one month

 Dear Oscar,

You are one month old today, on Mother's day. Happy day to both of us!

Here are some things I like about you:

blonde eyebrows
curly cashew toes
cowlick in the same place as mine
tiny perfect ears
little snorts when you cry really hard

This month has been much easier than the first month was with your sister; you are a good nurser and a pretty good sleeper and sometimes you like to just lie awake in your bassinet or on the floor while both of your parents get to eat at the same time using both hands. Amazing!

You are an easygoing baby, and you love to snuggle. You are patient with your big sister's loving. After a month-long visit, your Grandpa designated you "most satisfactory", and I think we all agree.

You've started to give us some real smiles already, which of course has us acting like fools in hot pursuit of more. Your skin has almost lost the yellow tinge of jaundice; your legs in particular are pale and healthy pink, and the whites of your eyes are nearly white again. Your dark blue eyes have an intensity about them that is more inquisitive than scowly.

The thing you hate most of all is having a burp stuck in your belly. You cry and wiggle and squirm, then when it finally comes out you sigh and fall asleep.

I have been nervous about you gaining enough weight, so two nights ago your Daddy and I decided to use our kitchen scale to measure your progress. Balancing you for accurate measurement was a conceptual challenge, so we settled on a piece of wood balanced on a big plastic salad bowl. That turned out to be a terrible idea, and as the wood tipped and you rolled two inches to the carpet, you burst into surprised and frightened tears. I picked you up and whispered soft sounds in your ear and you stopped crying. Comforting you then was my happiest mom moment with you so far. 

You're starting to spend more time awake and less time sleeping, and I am looking forward to getting to know you better in the next few months. In the meantime, I am trying to feed you lots and lots so your thighs get big and pinch-able.

A worthy goal, I hope.

Love,
Your Mama