Karsten at 1 month

[jlormberget]

Like I said in my previous post, this kid marches to the beat of his own clock. Time is all relative as far as he's concerned. He'll get on a schedule when he's good and ready. However, there is so much more to him that I want to document.

At 1 month Karsten:

• Has gained a ridiculous amount of weight. I don't know exactly how much he weighs, but I can tell just by looking at him that he's going to be my chunkiest baby ever. He's already got some impressive rolls on his thighs and he's got the biggest Charlie Brown head you've ever seen.
• Gets the hiccups after every.single.meal! Seriously. They are vicious. But, he hardly ever spits up. In fact, I'm always caught off guard when it happens because it's so rare. He's very good at burping himself and doesn't get bad gas (can I get an AMEN!)
• Only cries when he's hungry and even then it's not every time he's hungry. Well, sometimes he cries when I change his diaper. It's very odd. You've never met a kid who hates to get dressed more than this one.
• Is the noisiest sleeper of them all. This kid will grunt and groan all night (and all day) long. I don't remember how long this stage lasts, but it's definitely making it hard to sleep with him in the room. I'm not quite ready to move him to his own room yet, but if he can get on more of a schedule I might make it quick so I can sleep when he's sleeping because right now I wake up with all the racket.
• Kind of sucks (no pun intended) at taking a pacifier, but I'm bound and determined to make it happen. He usually only wants it when he's trying to sleep and even then it's a bit of a fight.
• Has a very expressive face, but still isn't doing social smiles yet. He has this wrinkle between his brows that gives him such a serious face.
• Is a very sporadic eater. As I mentioned in my last post, he can go as long as 8 hours without eating, but sometimes he wants to eat every 2 hours. It takes him almost an hour to eat so this gets a little tiresome when he's on an eating frenzy.
• But he has had his first (and second) bottle already. He takes it like a pro. In fact, he went right from bottle to boob the first time. We weren't sure how much to put in the bottle so I had to top him off, but it worked out fine. Whew!

I'll have to do another post about what it's been like for the rest of the family and how the rest of us are holding up. Mostly, this time is so much easier. I don't know if it's because Jack's helping out more than he ever did with the other two or if I'm just that much more relaxed with this one or if he really is an easier baby. Perhaps it's some combination of all three. The upshot is that I really didn't need to worry as much as I did. He's fit in with this family like he was always meant to be. I still marvel at him and wonder how he came to be here, but I'm so glad he is.