I am going to do monthly updates for Daniel instead of weekly (like I did with Jackson). So these will be longer, but I don't have time to update every week. There are so many more pictures on Facebook and I have a notebook for all of Daniel's milestones. Hopefully I'll be able to catalog his first year here too.
I can't believe it's already been one month! Time is going by so quickly, just like with his pregnancy. I think this transition to a family of four has been much easier and has gone more smoothly than Matt or I expected. It seems like Daniel has always been a part of our family. He fits so well. Overall he is a snuggly, content baby. He likes to be held and to look around, so if he's lying on his own he will fuss to be picked up. Once he has more neck control he will probably be happier on his own. Jackson loves the "baby!" and loves to sit by him, pat his back, and kiss him.
Daniel is much more purposeful than most newborns. His limbs don't flail, which I am a little disappointed about. I love the newborn flail! He stares at things. He is so so strong! He seems like a much older baby! I am so proud to be his Mumma. He is a very good baby. We are so blessed. He does great in the Happy wrap when we go shopping. He loves being snuggled up next to Mumma. Sometimes when Matt makes faces or voices at him he will cry, but he just isn't used to the silliness yet. He better get used to it! Silliness kinda runs on the Iveson side!
Week 1
Daniel has always been a good eater! He latched onto mommy right away at the hospital and has been eating steadily ever since. That means lots of wet and dirty diapers! But since we are using honest company diapers, changes are super cute! I am loving just throwing away the diapers after a change. I do miss cloth, but it does free up time not having to do the laundry or spray them off. For Daniel's eating, I do suspect he has a lip tie that can affect nursing. So far he seems to be doing fine, but every once in awhile it sounds like his milk goes down the wrong tube and he struggles for breath and usually spits up a lot. If that persists I'll look into getting the tie examined and clipped if necessary. It looks just like Jackson's upper lip and Jackson didn't have a problem. Daniel definitely does not have a tongue-tie. He sticks out his tongue all the time! He averages 2-3 hours between feedings and sleeps during the night with 2-3 feedings. So nice! He didn't have his days and nights mixed up like so many newborns. He wakes, eats, and goes back to sleep. Actually he usually sleep eats!
Daniel hates being fussed with. He hates his blankets being unwrapped, getting clothes on/off, diaper changes. He just likes being left alone! He got chilled pretty easily at first so he was always wrapped in a snuggly blanket.
Initially his circumcision had more bleeding than usual. The Dr. warned me to check a small clot he had to make sure it didn't dislodge and begin bleeding again. The Dr. showed me what to do if that happened. So I checked his healing frequently. It actually healed more quickly than Jackson's did! Two days post op and it looked about 85% healed.
Daniel seems to have "bad dreams". I'm not sure what he has to dream about, but he has whimpered and stirred in his sleep since birth. Hopefully he doesn't have terrors and nightmares like Jackson. I pat his back and rock him in his sleeper, but usually have to hold him to help him calm down.
Daniel never had much of a cone head (since labor/birth was so quick!) but has two "goose eggs" on either side of the top of his head. Dr. said to massage them to help ease swelling and to help prevent jaundice. Now at his one month birthday he still has small goose eggs, but they have gone down significantly. We wonder if maybe his skull is slightly shaped like that so there will always be little bumps.
Daniel had lots of peeling skin. I would lotion it a couple times a day and try to rub off skin but it was still thick. It took a couple weeks for it all to fall off and for him to have nice soft skin.
On 4/16 Daniel had his first well child. I think he was 6 lbs. 15 oz. at this appointment, which was up from his discharge weight from the hospital of 6 lbs. 13 oz. The Dr. said that babies rarely have gained weight at the 2 day checkup! Not surprising with how much Daniel eats!
On 4/19 he had his first sponge bath. Didn't mind it until he got cold. Once most of his body had been washed he was pretty cold and didn't like the rest of his bath. Poor buddy wasn't sitting in water like normal since his umbilical cord hadn't fallen out yet.
Week 2
When he cries he immediately stops when Mumma holds him. He isn't as spoiled as Jackson was, being held all the time. Daniel is a little dramatic and needs some attention. Jackson has been very understanding and only a few times been upset when Mumma can't help him, hold him, feed him right away.
On 4/20 Jackson kissed Daniel for the first time. He has been so gentle with Daniel. He loves to touch his toes and cheeks and offers him toys when he cries. What a good big brother!
Daniel still likes to eat! He doesn't know when to stop eating so he gets overfull and spits up. He doesn't spit up every day, but he has seemed to spit up an entire meal.
Daniel has very steady eyes- not googly and looking in all directions like most newborns. He looks purposefully at things. He seems to notice when I talk to him and follows my voice.
Daniel gets a lot of his sleeping habits from me. The bad dreams, sleeping with his arms under his head, and snoring! He keeps me awake sometimes because of it. He sleeps in the rock n play sleeper most of the time. A couple times I would wake up and he would be in bed with me, but that wasn't the norm, thankfully. I don't want to make the mistake of co-sleeping with him like I did with Jackson. It had been so hard to break Jackson of that habit and it wasn't working well since Matt goes to bed earlier than Jackson. So Daniel will sleep in his own bed!
He is such a strong baby! He can lift his head up on his own when he's being held. Since he likes to look around it's nice that he can support his neck. He is getting stronger with tummy time too.
On 4/21 Jackson stumbled into the swing and Daniel catapulted out. Daniel didn't even cry but mumma's heart raced! I am sure so many more moments like this will happen in my boys' lives, but I don't know of I'll get used to it! Daniel likes to suddenly screech and cry without a buildup. I usually rush to him expecting Jackson to have accidentally sat on him or something. But no, just Daniel being dramatic again.
On 4/22 Daniel slept for 7 hours! From 12 am-7 am! This only happened that one time, but it was wonderful. Unfortunately, Daniel got a diaper rash from being in one diaper all night. I tried baby carrots lotion and diaper cream and breastmilk and corn starch. Put foot cream on 3x a day and then desitin on top at every change because it looked like a yeast infection. It took about a week and a half to clear up, but it never seemed to bother Daniel. We never had to use anything like that with Jackson since you're not supposed to use creams with cloth diapers. But the carrots lotion helped clear any rashes Jackson got anyways.
On 4/22 we had a newborn/family photo shoot with Amanda Vandegriff, Jamie's sister-in-law. It was so nice having someone to take pictures for us instead of using a self timer. They are adorable and there were a few good ones of all four of us, even though Jackson wasn't behaving.
On 4/24 he found his thumb! It was the cutest thing! Even though I know it's a pain to break kids of Pacis or sucking their thumbs, I hope Daniel takes one or the other. It will be nice for him to have some kind of soother besides Mumma. Also, that may help him take a bottle for when we leave him with a sitter.
On 4/26 he lost his umbilical cord. So glad it came off so quickly and we no longer have to worry about it. Umbilical cords are gross gross gross!
He also took his paci on 4/26. He didn't like the ones we had, so I tried gumdrops. He took it and sucked on it for awhile! He doesn't take it every time, but he doesn't spit it out immediately like the other brands. He tries to figure out how to position it so he can suck. Hopefully he can take these regularly.
I noticed what I thought was bruising on Daniel's bottom, but figured out it was Mongolian spots. I had them as a baby too and they are common in Asians. Daniel definitely takes more after me in looks so it makes sense that he would have Mongolian spots, even though Jackson didn't. It worried me at first so I'm glad I figured it out quickly.
Week 3
Grammy and Papa came to visit 4/28-5/1. They loved getting to meet Daniel and see Jackson. I am so glad they were able to come so soon, even though we're planning to go to Michigan in June. I like being able to show off my baby! We went out to eat a couple times and Daniel did great! He hate getting buckled into his car seat, but once we start driving he usually settles down and falls asleep. He stayed in the car seat at the restaurants except for one time when he was hungry. Hopefully he does well on road trips and in restaurants as he gets older.
On 5/1 Daniel had his 2 week appt. He weighed 8 lbs 8 oz (27%) and was 20.25 inches long (25%). What a big boy compared to when he was born! The goal for that appointment was to be back to his birth weight and he had gained over a pound! The Dr. said I can let him sleep without wakeups since he's gaining so much weight. Unfortunately, he hasn't given me that option yet besides that one night!
On 5/2 Jackson said "dan-l". He normally just calls Daniel "baby!" He says it in a cute high voice and is always excited to see him. I am so glad they get along so well. Daniel notices when Jackson is making noise and normally grunts. He does this mainly when he's trying to sleep though!
I had a great oversupply of milk at the start. We finally regulated my supply, but Daniel still had trouble keeping it all in. A lot would drizzle out the corners of his mouth while he nursed, which also happened with Jackson. At least I no longer have I pump the excess! I donated 80 oz. to a local mother and have another 20 left to donate plus my own small supply to try to get Daniel used to bottles! Good job, girls.
Week 4
On 5/4 Daniel outgrew newborn clothes! He still wears newborn sleepers, but most onesies are too short for him! The shorts/pants will fit him for awhile yet though. Baby clothes have such weird sizing!
This week he is beginning to look like himself- not like a Jackson clone. Before now we thought he looked a lot like Jackson but with squintier eyes. He also has no trouble asserting his own personality! He is pretty demanding when he wants something. But he is a newborn still. Not a lot he can do besides cry to get our attention. He isn't a fan of being swing around while we're holding him. He likes to be snuggled close while being held.
Daniel has always been pretty gassy. He'll have such adult sounding toots. He'll seem like he's in pain while he's trying to clear his gas. I flip him over and pat his back or push his legs up and down to help him. He has a very specific cry when he is gassy though.
On 5/7 he held up his head during tummy time and looked around. He was very steady, not shaky. Very impressive for such a young baby. He has a lot to see and has to keep up with big brother!
Daniel has reflux. Gags then chews. Rarely spits it back up. The Dr. said there isn't any acid if he doesn't seem in pain. Mumma still doesn't like hearing it!
On 5/10 Daniel smiled at Daddy when he was talking to him. He also followed Daddy's voice back and forth when Matt would move out of sight.
On 5/11 we gave Daniel his first attempt at a bottle. He had a good latch, took a couple gulps, would cry, then we'd try again. He only drank about 1 oz. but it was the first time. Hopefully he can get used to a bottle for church nursery and babysitters.
It really seems like he purposefully scootches himself closer to me when I set him on the couch or bed. He doesn't realize what he's doing, I'm sure, but he will be on the move before we know it! It's kind of alarming when I realize that he has moseyed on over when he wasn't touching me when I lay him down. Newborns aren't supposed to be mobile! We have to keep such a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't scootch off the couch!
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We have loved having two boys! It is nice having so much be familiar with raising a son. He has mostly hand-me-downs from Jackson, but I like putting him in the clothes we got just for him. They seem new and exciting for me! It is nice not having to worry about buying new clothes at every size, however. I am so thankful he is such a relaxed baby. It would be difficult juggling a colicky baby and an active toddler. My boys certainly have their moments, but both are so well behaved and easy going.
I cannot believe a month has already passed. Before I know it my boys will be going to school! Time is going quickly and I am trying to soak it all in.
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