Reid Is 1 Month Old

Dear Reid,

You are now a month old. An entire month has passed since you came into our lives and turned our world upside down. Loving you has meant changing almost every aspect of the lives we used to know. It's been challenging, but it has been so wonderful at the same time. We've only known you for a month, but it feels like you've been a part of our family forever.

When you were in my belly, I spent my days dreaming about who you would be. I expected you to be just like your big brother. I expected you to look just like him and have his same temperament. I prepared myself for life the way it was when Cohen was a newborn. But you made it very clear early on that you are not Cohen; you are Reid. And you have your own needs and likes and dislikes that are very different than Cohen. 

You are very much a snuggle boy. You are happiest in your momma's arms, with your eyes closed and your mouth open. You do not like to be laid down for more than a few minutes, and when you feel I've left you alone too long, you make sure to let me know. You love to be wrapped in a swaddle or carried around in the Moby wrap. You tolerate napping in your swing as long as you are tightly swaddled. You hate the car seat and your bouncy seat. Every night without fail, you wiggle until you've made your way to my side with your face pressed into my body.

When you were born, you had little blisters on your arms that the nurses called "suck marks". You got them from sucking on your arms when you were in my belly. You have loved to suck on things since before you were even born! You spend most of your days either sucking on your pacifier or nursing, and sometimes you still suck on your arms and give yourself little suck marks! You are a great nurser, eating every 2 hours during the day. At night, you tend to eat until you fall asleep around 10 PM, and you typically wake up to eat again between 3-5 AM. After that feeding, you go back to sleep and wake up ever 2 hours to nurse some more.

Your big brother has loved you since the moment he saw you, and you are beginning to show how much you love him, too. You love to watch him as he plays, and many times when you are crying, he can sing to you to make you happy again. You love to stare at our faces, and you are beginning to "talk" to us, cooing in response to things we say. And most exciting of all: you are starting to give us smiles! You're still pretty stingy with them right now, but when we get them, oh man we get so excited.

You are growing fast! I can already see the start of little rolls on your arms and legs. You weighed just under 8 pounds when you were born, and I expect you to be closer to 10 pounds now. You just graduated to size one diapers and size 0-3 months clothing this week. And even though both are a little big on you right now, I expect them to fit perfectly in another week or so.

This has been a whirlwind of a month, and I've loved every moment of it. You are a precious little boy, and we love you very much.