Everyone has always said, "they grow up so fast," but I wasn't prepared for my little newborn to be a month old already!
It's amazing the changes I can already see in the little guy! He spends a lot more time making eye contact and trying to focus on things. He is getting pretty big... but hasn't always been that way:
The last few weeks have had many ups and downs. Brooks started out gaining weight on track and I was happy that breastfeeding was working out for us. 1 week later and his weight gain was beginning to slow. This concerned us a little and the doctor encouraged me to feed him more often... meaning every 2 hours (knowing it takes an hour to feed him, that leaves me an hour at the most in between). We returned to the doctor a week later and I had my fingers crossed that he had gained enough weight- at least back to his birth weight (7 pounds 13 ounces) or 8 pounds would be great. Sadly, he had not gained a single ounce in the last week, even though his feeding had increased.
As you can guess, I was pretty upset with the news. I had a feeling he was not gaining weight because his cries were telling me that he was still hungry. The days leading up to that appointment had left both of us in tears, me feeling upset because he was so unconsolable. Therefore, I was neither surprised nor upset when the doctor asked me to begin supplementing with formula.
And... ta-da! A brand new baby appeared. Brooks immediately settled down, spent more time calm and sleeping, and lost that unconsolable cry. It felt good to know that my mother's intuition was right and my little man needed more to fill his belly. We returned to the doctor 5 days after beginning to add in formula and he had gained almost a whole pound! He weighed in at 8 pounds 7.5 ounces!
Today we attended his 1 month check-up and here are his stats:
Weight: 9 pounds 9.5 ounces - 40th percentile
Height: 21 3/4 inches - 70th percentile
Head: 14 1/2 inches - 50th percentile
The doc and I are very happy with his growth! Our 1 month photo shoot of Brooks was not his favorite time, but here are a few:
Although he's not very pleased in these pictures, he is still mommy and daddy's little angel:
He continues to make our hearts smile each and every day :)
