Alec at one month

Alec is one month old today. It's horribly cliched to say this, but it simultaneously feels like no time at all and surprising that he hasn't been part of our family forever.

He is 9 pounds, 6 ounces as of today, which is adequate weight gain. I'm trying to remind myself that even though K was a full pound heavier at this age, she had spectacular weight gain, and Alec is more on the normal end. Our feeding issues are a topic for another post, but I'm fairly confident that he's getting enough food, or at least as much as he wants. He's pooping and peeing copiously, so it seems like he's more destined to be long and lean.

He sleeps. He's usually good for at least one long stretch during the day and a six hour stretch at night, with other decent naps as well. I know from painful experience that when it comes to infant sleep, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, so I'm just enjoying it while we have it right now.

He also has increasing alert periods, where he admires his toys or examines contrasts. He's in the sophisticated artist period of infancy, where he's entranced with the play of light and shadows. He's making eye contact and even has started deliberately catching my eye. He shadowboxes extensively, and often needs to have those mean arms and legs firmly swaddled to be able to calm down and sleep.

He has excellent head control for his age, and can both hold his head up when we hold him up and can lift his head enough to turn his head when on his tummy.

Let's face it, one-month-olds aren't terribly accomplished. But they're awfully cute.


(More pictures here)