Nathan turned one month old yesterday. The milestone was fairly uneventful, as it goes; he was his usual sweet, cute, fussy, overtired self.
To me, the new dad, the progress he's made in just 31 days is remarkable. Nathan is very alert, and can make and hold eye contact; he can hold his head up nicely, and has started to vary his movements; he stares at his plush toys and bats at them with his hands; he has developed a variety of cries that Amy and I kind of, sort of understand. He's even beginning to feel out the basics of crawling, successfully pushing himself forward with his feet and knees when on his stomach. This will probably be much more interesting when the rest of his body moves in synchronicity, but hey, for a month, it's pretty good.
A month of fatherhood has led me to confirm and disprove assorted preconceptions about having a newborn. (Warning, rambling thoughts ahead.) Chief among them is the complete and overwhelming loss of time. Waking up at all hours of the night is no longer startling, showering at 3 in the afternoon no longer the result of laziness, hours consumed by parenting minutiae now standard. The baby sucks up all of a person's free time--two people's free time, even. Life slows down, simple things take longer, delays are inevitable. Taking turns eating dinner at 10 p.m.? Normal.
We've had a day or two of hours-and-hours-long fussy crying periods, which give us intense worry that Nathan will turn colicky. We've also had some trouble getting him to fall, and stay, asleep. But reminding ourselves this is normal is all we need to smile and keep going. When rested and fed he's as sweet and entertaining as any baby can be.
Yes, this parenting thing is hard, and confusing. Baby cries. Why? Why won't he stop? What about this position? Is it gas? Does he want to eat? I thought he did, but why won't he take? He's sound asleep, so how come when I put him down, he wakes up and hangs out for another 45 minutes? What's with all the gas? And the formula regurgitating through the nose? Even with a good night's sleep we'd probably be tired just from the overthinking.
Here's an unexpected new skill: I am rather expert at catching urine with my hand.
Also, this far more expected development: I have taken (or prompted) roughly 94% of the thousand photos we've shot this month, and I've done 100% of the blog posting. So much for sharing. Of course, Amy has done a similar proportion of organizing his clothes, so I guess we're playing to our strengths.
I completely disagree with everyone who's ever said, "It's pretty boring the first few months." Every day is fascinating and fun. Getting Nate into clean diaper and clothes, relaxing him with a good feeding, watching and listening as his sounds and mannerisms and patterns change--I'm having a blast. When he starts interacting it will probably blow my mind.
In short: baby tough. Baby fun. Life different. Intense and wonderful.
June 2008 Archives
Practicing for the family business, June 26
Amy's boys in repose. June 21
At Henry's, 105th and Broadway, June 21
Bath time, June 15
And his mother's, and his grandfathers'.... Contemplating the Moon Pie, June 14
June 12
June 12
...but so far all I can do is "eh, aaa, grggzh." June 19.
Reading Joe O'Neill's "Netherland," June 11
June 11
June 11
June 11
June 8
See also: I know what you're about to do and I don't like it one bit. June 6
June 5
June 5
Papa Joe and Nathan after the bris (note wine lollipop straw), June 4
Hey! Where are you putting that? June 3
I know! Breast milk and formula! June 3
Nathan is six days old. He has regained almost all his initial weight and got a clean bill of health from the pediatrician this morning. She also put him on his stomach and we saw him push off with his lower legs—pretty heady stuff for a newborn.
Fun early facts about the baby:
- Nate was born with deep baby blue eyes that seem to be leaning brown. We're hoping he picks up the recessive blue gene from one of his grandfathers, but we doubt it.
- Early majority opinion is that he looks more like Mom than Dad, although he has a little resemblence to Dad and already shares some of his physical quirks, like sleeping on his hands or with his arms over his head.
- He likes to sleep on his side, and he turns his head to the side (usually the right) when in our arms.
- He's already a thumb-sucker, putting his left hand in his mouth when hungry.
- Nathan is very alert and calm much of the time. When awake, he looks around as best he can.
- When hungry he does an adorable side-to-side head shake with his mouth open.
- He sleeps like a champ, often three hours at a stretch. Strollers and car seats work their expected charms.
- Since everyone is asking: Charley is doing quite well with a baby in the house. He's terribly curious, and he wants to help when the baby cries. But we acclimated dog and baby our first day home and Charley has been relaxed ever since. Half an hour of three-way cuddling worked wonders (and was so fun). Nate and Charley likely will be best buddies as soon as they're able.
I (David) am keeping photos of Nathan on Flickr and cross-publishing them here. This blog will host the best and most Nate-full pictures. Meanwhile, Flickr will host every pic I upload and include more family, friends, dog, etc. Clicking on an image on this site will bring you to its Flickr page, where you can view alternate sizes and make prints.
The Flickr feed is public and I invite you to view Nate here, there and everywhere.
Links:
—David's full photostream on Flickr (every photo, Nathan or otherwise)
—Photos of Nathan on Flickr (every photo that includes Nate)
—Photos marked "justnate" on Flickr (avoid those pesky Nate-and-family and Nate-and-Charley photos)
—And don't forget the RSS feed for the hep cats who roll like that.
Having fun while the baby nurse isn't looking, June 1
Amy on Riverside Drive, June 1
May 31
Born May 28, 2008, 10:56 a.m.
19.5 in., 6 lbs 11 oz.
