Ewan is 1 month old

Whew, the first month has gone by quickly! We just got back from Ewan's one-month visit to the doctor. He is now 23.5 inches long (or tall) and 11 pounds, 14.5 ounces (I had weighed him at a breastfeeding support group last week, which said he was 12 lbs, 7 oz., but that was with his clothes and diaper on), with a head circumference of 15.5 inches. I believe the doctor said this places him in the 95th percentile for weight, 94th for length, and 75th for head circumference, which are all up a few percentage points from last time. He is growing consistently and growing well!

Here are a couple recent photos of our big boy:
This was one of the few times Ewan actually took a pacifier for more than a few seconds. We had planned to wait at least a month or so before introducing one, and only to introduce it if we felt we needed it, but I broke down when he went through a phase of just wanting to nurse constantly. I thought it might help with that need to suck. However, he just hasn't been very interested in it, and he's since discovered his thumb, which is just fine with us.

Ewan finds his thumb from Rebecca Turvy on Vimeo.

In typical baby fashion, Ewan has spent most of the first month of his life eating, sleeping, and pooping. In the eating department, we are doing really well. I feel so lucky that we haven't had any problems with breastfeeding, as I know a lot of new moms and babies do. We are incredibly amused by Ewan's "piglet/little monster/wild dingo routine" he often does when he's trying to latch on to nurse. This consists of snorts, grunts, and a wild shaking of the head back and forth, which appears to be both an expression of excitement, as well as an attempt to find the gold mine, or milk mine, known as my nipple. He often finishes the routine by staring right at the nipple and growling, "grrr, grrr, grr," like a wild dog who's just come into contact with a big piece of raw meat. I think this would be quite intimidating if he had any teeth and wasn't so darn cute. Then he latches on and sucks with boisterous pleasure, "gulp, gulp, mmm, gulp, gulp, mmm." I can relate to the author of Waiting for Birdy who marvels at the women who are able to breastfeed so discreetly, because her children are such loud eaters. Anyway, we're sure much of Ewan's routine is part of the normal rooting reflex, but we still get a huge kick out of it. Unfortunately, as he's become more of a master at latching on (he can often dive and get it on the first try from inches away), we're not seeing it as much. Sigh. A sweet newborn behavior that's already passing us by.

Also with regard to eating, last week I started pumping my milk and, on Sunday, Troy introduced Ewan to his first bottle. He took to it with no problems and it was a happy experience for all of us. Troy and I are both looking forward to him doing weekend morning feedings and letting me sleep in, as he is a total morning person and I definitely am not. It will free him up to take Ewan on little outings to Peet's coffee, the beach, and walks in the woods with his friend Peti and the dogs. Troy and I may even be able to get out for a date night before too long, although I must admit I have no desire to leave my baby at this point. It's all about appreciating the possibility, though.

As far as sleeping goes, we can't complain too much, either. Things aren't perfect, but are they ever when you're talking babies and sleep? Ewan is pretty consistent in terms of waking up every two to three hours to nurse at night and usually going back to sleep pretty quickly. During the day, we are working on getting him to fall asleep and stay asleep somewhere besides in our arms. Thankfully, I had heard about and have been reading The No Cry Sleep Solution which gives some great tips on this, if a sleep-deprived mama can stay awake to read it that is...

And pooping? Well, we'll just say everything is going well in that department, too, and leave it at that.

In just the past week or so, we've also seen more smiles (and not just gas smiles!) and heard more coos and other forms of "talking." I imagine we'll have a lot more to report in the coming weeks as we see more and more of these new behaviors. There is so much to look forward to, I often have to slow down and remind myself to enjoy the precious present.

To close, here are a few more photos of our sweet boy and his sweet little baby parts: