Caleb is 4 weeks old!

I can’t believe a month has already passed since he was born, but it’s true – Caleb is now 4 weeks old! To me, he doesn’t look any different than at birth, but I see him every day. He still fits into all the newborn clothes, but the newborn diapers are starting to become a little too snug on him. What I did notice is that his face has become more expressive. Instead of the blank stares, he now looks at us with intelligent eyes; he has started to smile (mostly in his sleep), and he holds our gaze much longer. He seems more interested in his surroundings too, lately. He especially likes to look at lights, although he has done that since birth. (He has also lifted his head since birth.) He is starting to be okay with being put down in his carseat more often. We took him to church yesterday for the first time and he actually slept in the carseat for 3 hours (including a Mexican lunch afterwards)! This was big progress for him! I normally can’t put him down when he is sleeping. If I try to move him from my arms to the carseat, he wakes up protesting the change. When he is awake and alert, he’s better at being put down, but he almost acts like he’s being betrayed when he wakes up and sees that I tried to sneak him from my arms to another spot while he was sleeping. (The poor thing. It must be tough being a newborn!) Anyway, I’ve learned to manage with him on me all the time - I have a new sling carrier, in which he falls asleep and I have free hands to do what I need. I also love my Boppy pillow, which is a great support during breastfeeding at the computer. As he falls asleep at the breast quite often, I just gently pull my arm out and lay him on the pillow, where he’ll sleep contentedly for a couple of hours, allowing me to work (although not to get up). I’m still trying to see periodically if he will go down in the carseat at these times, but I am just not willing to let my baby cry. Whimper – yes, but not cry or scream. (My instincts about this were apparently right, as I saw a show just the other day where doctors refuted the notion believed for many years that crying develops a newborn baby’s lungs. They said instead that screaming raises their blood pressure and creates stress hormones, which can negatively affect the developing child.) My baby still has an immature nervous system and he doesn’t need additional stress. If he wants to be comforted by snuggling with his mother all the time, so be it. I am sure that as he grows, he’ll be less dependent on me for comfort. So, for now the bassinet stands empty, as we’ve moved him into bed with us, where he sleeps like a big boy next to mommy and daddy, waking up only for a couple of feedings per night (we’ve learned to breastfeed lying down), and giving us 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He doesn’t even cry anymore; I’ll just hear him stirring and after feeding, he’ll fall right back to sleep. He is so cute at the beginning of the night, when we get into bed. He tries and tries to comfort himself, but keeps squirming, looking for something to suck on (he hasn’t quite discovered his thumb yet, so he tries to cram his knuckles into his mouth, which doesn’t work too well). I usually give him my pinky finger, which quiets him down and he slowly falls asleep. The problem with a pacifier is that he is just a very strong sucker and keeps popping it out of his mouth. (That’s why I gave up having him in the bassinet with my hand hanging over the side holding the pacifier in place!) I never thought I’d be comfortable with bringing my newborn into bed with me, but it works.

By far the most important thing we’ve accomplished in the past few weeks is learning how to breastfeed. It has been a challenge, but we’ve made good progress and he now nurses around the clock (except for one or two supplemental bottles of formula per day, to give me a break). He is a very strong sucker (can I say, OUCH?), but I’m starting to get used to it. He was adorable when he was learning how to latch on. He would try so hard and make sudden head butting motions while chomping down with his mouth (I can’t explain it, I can only demonstrate). I still love to watch him in action: the noises he makes, the heavy breathing, coming up for air every once in awhile, the contented look on his face, the raised eyebrows, the occasional smile, the wide open eyes looking all around or the glazed over eyes towards the end of the feeding... they are all a source of amusement to me. He definitely prefers the breast to the bottle, although I know it’s more work for him. He would nurse nonstop if he didn’t fall asleep, so I’ve taken to affectionately calling him MILK MOUTH. :)

I am happy to report that he apparently likes water. Since his umbilical cord has healed, I’ve given him a few baths and he doesn’t cry, he just lays there looking around, taking in the situation. Even though he was upset and crying before one of his baths and I thought, oh no, this isn’t going to go over too well, once I put him in the water, there was not a peep out of him. So it looks like my wish that my child would love water like I do seems to have come true. Good, because there are going to be a lot of water outings in his future!

Ron and I have managed to have a few of our candlelit dinners since Caleb’s been born. We have always said that we’d never stop enjoying this favorite pastime of ours, cooking fancy dinners and just enjoying each other’s company. It’s been nice that we’ve been able to continue doing that. Caleb either sits in his carseat in the corner or nurses on my lap. We found out the other day that he likes Bobby Darin, when he fell asleep in his carseat listening to his music blaring from the stereo nearby. (It may have been the vibrations.)

So, these are a few glimpses into our days with our new little addition, our beautiful little Caleb Nathaniel. As his daddy says all the time, he is just ADORABLE!