One Month With Walker Phoenix.

Well! Here we are — one month has gone by and our sweet Walker is nearly five weeks old as I type. Here’s a look back at his first month:

He got home on a Sunday. He was very quickly scooped up by siblings and no one wanted to leave him alone! Sean and I discovered we were very unprepared for his arrival since we didn’t prep anything before he was born. But thanks to amazon we had what we needed delivered by Monday afternoon.

The older kids have cycled through illnesses this month so we’ve been on high alert — refereeing who’s allowed to hold him and enforcing good hand washing hygiene. But gosh, when they’re healthy — he’s thrilled to be held and entertained by them.

When he was born, he weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and by his first wellness check, he dropped down to 7 pounds 13 ounces. At his one month appointment he weighed 10 pounds 7 ounces! He had visited the doctor an additional time this month to have his belly button checked and treated because it started bleeding a bit when his umbilical cord fell off. He’s fine but what a traumatic experience… for me!

He drinks mostly formula (about 75%) and I supplement with breastmilk (about 25%) which is working for us. By the 4th baby, I no longer stress and I know he’s happy, fed and full. He eats every 2-3 hours, 4 ounces every time. If he’s sleeping, he’ll go for a longer stretch, like 3.5-4.5 hours between feeds. He grew out of his newborn diapers after week 2, and most of the clothes he comfortably wears are size 0-3 months. It breaks my heart to see the newborn clothes all alone in the bin.

Most of his mornings are slow-paced. He loves snuggles, contact naps, and being swaddled. I love the newborn scrunch his little body does. His afternoons are mostly spent in the ergo or the carseat as he’s being taken all over town! He’s definitely a tagalong baby — he’s been to the playground, the library, Girl Scouts, tumbling, school drop-off, preschool pick-up, the bus stop, Cub Scout fundraisers, dance, egg hunts, doctors appointments (his own and not his), and I’m sure there are places I’m forgetting. Oh! He also came to the White Mountains with me for my annual Scrapbook Weekend.

He’s had two baths in his first month and both have broken out his sensitive skin! So I’m hesitant to give him baths more frequently than weekly. But he LOVES the bath. I’ve also had to switch out all diaper wipes for water wipes because he’s had a terrible diaper rash for three weeks. He loves music, his pacifier, being held, and his bounce seat. He doesn’t like diaper changes, posing for photos, being put down on flat surfaces, feeling hungry, or bright rooms.

Right now, I follow the eat/wake/sleep method and his schedule (if you can even call it that…) looks like waking anywhere between 6-8am, napping between 9-12pm, napping between 1-4pm, napping between 5-7pm, napping between 8-10pm, and going to bed between 10-11pm. He wakes once overnight anywhere between 2-4am. His wake time includes a diaper change, lots of eye contact and hand holding, a bottle of formula or breastmilk, time with siblings, a few minutes in his swing, or laying under his mobile. He grunts a lot and sounds a bit like a velociraptor in the morning and a dolphin at night. 🙂

He got to celebrate his first Easter! He definitely didn’t care about it but we did!

He has lots of little nicknames: Lovey, Walkie-Talkie and Skywalker are the ones used most often. He’s just such a joy and we are feeling so happy and lucky to have him with us.