One Month Old!

August is one month old already. We had a great month with our two wonderful boys.

Our schedule with August is eat, awake, sleep. Awake time usually only lasts an hour. Of that, he's usually eating for half of it. So after diaper changes and burping, play time is like 10 minutes until he starts to want a nap. We usually play with the baby gym and do a little tummy time during play time.

August is about 11.5 lbs now. He usually has a 4-5 hr stretch of sleep at night, followed by two 2-3 hr ones. Last night he gave me the best one-month birthday present--6 straight hours of sleep! ;) If August is asleep before Raleigh, we often both put Raleigh to bed to spend more time with him, so mom often misses some of the long stretch of sleep, but that's what naps during the day are for.

Sharing this time with Raleigh has been very special. He still is very proud of being a big brother and likes to show August off. We went to a class party at Raleigh's school yesterday (Raleigh wanted us all there), and we heard Raleigh tells a lot of the parents that he's a big brother every time he sees them!

We have had a lot of "special days" as we call them with Raleigh, where we didn't send him to school or had parties. The first few days in the hospital--meeting August, August's birthday/Raleigh's big brother party, taking August home from the hospital--Labor Day party at the neighbor's house, going to Galveston as a family (at 1.5 weeks--we're crazy, but we had a wonderful time!), and going to the fire station! We learned after the fire station that special days should be in the afternoon or last all day, because it's hard to go to school after a special morning. A couple weeks ago, mom even watched both kids for almost a full day (6 hrs, not like anyone was counting...). Then dad helped with a much-needed family nap time.

Raleigh has become very independent. He plays (usually with trains or Legos) by himself--he makes the trains talk to each other. He goes to the bathroom and undresses himself before his bath often without being asked. He goes to the bathroom himself (which can be dangerous) without announcing it to us. We understand that at school, he can even put on his own socks and shoes, but he seems to forget how at home. ;)

We have tried to keep Raleigh's time at home the same (but with August). We also tried to have him as involved as we can, which Raleigh has loved--he even had to help push the wheel chair when we were leaving the hospital! August is very tolerant of all the hugs, kisses and pokes he receives from his brother. When August cries, we talk to Raleigh about why he might be crying--"maybe he is hungry/tired/needs to burp". According to Raleigh, sometimes August might be crying because he wants to watch a movie or go to the park with his big brother. So if Raleigh isn't getting what he wants, August cries--at least they're looking out for each other!

We are looking forward to seeing how August learns to charm us--Raleigh has certainly mastered it--but for now, we are enjoying our precious baby and adjusting to life as a family of FOUR!