Marco is 1 Month Old

GROWTH STATS

Height: 23.6 inches (98%ile)

Weight: 11lbs 12oz (95%ile)
Head:  15.5 (75%ile)

I’m already so in love with this little man! He’s so cute!

Marco thinks he’s a first born, only child. He pretty much demands that he’s either being held constantly or he’s on the boob eating. I tend to call him my barnacle baby because he’s constantly attached to me like a little barnacle. He eats a LOT during the day. I feed him on demand, because I can… and it’s almost hourly. That keeps me pretty busy in addition to everything else going on. But, it seems to pay off at night because he’s been the best sleeper of all the kids so far at this age. Generally speaking, he’s a great baby! His difficult days seem to involve tummy problems (as is the case with most babies). Indian food, broccoli and salad seem to make this little man’s tummy unhappy! Obviously – he’s not eating those things yet… rather, he’s unhappy the day after I eat them.

FUN FACTS:

·         At one month, he looks a lot like Rocco did at this age.
·         He’s pretty much lost all the hair on top of his head.
·         He HATED his first bath. LOVED his second bath… until the end of it, then he screamed his head off and just wanted out.
·         His siblings LOVE him so much. They show him toys, they constantly ask to hold him.
·         Giuliana still often calls him *baby brother*.
·         Rocco can’t wait for him to start playing together with him and all the transformers, cars, and super hero toys.
·         Gabby is fantastic at soothing him with a loud *shhhhhhhh* while she holds him. Actually, Gabby is being a great helper with all of her siblings!
·         Rocco often asks to feed him.
·         Marco took a bottle for Dan 4 times… and now of course, he won’t take it at all because we just weren’t doing it consistently.
·         He HATES the car seat, just like his siblings all did.
·         His cry sounds like someone is hurting him. It’s loud and makes you want to soothe him immediately! (smart kid!)
·         He has his first little cold… just a stuffy nose.
·         He goes on walks with me in the Baby B.jorn several times a week. And, he slept in the stroller for one walk also, alongside Giuliana.
·         He’s been out for dinner with us as a family 4 times.
·         Giuliana often asks to be held when she sees me holding Marco. This breaks my heart and I can tell there is a bit of jealousy when this happens. She just started doing this in the last two weeks. Sometimes I can hold them both… and sometimes she’s ok with sitting next to me while I hold Marco.

SLEEP

He takes numerous naps throughout the day. Mostly short little half hour naps still. But, he does seem to have one longer nap in the late afternoon that can last anywhere from one hour to 3 hours (3 hours is rare!). He’ll usually go down for the night sometime between 7:30pm – 10:30pm, depending on when he woke up from his last nap. We’ll put him down in the crib. And, he’ll usually wake up once between midnight and 2:30am to eat, and then again between 4 and 6am. When he wakes up to eat in the night, I bring him into bed and just nurse him there. I didn’t do this with any of the other kids at this age. But, I’ve decided to do it with Marco because it allows me to get more sleep. And, it seems to really work well for him too. When I’m laying next to him, he’ll sleep in as late at 9 or 10am (only after another feeding around 8am). So, he’s a great little sleeper.

FOOD

Breastmilk. He did take about 1oz of formula for Dan on 4 different occasions… but now, he won’t let the bottle enter his mouth. We weren’t consistent with it, and I really don’t feel like pumping (I’ve had enough of that in my life after having had twins, thank you!). And well… because I don’t have to worry about going into an office because I work from home, it’s perfectly fine… my breasts are always at his service, I guess.

NEW TRICKS

Marco’s new tricks include smiling, baby babble, and recognition of mommy. I can get him to smile sometimes by talking to him with a certain voice, or gently touching his tummy and talking to him with a soothing voice. When I put him down on the play mat and sit by him, I’ll make the toys that are hanging above his head move and make noise. He must find this interesting because he’ll talk away to the toys and squeal with delight. Obviously, he’ll only do this when he’s in a good mood – but it’s pretty cute. And, he definitely recognizes his mommy now. He just loves having me hold him constantly. He stares at me contently, with a sort of knowing look. It’s funny how they go from just staring at you and wondering who/what you are… to staring at you, knowing that it’s their mommy. And, it’s both cool and crazy that a mom can decipher the difference between those baby stares… but you can see it in their eyes. Suddenly, they just KNOW when they’re looking at their mommy. Can’t really explain it… but any mom would know what I’m talking about, I guess.