Leander Roxas // One Month Update

Well, here’s a statement I’m not 100% emotionally or mentally prepared to make but is somehow true:
Today, my tiny little baby boy is one month old.

How a whole month has sped by since our Leander Roxas entered the world is beyond me. The time has simply vanished (I’m sure the holidays being in the mix didn’t help my perception of time either – the holidays always fly by).

So, here’s a little update on our little man! One-month-old babies might not be capable of too many crazy milestones, but that doesn’t mean that life with them isn’t exciting or wonderful!

This little dude’s entrance into the world made us a family of 4. And it’s been quite the transition – one that we’re still working through. I will be honest: the first day that Derrick went back to work & left me at home alone with both Braelynn & Leander, I was terrified. How in the world was I ever going to do this? But, we’ve adjusted & it’s actually been quite wonderful. That doesn’t mean that Braelynn hasn’t had her moments – the addition of a little baby into the family has definitely affected her the most (she’s no longer our center of attention), but she’s learning & growing & getting better.

Speaking of Braelynn – she has come a long way over the last month, in regards to her little brother’s existence in our home. Meaning: their first few weeks together, we couldn’t even get Braelynn to touch Leander, let alone be interested in holding or hugging or kissing him. She literally would run the other direction. The closest she would get, would be to drop a stuffed animal that she picked out for him on top of him whenever he was laying down. The last few days though, she’s really come around – first being brave enough to plant kisses on his head, then transitioning to giving him hugs, to now she wants to hold him for little bubbles of time. It’s so adorable to watch.

As for Leander, he is like a clock. He wants to eat every 2 hours (almost on the dot), he then typically is awake for a little bit of time, and then he falls asleep until that 2-hour alarm goes off in his head. He nurses like a little champion – it’s truly incredible. That doesn’t mean to say that breastfeeding has gone off without a hitch – we definitely have had our challenges (for something so “natural”, it sure is the hardest thing I’ve ever done – with both of my kiddos). We found out just last week that Leander seems to have a shallow pallet – meaning, instead of the roof of his mouth having a nice, high dome, his is a bit more flat. It’s something he’ll quickly grow out of & shouldn’t affect his teeth or speech, but it explains why nursing him is painful at times.

Speaking of growing – my little man is a hungry hungry hippo! He was 6lbs 13oz when he was born & went down to 6lbs 10oz at his first pediatrician appointment when he was 1-day old. When we went back for a weight check at 10-days old, he was up to 7lbs 14oz! And just last week, when we went to see a lactation consultant (who was the one to diagnose him with a shallow pallet), he was a whopping 9lbs 9oz! The dude is an eating-pooping-growing machine!

Sleeping at night remains elusive, but that’s to be expected with a newborn who is breastfeeding. So far, the longest stretch we’ve slept at night is a little over 2 hours. It’s kind of rough (for Mama), but I’m hopeful that soon here, we’ll be able to begin stretching those night-time sleeping bubbles.

Overall, Leander is a super happy baby. He smiles in his sleep all the time & I’m claiming that he actually, knowingly, smiled at me for the first time 2 days ago (although let’s be honest, I’m sure it was a fluke). He’s so pleasant though & has started making little cooing sounds! He is definitely partial to his Mama & will look around if someone else is holding him & he hears my voice (enter Mama’s heart melting into a puddle on the floor).

In other words: it may have only been one month since he was born, but he’s already slipped right into our hearts & we feel like he’s been here forever.

We took some pictures today to celebrate one month! I took monthly photos of Braelynn for the first 12-months of her life & always put her in the same skirt (to show her growing). I decided I wanted to do the same with Leander – but instead of a skirt (duh), he’ll be sporting a bowtie & hat every month!