One Month Stats

Yup, our Teddy is a whole month old.  I'm trying to take a picture per day throughout his first year of life, and I think the hardest thing about that is only taking one picture a day.  He's such a good model, unlike his siblings, since he's captive and doesn't know how to make weird faces or run away from me yet.

Let's get down to brass tacks about this man.

Hair: Apparently he has lots of it, though I didn't have any heartburn during pregnancy.  The color is a lot like Sarah's was as a baby: golden-brown with a lot of red tones.

Eyes: Standard-issue newborn blue-grey.  We're split down the middle in our family with me and Will holdin' it down for the green-eyed folks, and Mike and Sarah on Team Baby Blues.  Teddy is the tie-breaker, so we'll see where he falls.

Complexion:  Unlike Will, Teddy didn't come out of the womb with a tan.  He's fair-complected like Sarah, but thank goodness he didn't inherit my death-warmed-over yellow skin.

Height:  19 inches (at birth).  I could go get my measuring tape, but, suffice it to say, he's longer than that now.

Weight:  We don't own a scale.  He was 7lbs. 5oz. at his two-week checkup, and he's chunkin' up quite nicely these days.

Clothing size:  He's just about outgrown his Newborn sized sleep-suits and he's firmly in size 1 diapers.

Turn-ons:  Early arrivals; ice storms; all things black, white, or red; shadows; ceiling fans; kisses; his crib; milk; Snoopy; fluffy blankets; Pat-a-Cake; riding in the minivan.

Turn-offs:  Waiting for his food; poor service; sitting around the house all day.

Favorite Activities:  Sleeping through everything; walks around the neighborhood.

Favorite food:  Milk

Language:  He's fluent in Squeaks and Grunts, and he understands English quite well.  In all seriousness, neither of our other babies were this squeaky and vocal.  We talk quite a bit, and he smiles when I kiss him.

Sleep:  He'll go for a 4-hour stretch at the beginning of the night, and then it's touch-and-go from about 1:30 until 5 am.  I think there might have been a mixup at the hospital: this kid actually likes his crib.  Like, that's where he sleeps (unless he's being dragged around in the carseat or sling).  This has never happened with a Brown child of ours before.  Teddy was 2 weeks old when I texted Mike: "I think something's the matter with our baby.  I put him in his crib so I could do laundry and he didn't scream.  He just played.  Came back 10 minutes later and he was ASLEEP."

Personality:  This little man is so easy to love.  He seems pretty laid-back, until he's hungry, wet, or poked by siblings - then he gets pretty spicy.  Teddy smiles when he's happy, and he's a flirt.  I don't care what the experts say about gas and smiling: my kid smiles from emotion.  He loves tummy time, and does his Superman workout with great gusto.  Though cuddles are rarer for my #3, he enjoys them immensely - until it's time for sleep.  When I sneeze, he's alternately disturbed and genuinely concerned for my health,

So far, the transition from 2 to 3 kids has been easier than from 1 to 2 kids.  Teddy has joined right in with the noise and chaos, as if  he knew we had a spot waiting just for him.  And it feels like we did.  I seem to have bounced back physically and emotionally with relative ease, and I'm nowhere near the dark place I was in after Will's birth.  Sarah and Will think Teddy is hilarious, and Teddy is cautiously optimistic that if he eats enough, he'll soon be able to push them out of his face and hold his own.  Mike adores his baby boy, but I joke with him that having 3 kids has pushed his OCD tendencies to the point of CRAZY. 

I'm going to try to do this every month. You can read it or not, but at least I'll have a record of these things since, I'll tell you right now: this guy is not getting a baby book.  At least not one done by me.