Declan - 1 Month Old

Declan,

You are one month old.  Some days it feels like just yesterday that you were born, and yet you fit in so well, it also seems like you have always been part of our family.  After your dramatic entry into this world, things finally settled down a bit.  We stayed in the hospital for a couple days and your dad and I got to just relax and enjoy you.

You also had several visitors.  All your grandparents were there the night you were born, along with Aumt E, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Elizabeth, Rachel and Chris.  Your big brother, Alex, was also there. (Video of Alex meeting Declan the first time - long video, only first two minutes are of them meeting).  Many aunts, uncles and friends came by to meet you in the following days.  All your cousins came too.  Will and Alyssa were especially excited about their new baby cousin!

We brought you home from the hospital on Sunday, August 18th.  You wore a cute little sleeper and hat that Gram bought you.

Gram and Poppy were at the house getting things set for your arrival.  Your big brother, who wasn't so sure about you at first, was so happy to have you at home.  As soon as he saw you in the house he lit up and wanted to hug you, kiss you and feed you.

After a while, Alex decided he wanted to hold you!  He still loves to hold you as often as possible and is so proud to be your big brother.

We gave you your first sponge bath at home a couple days after we got there.  You really liked the feeling of me rubbing the shampoo on your head.  

Once your umbilical cord fell off at 3 weeks, we were able to give you a full bath.  You were not as thrilled about that, but still you didn't seem to mind it much.

Unlike Alex, you very much LOVE your swing and bouncy seat.  We thought we had made a mistake even buying them when we never used them with your brother, but just one month into it, we have already gotten our money's worth out of them!  Of course I'd rather  hold you than put you in a seat, but when I need to use both hands to do something, you are perfectly content to be in either bouncy seat or swing (you are in your swing as I type this :)) 

Since you and Alex are sharing a room and we don't want Alex waking up from your nighttime feedings, dad and I have kept you in our room at night.  Of course big brother doesn't want to miss out on the fun, so many times we find that the whole family is in the same bed.  I spend many mornings sandwiched between you and Alex . . . and it is WONDERFUL!

We have been sending Alex off to Grandma Gerry's and Gram's houses most days so you and I could really get in some good bonding time these first few weeks.  It has been wonderful!  We have been able to get your breast feeding well established and you are just growing like crazy!  We weighed you on Gram's scale the other day and you were almost 9 lbs.  We will get an official weigh in at the doctor for your 6 week check up.  

Once you turned 4 weeks old, the doctor said we could start taking you out more.  So we decided to start doing things outside.  You picked the perfect time to be born.  There is so much to do in the fall!  One thing we did was go to Farm Fridays at Suson Park.  Your brother had a great time doing all the activities that were around.  You enjoyed the nice weather hanging out with Gram and in the Moby Wrap snuggled next to mom.  

We also went to Eckert's Farm to pick some apples.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with Gram, Poppy, Will, Harrison, Grandma Gerry, Paw Paw, Aunt Debbie, Alyssa and Aunt Elizabeth.

As you can see it has been a very fun filled month with you in our lives!

So far you are a very content baby and you sleep quite well for your age.  Your dad and I are hoping this keeps up!  We are not used to a baby sleeping so well just days home from the hospital. 

You are also very strong.  You are really good at tummy time keeping your head raised for quite some time already.  And when you are on your back you can lift your torso up off the ground a little bit.  It is so awesome to see you grow and gain strength little by little each day.  What a joy it is to have you in our lives!

Here are your 1 month pictures:

Words cannot even describe how much joy you have brought to our lives.  We are only one month in . . . can't wait to see what the next one brings us!  I love you, Declan!

Love,

Mom