Jumped the Gun...

(Ok when I started writing this post it was the 17th, clearly there are not enough hours in the day.)
Apparently I jumped the gun, today is actually Little Dude's one month birthday. I wasn't sure if 4 weeks was 1 month or the 17th was one month, according to my blog ticker he is one month today so that question is answered. Family members also sent messages wishing him a happy one month birthday so apparently it's common knowledge that his one month birthday is today.

This week Little Dude and I have been going it alone in the evenings. We're surviving. We have our rough nights and I'm sure our new neighbors are wishing they had screened for newborns when asking their landlord about the place. Our biggest challenge has been working around my every 2 hour pumps. The Dude is ok in his swing if he's put in there when he's asleep, otherwise watch out. We have a vibrating rocking chair for him as well and he isn't a fan of that either. He'd much rather be held, and I'd much rather hold him, but that makes pumping a tad difficult.

In the last month Little Dude has gone from six pounds fifteen ounces to nine pounds two ounces. He's gone from 19 1/2 inches to 22 1/2 inches. He's growing big and strong and watching that makes every minute of sleep I'm losing due to pumping completely worth it. He is developing such a personality and has started talking to himself, and us, quite a bit. He's developed routines and has likes and dislikes that we can clearly identify. I'm going to say this and risk some wrath from other sleep deprived Mommies(remember I'm pumping every 2 hours so the next statement doesn't actually help me much), he's even sleeping through much of the night. By much of the night I mean he'll sleep 6-7 hours. Which is great for DH, who has become his designated nighttime feeder. I didn't expect that to happen so soon but he's been doing it for about a week or so. We still have fussytime here and there, but that's to be expected. I give him Gripe Water every once in a while to help with the gassiness, but I'm only giving it once a day and not in the recommended dosage so it probably doesn't have much effect.

This last month has been a constant barrage of contradictions. I had so many preconceived notions about the Mother I wanted to be and the choices I wanted to make. Those ideas were dreamed up with no knowledge of what life with a newborn has in store for you. I find myself daily making decisions and engaged in actions I NEVER thought I'd do. For example this morning The Dude was fussing in his co-sleeper so I reached over and picked him up and put him on my chest, and I promptly fell asleep as did he apparently, for like 15 minutes. Boy did I freak out when I woke up, hello you aren't supposed to sleep with your baby. Or how I had planned to breastfeed and now I have a close personal relationship with the pump. There is a long list of other contradictions but basically the moral of the story is it's impossible to plan for parenting. Choices you see other parents making that you judge, before you're a parent and swear you'd never do, you may very well end up doing once your little one comes along.

Man my blogging has become sporadic and quite disjointed. I've been working on a post about IF for like 2 weeks now. Maybe I'll get it done someday... Maybe I'll blog with gusto again about things people want to hear about. Motherhood is exhausting. Rewarding, hell yeah, but tiring for sure.

Here's a video of Little Dude enjoying Tummy Time, forgive the wacky angle...