Our First Month

Oliver is one month old today. While it feels like this month has flown by, our life before baby seems like forever ago. Oliver is growing so quickly. Just in the last week he has started following us with his eyes and responds to our voices. He is now making happy noises and not just the angry or hungry noises he made before. And, I swear he’s starting to smile - not just gas smiles but real smiles (I’ve got some video to back up that claim that I will post later). 

To commemorate Oliver’s first month, Brian and I spent some time talking about all of the things we’ve learned about our little boy in the last four weeks. Since he is still so young all of this is apt to change but here’s a snapshot of Oliver as we’ve known him in his first month:

• He loves the outdoors. When Oliver is fussy nothing calms him faster than walking outside with him. He quietens instantly and stares intently at the leaves as the breeze blows through them. You can just see him taking in all the sounds and smells. 
• He hates four o’clock - am and pm. Oliver definitely has a “witching hour.” At four o’clock in the afternoon and four o’clock in the morning, Oliver gets fussy. If he can be asleep when that hour rolls around he’ll sleep right through it. But if he happens to be awake then it takes the full hour to get him to calm down. We don’t know why he hates four o’clock but we’re hoping he grows out of it soon.
• He loves speed. Or, more accurately, he hates red lights. Oliver conks out as soon as the car starts moving but is apt to cry when we stop for pesky little things like stop signs and red lights. He’s a highway baby.
• He hates baths? We’re still not sure about this one. He has seemed to hate every bath I have given him at home but loved the bath he took at Grandmama’s house this weekend. We’re going to try bathing him in the kitchen sink and using warmer water to see if we can’t get him to enjoy baths at home. 
• He can sleep through the dogs barking (even if he’s in the same room) but wakes up instantly if I sneeze.
• He loves Townes Van Zandt. By the second bar of Pancho and Lefty, Oliver is calm and his eyelids are starting to droop. He also loves to be sung to - even if Brian and I are doing the singing (we’re both tone deaf). 
• He loves to fall asleep in our arms but wants Brian and I to rock him to sleep differently. With me, Oliver wants to be chest to chest and with Brian he wants to be face to face. 
• He hates green chiles. 
• He loves company. When people come to visit they almost always comment on how calm and quiet he is. He saves his crying and fussiness for Brian and me.
• He’s a decent sleeper. He’s no rock star in the sleep department - we are still a long way away from that magical six hour mark - but Brian and I know how fortunate we are that he sleeps as well as he does. We can usually get six to eight hours of sleep a night (of course, that sleep is broken into three or four naps).
• He won’t sleep, however, if he’s not swaddled and no mere mortal swaddle can contain him... it takes a miracle (blanket). Oliver won’t even go down for a good nap without being swaddled. I’m sure he’ll grow out of that as the summer gets hotter but for now, it’s swaddle (and swaddle tightly) or no one sleeps.
• He has always hated tummy time but in just the past few days has come to start tolerating it. Plus, he’s started playing on his activity mat and staring at his mobile - totally entranced. That’s been an awesome development - we can actually “play” with him now - it’s not all just eating, sleeping and pooping.
• He loves being in the sling but sometimes gets overheated. So, while wearing him usually buys us an hour or two of quiet, it often ends with him going from zero to screaming when he realizes he’s warm or uncomfortable.
• He’s got a sixth sense for when food is ready. Whether it’s placing the top piece of bread on the sandwich or me picking up a plate full of food for dinner, Oliver can sense it and chooses that time to demand his next meal. I’ve gotten to eat only about ten hot meals in the last month.
• He loves to dance - he demands movement from all who hold him. Oliver is rarely content sitting still but loves to be rocked, bounced and swayed all over the house. If you hold Oliver, be ready to move and groove. He will eventually fall asleep if you two step around with him but you’ve got to work for it.

We are so blessed to have such an awesome, healthy and happy little boy. We still have so much to learn (and relearn and unlearn) about our son and we’re so looking forward to it.