One Month

Dear Jonah,

A few days ago you turned one month old. You are just the cutest thing, and I am totally unbiased when I say that. It's been a crazy month -- your dad and I are awfully tired, and we still need a translator to understand a lot of what you have to tell us. You eat about every three hours, and during the day you usually sleep between meals. Unless you fuss. You do that at night, too, after the "middle of the night" feeding. That's in quotes because you aren't even close to being on some sort of schedule, which is starting to get to me. I can't make plans, because I don't know when you're going to want to eat. Some days I'm up and showered by 10am, and other days you don't let me put you down long enough to shower at all. The main reason this bothers me is because I'm going back to work, and I really prefer to shower daily.

You love being worn in my Moby wrap -- you quiet right down and go to sleep whenever I put you in it. If your dad or I could sleep sitting or standing, we'd get plenty of sleep just by wearing you at night. You hate your carseat, at least until it gets moving. You are a prolific spitter-upper, so we are never without burpcloths. We are getting the hang of this breastfeeding thing, but, man! are you a messy eater. You'll latch on great and suck to get the milk to let down, but then you're not patient enough to wait for the milk. So you release right about the time the milk arrives, leaving it to spray everywhere while you fuss. You're gaining weight, though -- chubbing up -- so I know you're getting plenty to eat.




You have a little dimple on your left cheek, which we've seen when you "sleep smile." You've done this almost from day one, and it's a weird thing to watch: you run through a whole list of expressions. We know you're not truly smiling -- your brain is just practicing that combination of muscle contractions -- but it's wonderful to see. It's also a little jarring when it's followed by a sullen look, or a suspicious look, or a perplexed look, or a superior look, but all these expressions are lots of fun to watch.

The cats haven't paid much attention to you so far; they leave the room when you cry, but other than that they pretty much ignore you. They're interested in your stuff, however -- I'm sure your little chair looks like it would be a great place for a cat nap.

You make all sorts of funny noises, and Daddy loves your startle reflex. It's so funny -- we never know what's going to startle you. Plenty of loud, sudden noises go unnoticed, but quieter noises elicit raised baby arms.

You've started losing your hair, which is really too bad -- it's so soft, and your scalp underneath is not as soft. Also, your little hairs get stuck on my Chapsticked lips as they fall out. I hope the hair that grows in will be red, especially since the hair you're losing appears to be!

So, it's been a whirlwind month -- amazing and exhausting and exhilarating and frustrating all at once, as you go from screaming for some reason we can't fathom to being nice and quiet and alert (these moments are happening more lately, which is really fun to see). Daddy and I will figure you out eventually, and this will all get easier. But we love you more than we knew was possible, and can hardly wait to see what you do next.

Love, Mama