
She's been crying at drop off at school a bit lately, too, but she's gone in phases with that so I don't know if it has anything to do with Max's arrival or not. The only other thing we've attributed to the change in her world is having bad dreams. She woke up in the night twice last week with bad dreams...heartbreaking! One night she apparently had a dream that I threw a necklace at her! And another night, she dreamed I threw away her chicken nuggets and she wasn't finished! Mean mama!
Maxyboy hates having his diaper changed! He usually cries throughout the entire thing. He's gotten a lot better about peeing on us but still manages to get us now and again. He also hates getting into his car seat...yet, he loves being in his seat because he loves going for walks and car rides. But much like his sister did as a baby, he hates red lights, aka when the car comes to a stop for too long.
What he loves:
Being outside, stroller and car rides, mama and daddy and Lucy, and getting baths! Lucy is a major helper during bath time - she even washed his hair during his first tub bath!
Basically since we brought him home, he slept through the night. For the first month, he usually went to bed around 9 or 10 and slept until 3 or 4am. He and I would get up so he could eat and we'd stay up for about an hour and then he'd go back to sleep for another 4 hours or so. Good boy! Whenever we fed him a bottle, we gave him 2 ounce bottles.
Several doctors and nurses have remarked on his strong legs. In fact, when he had his most recent heel prick, I had to hold his other leg because he kept kicking the lab tech and she was having trouble doing her job. He seems incredibly strong to us and when he's laying under his gym, it often seems like he's this close to rolling over! He does enjoy laying under his gym. he loves sleeping on his side or stomach, which we let him do during the day when we're there with him as he snoozes on his lounger or under his gym (in the night, in his bassinet, he sleeps on his back, wrapped snugly in his "monkey suit" / swaddling blanket).
We're so in love with this perfect addition to our family!
