The Ninth Month

Today is the MVP's one month birthday.  They say these first weeks are supposed to fly by, but it's a little hard to believe that only a month ago we were in a hospital room, shocked and awed and feeling entirely unprepared for the unexpected arrival of our son.  Maybe it's that he and we have changed so much since then, or that, because of the short wake/sleep cycles, each day breaks up into sub-days.  It's like living on Jupiter.

Take a deep breath and make a wish...

At 7 lbs 10 oz, the MVP has gained a little over a pound since he was born, and two from his lowest.  He's only in the 10th percentile for one-month old babies, but since this was really his last month of gestation spent on the outside,  he's actually doing very well for his "adjusted" age.  As he's filled out, sometimes he just looks like an old man in miniature.  V-Train doesn't like it, though, when I call him "Benjamin Button".

He's also started spending a little more time in states other than sleep.  When he does sleep, he loves to be held - to the point where he won't wake up for hunger or anything.  In the bassinet, he can be a bit restless.  He shifts around a lot, rolling over and scaring us when we find his face mashed up against the side.  They say you can't spoil a newborn, but I must say that we are beginning to have our doubts.

A preferred sleep position has been found.  And the baby likes it, too.

The MVP passed his due date a few days ago.  Getting past that due date felt like a major milestone for us - like his real babyhood could finally begin.   His neighbor, "The Mooch", who was due just a couple days before him, finally joined him in the world on the palindromic 01-02-2010 and they met for the first time a couple days later.   My sister's son followed a few days after that, and so the triumvirate of Y chromosomes was complete.

Oh, the highjinks they'll get into.  Like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

The MVP has also entertained a stream of visitors.  As luck would have it, he's been angelic each time, keeping his dark side hidden away and ensuring repeat-visits.  But he does have a dark side, oh yes.

Dark side schmark side.  Nobody likes getting older.