The One Month Post (2weekslate)

Our apologies for the tardiness of this post. Turns out, they're telling the truth when they say babies are a full time job.

The bayou one block from our house

It has been one month.

In one month, we've gone through three hundred diapers, probably nine hundred wipes, and lots and lots of laundry. Aeli's outgrown at least ten outfits, two pairs of "shoes," gaining two pounds in his first two weeks. Mom's taken at least fifteen naps, and we've come up with two dozen silly nicknames for our little bundley baby. We're getting used to the spit-up pattern, the midnight wake-ups, the mid-diaper-change-pees and spit ups. We've begun identifying other patterns, too: his different cries (he brays like a sheep when he's tired and fussy, whimpers like a warbler when he's hungry, and flat-out screams bloody murder if something's hurting him--though luckily this last one's only happened twice); his awake times (7 AM - 10 AM, mid day, and any time we decide to try to go to bed) and his sleepy times (just about every other time); his feed-poop-feed-fall-into-a-food-coma-and-startle-back-awake-before-spitting-up-and-then-smiling pattern; and the floppy baby times and the flaily baby times. We have meticulously charted his "cute" growth spurt, and thus far he is THE 100th percentile for cuteness (and stays on the cutting edge day-to-day).

Fencing!

The baby has also identified certain patterns in Mom & Dad (enter guest author, Aeli Abra): the times when the fervor and frequency with which they change and clean me greatly diminish (in the dark, quiet hours) and the times when they preemptively and enthusiastically change and clean me (the first bright hours immediately following the dark and quiet hours); the times when they sing to me (actually, always) and the times when they will dance me into a stupor (after their dark-time feeding). I have yet to solve the pattern of the times I get vigorously held up to the strange illuminated box with voices and faces on it. It seems like they're showing me off to a creature named Skype. They also seem to keep offering me to the orange, hairy creature who only seldom comes around, and does so only to sniff and run away. I don't think he's interested in being companions. Besides, I don't know what they expect us to do together.

Our first month together as a family has been characterized by a surplus of liquids; serene quiet interspersed with boisterous (but overwhelmingly positive) bouts of baby-show-off time; very silly faces, voices, names, and outfits; a bevy of firsts; Mom & Dad being in a perpetual state of melted butter; family; aches, pains, persistent hunger, stretching, massaging, bathing, and hugging. Pajamas. Magic.

Tomorrow it's back to work for Dad with very bittersweet feelings. Mom & Aeli get to spend their first two days alone together before Auntie Nicole and Auntie Caitlin fly in.

One month down. The rest of our lives to go. :)