Happy First Month, Spencer!

Hard to believe, Spencer is one month old today! Where did that month go?! It really has flown by for us. I just wanted to put up some pictures of our little Spencer, and tell a bit about our time adjusting to this new baby person in our life. He had a little photo shoot this morning to document the day. Here are some cute shots...





Over the past few days, whenever I've gotten the camera out to take some pictures of Spencer, Samantha decides she wants to "hold it" -- and joins in on the pictures...

Yesterday, Sammie saw me walking by with Spencer, and she reached out her arms while standing in the middle of the room and told me "I take him." Scary, when your two-year-old wants to walk around with your newborn. But I do love how she is so gentle with him.

She loves to watch as he gets his diaper changed, or when we wrap him up in a blanket. She likes bringing his binky or his bottle, or whatever else might be helpful (blankets, toys, clothes, snacks, etc.)

Spencer seems to have developed his own little routine over the past week or so. I'm not sure I appreciate it too much, but I do admire his consistency. He sleeps A LOT during the day. Some cute picts, for proof...

Just for my own "journalish" documentation, here's Spencer's current schedule, which he has kept since I got home from the hospital: He wakes up around 7ish to eat every morning, then we both go back to sleep until 8:30 or 9, when he wakes up and wants to eat AGAIN. Then, by 10:30 or 11, he wants to eat AGAIN, so I feed him, get him dressed for the day, and he stays awake for 1/2 hour or so. (Confession: sometimes I just don't have the milk for all that eating in the morning, so I have to top him off with an ounce or two of formula at noontime. rats!) After that, he'll sleep for 3-4 hrs (sometimes 5) before he gets hungry again. Then he gets kind of cranky in the evening between 6pm and 8pm. He acts like he wants to eat again every half hour and ends up getting the binky plugged in for awhile so we can eat dinner and get Sammie settled for bed.

The hardest part of the day for me is when he wakes up at 10pm, ready to eat once again (even though he just ate around 8pm). Those of you who have nursed can imagine how much milk I DON'T have by 10pm with his rigorous schedule. So, he gets a bottle in addition/instead... usually 2-3 oz, sometimes 4. He then settles for a good look around from 11:30 to 12:30. He is wide awake and sooo peaceful... unless we turn out the lights and try to sleep; he likes his "look-around" time and doesn't appreciate being shoved in his bed in the dark. That means, Brian and I are usually up until at least 12:30 or 1 (last night it was actually closer to 2a.m.), waiting for Spencer to decide it's bedtime. From then, he just wakes up once to eat, around 4 or 5am, and then goes back to sleep until the day starts at 7ish again.

Spencer likes to sleep in our bed. He really dislikes his cute little moses basket we're borrowing from a friend. We've tricked him a little bit, by putting a pillow in the bottom of the basket, so it feels and smells more like our bed. But if we're right there in our bed by him, he generally knows the difference and gets quite demanding about getting in our bed with us. He also likes sleeping on us -- mainly on Brian's chest. It's sweet and cuddly during the day, a little exhausting at night. But he sure is a cute boy! We love all the adjustments so far.