4 weeks old!

Big  R is four weeks old as of Tuesday, turning one month old this Friday. 

If you're four weeks old and you know it, raise your hand!

It's hard to believe how quickly the weeks have passed...they've gone by in a blur of happiness, terror, tears, laughs, thankfulness, nervousness, sleepiness, hallucinations and, most of all, joy. We are blessed -- more than we know -- with this little boy. 

Look how smart he is! Holding up four fingers for four weeks!

In the four weeks that have gone by, we've learned a few lessons:

1). Pee. There is a lot of it and it can get everywhere. Just when you think it's not possible that he has to pee again, you're wrong. He'll pee. And it'll get on your shirt, the curtains and the floor. If you're lucky, it won't get in his mouth.
2). If at first your swaddle doesn't succeed, try, try again. If you continue to fail, find the one your friend sent you with the velcro.
3). Hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation feel inconceivably real. For example, while I thought I could smell the grass, hear the sprinklers and feel the summer sun on my skin, I certainly was not driving a golf cart down a picturesque fairway. I also wasn't riding horses with Justin in the countryside. I was nursing an infant while sitting in a red glider.
4). Think you have plenty of diapers? Wrong!
5). Moms (grandmas) = super heroes. If my mom hadn't shown up when she did, with a carload of food, Justin and I would have been barely surviving on ketchup, cheese sticks and ice cubes. I'd also probably still be playing imaginary golf while Justin was out riding imaginary horses.
6). Milk drunk is a real thing. When your two-day-old suddenly goes limp and poos himself three times in a row, you probably don't need to get ready to head to the ER. Chances are he's just "gone drunk" and will recover once he's hungry again.
7). Pacifiers...just give in and give the baby one. Turns out they just need to suck something sometimes. Also, no matter how much you spend on the fancy pacifier that will supposedly save you from expensive orthodontia bills in the future, chances are he'll like the cheapo plain one hospitals issue. Go figure.
8). Your husband will repeatedly use your toothbrush, no matter how many times you tell him, "YOURS IS THE BLUE ONE, MINE IS THE GRAY ONE!" You'll resort to hiding your toothbrush.
9). Once you hear the diaper being loaded, it's best to just wait five minutes before changing said diaper. Nine times out of 10, he's not quite done.
10). White noise. Get the app, keep your phone close.

Bonus lesson, for moms only: Even if you think to yourself, "they're my 'fat' jeans, maybe they'll work," DON'T try them on to see if they fit. They won't. Just go about your business in yoga pants and be OK with it.

"These photo shoots are boring, mom. Also, I've just peed through this outfit."