One Month

Brennan is one month old today. As cliche as it is to say, I can't believe he's been with us so long. On the other hand, I can't remember him not being part of our home.

Collin
Collin has become a great big brother. He loves to give Brennan kisses. Unfortunately, he gets very upset when I ask him to refrain from showing his love when he is running a fever or has a runny nose. He is very gentle, and oftentimes will ask to give Brennan his binky. When Brennan is crying, he'll say, "Uh oh baby. Baby binkie." He also knows that the baby will always be happier with some of "mama milk," and he is becoming more willing to share Mom when it means the baby will stop crying.

Brennan
Brennan is still a miracle sleeper. He is in a great routine now too. During the day, he eats every three hours. His feedings are also on hours which are multiples of three, which makes the teacher/planner in me so happy! After eating, he will stay awake for 30-60 minutes, and then nap until it is time to eat again. He only cries when he is hungry - at the 3 hour mark - and when he has gas (more on this to follow). At night, he nurses at 9pm and again around 3am. Yep, six hours of sleep for me! Instead of staying awake to play, he goes right back to sleep until 6am, and then we are up for the day. It is amazing. Of course, I am still napping each afternoon when both boys are sleeping, so that is keeping me far more sane then when Collin was a newborn.

Alright, now for more on this gas... My children seem to struggle with gas. Collin had problems burping, and he would fuss and fuss uncomfortably. Brennan struggles with the other end. In an attempt to approach this delicately, I'll say that he could definitely out "toot" any grown man, and he has some seriously explosive bowel movements.

I am certainly struggling with taking pictures of him. I took hundreds of pictures of Collin when he was a baby, but in typical mother-of-more mode, I have neglected the camera almost completely. I'm guessing that he is weighing in around 9 pounds, and he is losing all his black hair on the top of his head. Picture male-pattern baldness. He no longer fits in any of his newborn-sized clothes, which was a sad day to pack them all up. He still has his one elf ear and a seriously upturned nose. His eyes are more open and aware now, but they are still shaped like Ryan's.

And Me
My adjustment to having two kids has gone FAR more smoothly than I had planned. Of course, I had prepared for the absolute worst, so I guess that's not saying much. My mom did stay for a full two weeks though, so I was spoiled with lots of help for quite some time. By the time she left, I was getting a decent amount of sleep each night and had Brennan on a loose schedule. Now, two more weeks later, I'd say things are going rather smoothly. I wouldn't say we don't have hiccups, and I absolutely detest bed-time without help, but we are doing well.

Thanks for all your well-wishes. Happy Valentine's Day!