Marshall is 1 month old!

Dear Marshall,
As it turns out, time does not move any slower with baby #2. I truly can't believe that you are already 1 month old. It feels like we just brought you home from the hospital!

Having two little boys at home has certainly been an adjustment, and not an easy one. But we wouldn't change it for the world. It seems each day we figure things out a little bit more and learn more about you- your likes and dislikes. Here is what we know so far...

First, you're adorable. You make the cutest little faces- very reminiscent of Owen as a baby. You have the saddest sad face! When you are upset, you flip your lower lip completely upside down and start a pathetic little blubber. Though we learned quite quickly, that that little blubber escalates into an incredibly loud cry. When you are unhappy,  you make sure everyone knows it.

You are most irritable during the morning hours. You are super gassy and I feel so bad for how uncomfortable you seem. We've been using Gripe Water which seems to help. Basically from 7 AM to noon, you cry almost continually unless you are being held. Once I recognized this as a daily pattern, I decided to start wearing you in the baby carrier. Thankfully, you seem to like that and usually fall asleep in it- though I have to take you out to eat every 1.5 - 2 hours. You have yet to show any real interest in your pacifier... it's unfortunate.

Around noon time you are generally much calmer and start taking 3 hour stretches between feeds. This is usually when I can finally take you out of the carrier and let you rest in the swing or bouncy seat.

All that frequent nursing has helped you pack on the pounds. You were very slow to gain weight initially, which had me taking you to the doctor's office for weight checks every few days. Two weeks ago, you were 9 lbs 4 oz. We went to the doctor's again today and amazingly you are now 11 lbs 11 ounces! Two pounds bigger than Owen was at one month!

We haven't left the house much... you absolutely hate your carseat, so you basically hate riding in the car too. You start crying almost immediately after we put you in there. You get yourself so worked up, you turn bright red in the face and get all sweaty. It's so sad. This is a major adjustment for me too, as Owen loved car rides and often seemed happier in his carseat than out of it!

(A rare non-crying in the carseat photo)

Unlike when your brother was a baby, we have not been doing the nightly bath with you. Every 2 days or so we give you one, and maybe a hair wash in between (because of all the sweating!) You seem to like it, or at least aren't bothered by it as you never cry in the tub. We laughed the first time we saw you with a head full of curly hair! We will have to let it dry without brushing sometime, and see if it keeps it's curl.

We had a couple rough nights with you, but thankfully you've been sleeping much better this past week. Your last nighttime feeding is usually around 8:30/9:30 PM. We usually put you to bed then and get at least another 3 hour stretch from you. There's typically a 1:30/2:00 AM feed and then another around 5:00 AM. It's not ideal, but it works.

Marshall, we love you so much and are unbelievably thankful to be your parents. We've had a rough but wonderful first month with you and look forward to all this next one may hold!

Happy 1 month birthday, Marshall!