Month1

September 1, 2000
Well, Alexander James is now 10 days old and things are going great!
As you may recall, he was 6 lb. 12 oz. at birth and by the time he left the hospital, he was 6 lb. We had a follow-up appointment on Monday and they did some basic checking on him and they weighed him (6 lb. 6 oz). The general rule is for the baby to be back at their birthweight within two weeks after birth. Well, today he weighed-in at a whopping 7 pounds! This means he gained 12 oz. in four days! The average is only 3/4 - 1 oz. per day and he gained 3 oz. per day. So - to sum it up he is eating like a little piggy!

He also had his first mini-surgery today - circumcision! Not a fun thing to witness. But - I guess it went as well as you could expect (and no I didn't take any pictures).

He is sleeping great except at night, go figure! He feeds around 12:30 and then wakes up around 3:30 or 4:00 and is usually up for two hours before going back to sleep. He is wide-awake too. So - we try to take a nap during the day, but it doesn't always work. We spend the day just watching him - he makes a slew of great facial expressions and there are even smiles now and then. He can lift his head up a little bit when he is on his tummy too.

September 10, 2000
Well Alexander will be three weeks old tomorrow and everything is going well. He is almost 8 pounds! He weighed in at 7 lb 11 oz. on Monday and he hasn't been weighed since then. He is continuing to eat well.

As for sleeping - well I think it's catching up to me now. He seems to be awake more than he is asleep and he seems to be crying more when he is awake! If I hold him he is fine - but I need to sleep sometimes too.

We have gone on a few walks together (the three of us) around the block and he seems to love being in his stroller. We also spent the day at a local outlet mall shopping and he did great there too. We've gone out to breakfast twice, lunch once and managed to get up and ready in time to make church this morning - he did great. (We plan to take baptism classes in early October.)
We are going to be starting a music class next Thursday. It is called Kindermusik and it is an 8-week course. (I have attached a link online that talks all about it)
September 17, 2000
Boy is he getting to be a chubby little boy!
He is getting better about feeding and going right back to sleep at night - which is very nice!

As for the music class we did last Tuesday - it didn't go exactly as planned.... I tried to get Alexander onto my schedule, rather than realizing that I need to follow his. The class was at 9:00 and it was no problem feeding him and getting out of the house in time. He slept in the car, as he often does and when we got there I tried to slowly wake him up for the class (ha ha). He was not a happy camper and cried for the majority of the class! I was a little surprised since we have taken him to breakfast, lunch, the mall, church and numerous other errands without a peep. Well, for the class-time that he wasn't crying, he did seem to enjoy. I talked to the instructor about a possible early afternoon class (when he is awake and alert naturally. We'll see how it goes this upcoming week.
He also seems to be gaining weight well (we are going in for a weigh-in on Thursday). His cheeks, legs and arms are getting so chubby!

September 24, 2000
Another week has gone by and things are getting better and better all around. Last night he slept and fed great...up at 1, down at 1:30 and up at 3, down at 3:30, then up at 6 for the day. If only all the nights could be that good.
We went to music class again this week and it went very well. I found that the key is to leave a pacifier in his mouth the whole time to soothe him. I was so anti-pacifier because of what they say with nipple-confusion and how a baby should learn to pacify themselves, but when something works - it works. We don't use it very often only if nothing else works. But at music class with other people there, they have no desire to hear me try one-hundred things to soothe him. Well - he was very alert and seemed to enjoy the class and next week we will be having it at 2:00 (by my suggestion), since this is when Alexander is more alert and ready to play. We'll see how it goes. During the rest of the week I play the CD from the class and sing some of the songs and he is beginning to recognize some of the songs and smiles and coos.

On Thursday, the 21st he was one month old and we took him to the hospital to be weighed. He came in at 9 lb. 3 oz. - he is doing very well and becoming quite the little chubby baby.

We went on a couple walks this week and on one I used my baby carrier for the first time. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it and my shoulders and back didn't hurt when we were done or anything. He seemed to love it. I wore it with him facing out so he could see the world and he was wide awake and making a few little baby sounds throughout our walk. I think Brian, Alexander and I will go again today and Brian will try wearing it this time.
He also received a new bouncer this week from Grandma Trudy and Grandpa Ray and it is black/white/red (which is all they see for the first six months) and it vibrates. We put him in that a lot and he stares at the toys and really seems to enjoy it. Brian and I went shopping and bought him a few other toys - some feet rattles (they are starting to get more familiar with their hands and feet and one month) and a black/white/red book and caterpillar toy that crinkles, rings and rattles. We also bought a book with high-contrasting pictures and a mirror. He is really getting into staring at mirrors (we also use a mirror in our music class for a small part of it).