During the first month I was transported back to “new parent” status, terrified of each new thing that seemed different or unexplained and trying to do my best to relearn the process of taking care of a brand new baby. Finn’s belly button was different and he sneezed more and grunted more and had crazy projectile vomiting. The first month we tried to come up with strategies to improve what seemed to be some re-flux. If I laid him flat on his back he would often end up vomiting. He also developed a habit of snacking in short, frequent nursing sessions. He didn’t complain too much about it, but I was on high alert much of the time, wondering when the next eruption would hit.
There were a few scares during the first month with Miles getting a little too hands on in his pursuit of helping his baby brother, but over all he slipped easily into the role of big brother from the beginning.
We didn’t have a well-visit this month, but he had gained back his birth weight and then some by the time he was 2 weeks old. We took him to the kidney specialists at Children’s Mercy when he was about one month old to evaluate his eptopic kidney and they told us the ultrasound didn’t show anything that was cause for concern. We were told to bring him to his doctor any time he has a fever so they can check to see if it’s a kidney infection, but he should live a normal, healthy life. It was great to hear it from a specialist and we’re going to go in at 6 months for another ultrasound just to make sure things still seem good.
Finn started smiling a couple weeks after he was born and it’s cute to see how his smile matches his personality. He seemed to like tummy time at first, but it wasn’t long before that changed. He loves to talk and also started cooing sometime during his first month. He scares easily at loud sounds like public toilets flushing. His gaze has been pretty steady and deep since the beginning. I am amazed to stare into his eyes and see a brand new soul staring back at me. I can’t wait to learn more about him.
SLEEP! Finn has been an expert sleeper from day one. I don’t think he has ever woken up during the night and stayed awake. From the very beginning he would wake up, nurse and go immediately back to sleep. It is an amazing blessing. I’m going to try very hard not to constantly make comparisons between Finn and Miles. I love that they are different and I’m always noticing different things that are unique to each one, but I want to just focus on the person each one is becoming. I will say that I did not have the pleasure of these kind of sleep habits the first time around. We got used to waking up several times a night and eventually Miles learned to go back to sleep after nursing during the night, but not until he was about 4 months old. As you will see in the monthly segments that follow, this trend of great sleeping just gets better this time! Praise the LORD! Seriously.
