Em & M, plain AND peanut?: 1 Month Visit

I'm going to get this off my guilty conscience right away - Ezra is sleeping in his car seat on the kitchen table while I write this. Yes, the first thing I did when we got home was sit down and write this blog and I left the kid in his car seat. That mommy guilt is killer.

His visit went really well today! The Dr said everything looks good and Ezra was wide awake for the entire appointment so the Dr got to see him looking around and everything. Development looks good, too.

So here's the stats:
Weight: 12 lbs 7 oz (I will quote my mom "Bazinga!" he's definitely an eater), 95th percentile
Height: 22", that's 2" of growth in a month, 75th percentile
Head Circumference: (not sure I understand this one) but 15 1/4"

Eats: since he's passed his growth spurt, he's back to eating every 3 hours. Which is nice. I thought my nipples might actually fall off when he was eating every 1 1/2 hours for that week. He's actually pretty predictable with eating and is still taking a bottle when we need to, although I haven't been pumping as much. Dr. said we should be more consistent with bottle feeding to make sure he doesn't decide not to take it later on (like when I go back to work). We're at a point where it's easier and quicker to just have me feed him instead of have Mike feed him and me pump in the meantime. Plus it gives me a reason to sit and watch TV and ask Mike to bring me things...

Sleeps: (Danielle, you might not want to read this section, I apologize in advance, and send you sleepy baby vibes) He's a great sleeper. Usually at night we can get one good 4ish hour stretch, sometimes longer. He is the LOUDEST sleeper ever, so just because he's sleeping that long doesn't mean that I'm not awake listening to him grunt, squeak, or whatever for some of that time. Sometimes Mike and I will have a debate in bed, "do you think he's awake? still sleeping? should I hit the vibrate button and see if he quiets down for a little bit?" You'd think if we just got up, changed, and fed him we'd all be back to sleep in less time, but who's really thinking clearly at 2 am??

He's still in our room right now, Mike's not ready to put him in the crib with the monitor. I'm thinking that will happen when I go back to work. He is outgrowing the newborn napper thing on our pack n play though, so soon he'll be sleeping just in the pack n play - hopefully that's not too much of a transition for him.

Likes: His favorite place in the world right now seems to be on his changing table. We get more smiles, coos, and eye contact there than anywhere else. It's funny. He also loves the vibration feature on his pack n play, swing, and bouncer. That can sometimes keep him calm for a long time!

He loves to move around - in the stroller, car, or just being walked around. Sometimes if he's crying the only way to calm him is to put him over my shoulder and just walk. God forbid I sit down and we're back to screaming bloody murder. I'm hoping once he gets interested in his toys, this phase might go away.

Dislikes: He does not like being put into his car seat. He screams every time, like we're tying him into a straight jacket or something. Once the car starts moving we're back to calm.

He also doesn't like evening, between 7 and 10. We usually have a good hour or two of crying for no reason. I think sometimes he's just getting out his extra energy before he goes down for that long stretch. I have been known to put him in my ergo carrier and just rock him back and forth for an hour and a half while standing and watching TV because that will at least get him to stop crying. Sometimes I try to sit - but usually that only lasts for maybe 23 seconds.

Milestones: He definitely recognizes my and Mike's voices and will look for us when he hears us which is the best thing ever for my mommy-ego. We have gotten some smiles - and I mean making eye contact and smiling and "cooing" at us, which I refuse to say has anything to do with gas.

He's following objects around the room - sometimes us or the dogs or a toy. Proof of this: I came out of the bathroom yesterday to Mike in our bedroom attaching baby toys to the ceiling fan, including one of my favorites Captain Calamari. Ezra was laying on the bed intently watching Captain Calamari go around and around as Daddy turned on and off the ceiling fan. Who needs a baby mobile? Not us!

Here are some 1 month photos for your viewing pleasure: