Strong Boy!

I know I've blogged before about how strong Connor is, but I need to say it again.  Last night he managed to wiggle himself out of his swaddle, he also wiggled himself down to the other end of the end, having rotated 180 degrees in the process.  Good thing I've already dealt with Avery having moved out of my field of vision on the monitor, no little heart attacks this time around thinking he's missing.  ;)  However, I don't think it was this early that Avery was doing all of this!  Connor is just getting so big and strong so fast!  Can't believe all he's able to do already!  Holding his head up, rolling tummy to back, bearing weight on his legs, exceptionally strong arms and legs, and now moving around his crib!  He is one impressive baby!  :)  Can't wait to see how he continues to grow!!  :D

Nursing

The thing with nursing is that you never really know how much your baby is eating.  I know Connor eats well and often.  I know he's gaining weight and growing, so I'm not worried about him or his health.  But I am curious.  ;)  Well, tonight Connor slept from 9:30pm to 5:30am!  That's right!  My 4 week old baby boy slept 8 hours!!!  :D  This is AWESOME because I got some much needed sleep.  Actually, he may have slept longer, but when Michael asked me if I wanted him to get Connor up, I was really full and uncomfortable, so I said yes.  Since I remember what it was like with Avery to nurse while being this full, I knew that if Connor ate on one side, I'd leak on the other, so I decided to pump on that side.  After it was all said and done I had managed to pump 5 ounces as well as give Connor a very full belly!  :D  I feel very accomplished!  Back to sleep now with the victory of lots of milk, being "deflated" again, and lots of sleep to keep me happy!  :D  Night!

4 Weeks (tomorrow)

Well, tomorrow Connor will be 4 weeks old!!  On Saturday he'll be a month old!  Time has gone by soooo fast!  We are LOVING having Connor in our lives and family!  He's a wonderful baby and an absolute joy!!  Here's how the first month has gone...

Sleep
While he's not sleeping through the night yet, he is sleeping well, and I think he's on his way.  In the first week he'd sleep for 2-3 hrs at a time (at night) before waking up to feed.  In the second week he was up to 3-4 hrs at a time.  By week 3 he was up to 3-6 hrs during each stretch (mostly sleeping through Michael's 9pm-2am shift).  In week 4 we've regressed a little, maybe he's going through a growth spurt, he's back down to 3-5 hrs, more often 3-4 hrs.  I'm ready for him to be sleeping through the night, but I'd settle fpr only getting up once between 9pm and 7am.  I'm sure we'll be there soon.  ;)

Eating
Connor is a rockstar eater!!  After he was born and did over an hour of skin-to-skin, I nursed him.  He nursed for over an hour, close to an hour and a half, right off the bat!!  He was born weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces.  Two days after his birth we met with our family physician and he was down to 7 pounds.  She explained that she wanted to see him once a week until he gained back up to his birth weight.  I expected this to take a couple of weeks like it did with Avery.  But no, my constantly eating, growing, baby boy gained 13 ounces that next week.  By the following appointment he was at 7 pounds 13 ounces.  ;)  He still eats almost constantly.  Most of the time if he's awake, he wants to be nursing.  ;)  He's a very hungry little guy!!  Even though he weighed more than Avery at birth, he was MUCH skinnier!  He was all skin, bones, and MUSCLE, no fat on him.  I think that if my platelets hadn't been falling and we hadn't induced labor, that he would have stayed in another week or so, put on some more weight, and fattened himself up some more (remember, I calculated my due date at May 16th, based on my ovulation kit).  He has done well and gained weight since then.  I'll take him to get him weighed on Friday and we'll see him much he's put on in a month.  :)  Connor has only been nursed or had pumped bottles.  He's had no formula yet.  In fact, he's only had 3 pumped bottles so far.  He doesn't like them, but in a pinch he'll take them.  He doesn't like pacifiers either.  :P  Only mom will do.  ;)

Strength
As I said before, Connor was born all skin, bone, and muscle.  With no fat in his arms or legs it was EASY to see all the muscles there.  His head and neck control has been really impressive from the beginning.  Now he holds his head up pretty well, most of the time.  At 2 weeks old he rolled himself over from his tummy to his back.  I thought it was a fluke, Avery did the same thing (only once) when she was really young.  Well, I put him back on his belly, and wouldn't you know it, he did it again!!  :D  Then, this weekend, at 3.5 weeks old, he did it again at Glenn and Linda's once, and twice when we got home!!  After 5 times, it's looking less like a fluke.  Two different days, three different places, and five rolls, it's looking a little more deliberate.  He is an incredibly strong baby!  This skill is usually seen in 3-4 month olds!!  Now you see why I'm so impressed and proud of my little guy for doing this so early!!  :D  I think it's his impecable leg strength that's giving him this great edge on his fellow baby competition.  ;)  He's already bearing his own weight on his legs for a few seconds at a time, sometimes as long as ten seconds!  :D  I expect some decent athletic abilities out of this kiddo!  He will have gotten all of these from his Daddy, as I KNOW he didn't get them from me!!  ;)

Personality
We haven't seen a lot of Connor's personality yet, as he's sleeping more often than not.  What we have seen and noticed has been very special.  :)  Connor will smile in his sleep and has started giving us a few smiles while he's awake too.  :)  We are loving his little grins and hope to see many more.  Connor is a very calm and easy going baby.  He's very accepting and/or forgiving of Avery's (sometimes) rough love.  He loves looking around and really seems to be taking things in when he's awake.  Like many babies, he loves staring at fans and lights.  Like his sister, he doesn't make a lot of eye contact because he tends to be looking everywhere else but at you.  Connor DOES NOT like the carseat!  But after crying for a couple minutes, he falls asleep and rides peacefully for quite a while (2.5 hrs to Topeka).  He's getting used to bath time more and more and no longer cries when he'a put in his seat.  Although he still cries when being washed.

Looks
I'm sure you've all seen pictures of him, but I'll include a couple new ones in this post.  :)  Connor's hair has lightened since he was born.  It's now a light to medium brown.  It curls when it's wet and has some waves when dry.  His eyes are still a dark, cobalt blue.  He's got his Daddy's long eyelashes, but they are light and blonde in color instead of dark like Michael's and Avery's.  Finally, he has exceptionally long fingers!  We've been saying that they're cello fingers, but they'd also be well suited for piano.  Hopefully he's got some musical talents.  ;)

Well, I'd write more, but I think I'm going to call it quits for now.  Connor just spat up the entire content of his stomach on himself and me.  Luckily, the floor and couches seem relatively unaffected.  ;)  The joys of motherhood.  :P  Enjoy the pics, and thanks for reading!  :D

Big Sister

We've had Connor for almost 4 weeks now.  And I must say, Avery is rising to her roll as Big Sister beautifully!!  I am so impressed with her and how much she loves her little brother!  Being a little girl, you can already see the maternal instincts coming out in her.  She wants to hold Connor, she gets concerned when he's crying, she pats and gently shushes him to try to calm him down, she knows when he wakes up and starts fussing and goes to his bedroom door to get him, she helps him during bath time, she stays quiet, and reminds others to while he's sleeping, she rocks him in his swing, and she loves to touch, hug, and kiss him.  :)  She is an incredible big sister!!  All of that from a girl who's almost 20 months old!  She has gone above and beyond what we expected from her!  I am extremely pleased that she loves him so much!!  We have been blessed with WONDERFUL children!!!  :D