1 Month: we made it!

Roli is a month old today!

We had another outfit planned, but because of hasty diaper changing at the doctor's office, it was peed through before we got to the photo shoot this afternoon. 

He had his one-month check up today and is already up to 8 lbs, 13 oz! All else checked out well, we are so blessed to have a healthy baby boy!

Some things we've learned about our baby over the course of one month:

Loves

• Walks around park -- we try to get there daily
• Being swaddled
• Bath time
• That darn binkie
• Hearing his dad's voice over the phone (and in person, of course)
• Eating
• Sleeping on someone's shoulder, particularly dad's
• Stretching -- oh, how he loves to stretch. He likes to throw back his head and arch his back.
• Super 1 -- so far he has stayed asleep during trips to this store. Only this store.
• The diaper changing table in the nursery -- he just lays there, staring at the blinds, like he'd be content there for eternity
• Getting cool gifts in the mail, both tangible and monetary (thanks, everyone!)
• Pressure on his feet -- if he is freaking out, squeezing his feet helps
• Sleeping on his side when he can -- he has done this since day 1
• Cuddling after a meal -- homeboy does not dine and dash

He loves to stretch!

Hates

• Babies R Us -- stepping foot in that store sets his off and he cries or whimpers the whole time
• Target -- same as Babies R Us, though here he screams bloody murder in this venue
• Being in a peed-thru shirt
• Being on his tummy
• Not being fed .004 sec after realizing he's hungry -- he communicates this through a blood-curdling scream

Nicknames

• Roly
• Sir Rolington
• O-Roliberry
• BT
• Roly-a la-doodle-a la-day
• Rolando Bloom
• Rolikins
• Big R
• Tree Frog (because of the way he perches on our chest when he sleeps on our shoulder)
• Baby
• Rolibear

Achievements

• Kept me alive over the four days Justin was out of town this week
• Made friends with mini blinds in each room. He is mesmerized.
• Made friends with Geraldo the giraffe on his activity gym (I named all the animals)
• Eye contact improves daily
• Goes to sleep without assistance most of the time. I haven't really rocked him to sleep at night, just laid him down and it's like he knows it's time to fall asleep!
• Started making a cooing sound
• Eats, on average, every 2.75 - 3 hours during the day, 4-5 hours or more at night

Rolin made this video for his dad who was out of town on a business trip.

What he says he'll work on this coming  month

• Let mom prepare and eat dinner before 8
• Let mom finish more than half her coffee before I do something that demands her attention and both hands
• Alert the adult responsible to be aware of the need for proper placement of things during and after a diaper change to prevent embarrassing situations.  know when things aren't prop placed after a
• Engage with the animals on my activity mat
• Start smiling for reals