dylan masters : one month

o n e   m o n t h

and just like that, Dylan Masters is one month old!  the first month with Clark felt like it flew but at the same time, it felt like an eternity!  I know that doesn't make any sense but it's true!  the lack of sleep and all the new changes and challenges made the month drag on and on.  and then overnight he was suddenly a month old!  now he is almost TWO years old and I just can't believe it.

Clark at one month

but this post is about DYLAN.  as usual, I'm often sidetracked by my firstborn when trying to focus on my new baby and I guess that's just how it's going to be with two!

things are so different the second time around!  I keep telling people it's both harder and easier in different ways.  it's easier because I'm not so anxious and afraid.  I'm not worrying that I'm doing everything wrong or constantly thinking about all the terrible things that could happen to my baby.  I had some sort of OCD with Clark where I would imagine the worst possible thing that could happen to him in any given situation.  it made me cry or yell out randomly all day long and I always had a knot in the pit of my stomach.  but with Dylan, I'm so much more relaxed.  I'm also much more prepared this time around and know what to expect.  for example, I'm not shocked that I spend most of my day nursing the baby!  in fact, I love it!  it's so exhausting running around and cleaning up after Clark on very little sleep so when it's time to nurse and I have a good excuse to sit down, I'm all over it.

I'm also much better at everything this time!  nursing doesn't hurt one bit and really only hurt while we were still in the hospital but not nearly as bad as with Clark.  with Clark, the first week nursing was pure torture and I think I was in pain for about a month!  I had to pump on one side for a few days because I was just in so much pain when it was time to nurse.  and for a minute there I thought about throwing in the towel.  so glad I didn't because nursing is one of my favorite things about being a mom!

so what's harder with Dylan?  well, Dylan is not an amazing sleeper like his brother Clark.  Clark was giving us 6 hour stretches the first time we stopped waking him to eat, at about a week old.  and we were always having to wake Clark to eat in the beginning.  not so with Dylan!  at 5 weeks old, Dylan has slept almost 5 hours on one occasion but typically only gives us 3-4 hour stretches at night.  usually we get one good stretch and after that it's 2 hour intervals.  but even though we're getting less sleep with Dylan, it feels like more than we did with Clark!  I remember just being so so tired with Clark in the beginning and thinking the newborn stage would last forever.  and I didn't even have to take care of another kid all day long and could nap whenever he napped!  it's amazing I needed any help at all with one.  hahaha

one week check-up

one month stats:

weight: 10 lbs. 6 oz. (54th percentile)

birth: 7 lbs. 9 oz.

length: 23 in. (94th percentile)

birth: 20 in.

head circ: 15 in. (67th percentile)

birth: 14 in.

I think I was still expecting and trying to force a routine with Clark at this point.  but I'm perfectly okay with saying we have absolutely NO routine right now.  we are just taking it one day at a time.  my mom is still helping with Clark every single day from morning until Mark gets home from work so that has made things so much easier!  one day I handled things by myself through naptime and let me tell you, two kids is exhausting!!  I was so proud of myself getting them both down at the same time.

♥                ♥                ♥

f i r s t s

♥ stroller ride - our first walk as a family of 4!

♥ walk in the solly wrap - Dyl loves being worn just like Clark did as a newborn!  it's pretty much a no fail way of getting him to calm down (besides nursing of course!)

♥ bath - he almost drowned!  I guess I was a little too confident in my second time mom skills because I casually decided to give him a bath one morning by himself and had a hard time keeping his head above the water while washing him at the same time!  no pictures because I definitely wasn't skilled enough to capture the moment and also keep him alive!

♥ nickname - shortly after Dylan was born, my dad said something about how he couldn't wait to see little Dilly again after he got back from his business trip.  the name stuck and now we all call him Dilly!  fits him perfectly.

f a v o r i t e s

♥ nursing - just like his brother, Dylan LOVES nursing more than anything in the world!  he would nurse all day and all night if I let him (which sometimes I do).  Clark cried a lot more and a lot longer than Dylan does because I had this rule in my head that if it hadn't been at least two hours since he last ate, he couldn't possibly be hungry.  I would try everything under the sun to get him to stop crying until it was time to eat again and then that would immediately do the trick.  this time around I use nursing to my advantage (especially because it doesn't hurt!) and when Dylan cries, it's the first thing I try!  it makes everyone a lot happier over here :)

♥ having his diaper changed - there's something magical about our bathroom counter where we change Dilly's diapers.  you lay him down on that counter and no matter how long or hard he's been wailing, he immediately quiets.  maybe it's the mirror or all of the colors on the diaper caddy or just that he knows he's about to get a diaper change!

♥ listening to the shower - it's great because I can take a shower every day!!  a luxury for new moms!

♥ car rides - both our kids have been great in the car!  I hear it can be torture to drive with some babies but ours fall asleep in minutes!  which can be both a blessing and a curse as they get older...

first time falling asleep together

e a t

I stopped tracking Dilly's feeds a few weeks ago but I'm pretty sure he still eats every 2 hours during the day (sometimes 3).  at night he usually gives us one 3-4 hour stretch, sometimes two!  I'm not sure if he's really hungry every 2 hours or just wants to suck for comfort but as long as he lets me get stuff done in between, I don't mind.  that's another way he's easier than Clark...Clark never liked to be put down but Dylan will sleep in his rock 'n play during the day for hours at a time.  sometimes, I actually wake him because otherwise he won't sleep at night!

one thing about Dylan that is a lot different from Clark is how much he spits up.  I don't remember Clark spitting up much but Dylan spits up after every.  single.  feed.  maybe that's why he eats so much!  he's always hungry!  or maybe he's spitting up because he eats so much??  but I've read you can't overfeed a breastfed baby.  they regulate themselves and their suck determines how much milk they're getting.  whatever the reason, there is a lot more laundry with this baby!  not only does he spit up after each feed (usually when I pick him up to burp him) but he has this habit of unlatching once my milk lets down.  he doesn't do it as much anymore (thank goodness!) but I think I must have a forceful letdown or something because in the beginning, he would cough and sputter every single time and my milk would go everywhere!  oh yeah, and he also poops after every feed!!  Clark pooped once a week!

the picture above is a pretty accurate depiction of a day in the life over here.  at almost 22 months, Clark is still obsessed with putting his hand down my shirt.  it's usually a comfort thing but sometimes he just does it out of habit.  and since Dylan arrived, it's become his favorite thing to do whenever I'm nursing!  so I've got both boys attached to me every few hours all day long.  surprisingly, I really don't mind it!  I've been so sad lately about how grown up Clark seems now that Dyl is here but this is one thing that reminds me he is still my baby.

s l e e p

Dilly sleeps like a champ during the day, despite (or maybe because of) Clark's shrieking, running around and constantly trying to shove a binky in his mouth.  we also put him in the rock 'n play during the day so he may prefer that to his bassinet, but it's not safe for nighttime sleep.  once Dylan goes down for the night he sleeps pretty good.  it's the going down part that's hard!

Dyl's "witching hour" when he wants to eat nonstop and nothing will pacify him is between 8 and midnight.  the earlier we start the routine, the earlier we get to sleep.  sometimes when things are a little crazy in the evenings and Clark goes to bed late, we start the routine later and don't get to sleep until midnight!

Dylan has started waking up around 3 am to eat like clockwork, regardless of when he goes down.  so if we can go to bed by 10 we get 5 hours!  but usually it's closer to midnight.  have I mentioned that no matter what the night looks like, Mark is there with me every step of the way?  if Dylan won't sleep and just wants to eat or be held, Mark will run laps around the room with him.  when I'm nursing, Mark is awake by my side watching a show.  we just finished binge watching Zumbo's Just Desserts and are on the hunt for another show to keep us going during the nights.

Mark has affectionately nicknamed Dylan "Grunts" because whenever we try to put him down at night (during the witching hour) he just grunts and grunts until we pick him back up.  it sounds like he's trying to poop and we researched it and turns out, the grunting is normal as newborns learn how to work their bowels in the early weeks.  I think Clark grunted too which is why we moved him to his own room at a month old and we all slept better.  Grunts, however, will not be moving anytime soon since he is still eating through the night and his room is upstairs so there's no way we're going up and down those stairs all night.  he also doesn't wake Clark from our room so I don't want to change that!

p l a y / d e v e l o p m e n t

I'm not sure if this is normal but Dylan is still sleeping pretty much all day!  he is only awake to nurse and get his diaper changed and sometimes he'll look around at things for a few minutes but usually if he's awake he's either crying or nursing!  and since I don't like to let him cry, he's usually just nursing!  I don't think Clark was still sleeping this much at a month...instead of sleeping all day, he had 3-4 distinct 2-3 hour naps throughout the day, which is still a lot of sleep but they felt more like naps instead of all day sleeping in between eating and pooping.

maybe it's because I nurse Dyl more?  Clark sure cried a lot more or so it feels like.  my mom said he was colicky but I don't think so.  he just cried like all babies do and now that I know his personality, it makes sense, ha.  Clark's always known what he wanted!

despite the fact that he still sleeps all day, Dylan is pretty strong!  he's been rolling to his side since he was a week old and could lift his head and look around while we were still in the hospital.  he's pretty good at tummy time, although I'm horrible about remembering to do it.  it's also hard to do because when he's awake he's eating and I really don't want him to be on his tummy right after eating.

the other day I introduced him to the activity gym and he loved it, looked all around at the animals and colors and I'll admit, I was amazed that he was actually awake enough to enjoy it.  my sleepy little lamb!

one big difference between having one baby and having two is that when Clark was this age, I was so bored all the time!  I mean, obviously there were plenty of things I wanted to do (sleep, eat, shower) but trying to think of things to do with the baby was so hard for me.  I just always counted down the hours until his next nap or until I could put him down and do something for myself.

these days, I'm NEVER bored.  we were living with my parents when Clark was a newborn so I didn't have my own house to take care of.  I also didn't have another child to dress, feed, change and keep entertained all day!  a part of me feels guilty that the reason Dilly sleeps so much is because I don't make enough of an effort to engage him in activities like I did with Clark because it's easier to let him sleep and run around after Clark.  it's so like me to worry about something that most people would see as a blessing!  I guess I should take advantage of all the sleeping now before I'm chasing after both of them!

my days are filled with laughter and tears

little pounding footsteps and tiny baby coos

crumbs and smudges, binkies and blankies

laundry and laundry and laundry

goldfish crackers and diaper rashes

making boo boo's better and singing abc's

holding tiny fingers and kissing sticky cheeks

moments of madness and utter happiness

my days as a mother are the best ♥