It's hard to believe Wallace has been with us for a whole month already, but it also feels like he's always been a part of our family. It seems like a million years ago when I was pregnant, so in that sense the first month with our baby seems like it should have been longer. It's funny how once the baby arrives it all makes sense: like THIS is who you are, little bugger! How could we have not known you?
More from our family shoot in a bit, but look at him!
Wallace is still a rock star baby, guys. He's had a few fussy evenings but nowhere near the caliber of Porter or Cecelia at this age. One night, after we had a very busy day out and about at the zoo for several hours, Wallace did cry more than he's ever cried before. It lasted for about an hour and he was just really upset, not fully wanting to nurse, couldn't fall asleep, etc. But then he passed out and slept great at night, seemingly overstimulated and wiped out from his tough evening. A few other evening hours have been like that: nursing, but not happy when milk was actually entering his mouth. Trouble falling asleep even though he's tired. Wanting to be held but NOT wanting to be held, you know...the normal 'fussy evening' baby stuff. But overall, he isn't inconsolable and it's definitely not every night, and we just keep reminding ourselves that Porter and especially Cecelia were SO MUCH WORSE. So thank you, Ace, for being much more chill than your older siblings;)
ATNR reflex, the PT in me loves this stage:
Will tolerate the swaddle but needs his hands by his face AT ALL TIMES. Also: cheeks and lips.
Mister muscle shirt.
He absolutely loves being held, loves walking around the house or outside, and does great in the Ergo for the most part. If he's not sleeping in our arms, he's probably sleeping in his Mamaroo swing--which is where he spends most of the night, too. He's obsessed with looking at our windows and will sometimes look us dead in the eyes, staring into our souls and making us melt over this child. My favorite early milestone? He's starting to smile at us! I haven't captured a great picture or video yet, but I am determined to prove myself on this one. I love love love when babies start smiling at you----it's such a great reward for the hard work it's been to care for this child so far. Keep it up, buddy!
Wait, what? Why are you making those noises at me, lady?
I've noticed that Wallace cries if we leave him alone on the floor/pack and play/swing when awake, but as soon as I send a sibling in to talk to him, he stops crying. He is a social guy, apparently, and just wants a buddy to hang with. He still doesn't love the car seat but we aren't using it too much anyway, and I'm thinking it's because he can't see anyone else around him in the seat. Luckily we have more than enough people to keep this baby company right now.
Still my favorite position ever.
As far as nursing goes, Wallace is still doing great. I don't have any idea how often he will eat but he tends to sleep more soundly in the mornings, then prefers to cluster feed in the evenings. At night he will usually nurse for the last time around 9 or 10pm, then first wakes up hungry at 2 or 3 am. That's a crazy long stretch and I'm so thankful for it! After that he will usually nurse every two hours or so, and throughout the day I'd guess it's around there, too. He doesn't spit up that much or that often, but it seems like he will barf more in the evenings when he is probably super full from constant nursing. He isn't a fan of the pacifier anymore but I'm going to keep trying, since it would be very helpful for comfort when he doesn't actually want/need to nurse!
Sucked his thumb one time!
Baby toes.
Nursing at the zoo in a nursing pod thing! Pretty sweet.
Sometimes he will still just stay on one side for 20 minutes, or sometimes he will take both sides. Either way I feel like I'm at my peak of making lots of milk for this baby. I will let down if I haven't fed him in an hour or two, and am constantly soaking nursing pads. When I pump each morning I get 6-8 oz now, and definitely feel somewhat engorged when I wake up for the day. This seems to be more on par for my supply with Cecelia, who was an excellent nurser, as Porter was already getting very finicky at the breast by one month. We have not yet introduced a bottle, probably because I'm nervous he will start preferring it more than the boob (like Porter!), but I know we should do that soon. I have a nice stash of frozen milk, around 80 ounces so far, which makes me strangely satisfied. I forgot about the numbers game with pumping and nursing, but I'm ready to rumble once I return to work.
Hashtag Lopsided
Wearing some cooler weather clothes on a day it was 66 degrees as a high.
Most common view:
I will NOT count down my weeks left on maternity leave, though. I will not! I'm enjoying being home with this baby and the other kids so much. This summer seems to be flying by at a crazy pace, with the month of August being the last of our true summer before the kids return to school on Sept 1. Then Wallace (and Porter) and I will have the month of September together, as we adjust to the bigs being in school all day. Then I return to work on October 2nd! CRAZY, so I will just soak it up while I can.
'Real' outfits slay me!
Superficially, he's definitely getting bigger. Not sure on the weight until next week at his one month appointment, but he comfortably wears 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. He's growing some awesome cheeks and a few thigh rolls. Oh, and baby acne is in full swing, which is always so pitiful! No cradle cap yet but I'm sure it's coming. We think he looks a lot like Porter and Truman but sometimes also Cecelia. More often than not he mostly just looks like his own person but it's still so fun to compare our kids!
His unique little folded ear!
Not scrawny
Right? Looks fat here to me. Love this outfit, was Porter's, by Tea Collection.
Porter vs. Wallace---different face shape and lips, I think!
Nicknames for our baby: Waller McBaller, Wallipop, Walli-melon, Walli-present (Porter is coming up with all of these), Ace of Spades, and Acey Baby.
Best friends
Another big fan
Three for three
As you can tell, we are all still over the moon for this little guy. I catch myself staring at him daily, thinking he is the BEST unexpected addition to our family. Not sure how I got by without kissing his head non-stop.
I know you are a pro at being a mom and nursing/returning to work but have you heard of the medela calma bottle? They have to "nurse" the bottle so the latch is more similar and it helped both of my kids a lot when they started to prefer the bottle to nursing.
ReplyDeleteHe's adorable. I feel like I had 2 'good' babies so when they were fussy it was a shock! I had to remember they weren't always that way and it could be so much worse. But when you have a chill baby and they veer from that, it's like OH NO!
ReplyDeleteWe are as done as done can be but looking at these pics does make me miss it a little, ha. He looks (to me) like a cross between Cecilia and Truman. Trent was our best baby (personality wise) - he NEVER cried and we were too stupid to know how lucky we were. Drew was a SCREAMER. Paige had her moments - she had an hour at night for about 6 weeks, hated the car seat for 4 months, and hated taking solo baths - once we started putting her in the shower with us she was golden and LOVES water now! I can't believe you had a day where it was 66 degrees, we don't even get down there at night yet. By August the heat has me DONE. We start school Monday and Paige starts daycare Wednesday, so sad. Enjoy your leave! (duh)
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