Eli's One-Monthday!

Our little (big?) Eli is going to be one month old at 5:04 AM tomorrow. I know the usual thing to say here is to comment on how fast the month has gone by, but it really hasn't seemed that speedy to me. It's not that we're having a lousy time, but rather it just feels like time slows down a bit with a tiny infant in the house. My attention and activities are so focused on tending to Eli's needs--he's a "blob of need," as Brian calls him--and none of the activities involved are particularly exciting or fast-paced. Eli nurses a lot and sleeps frequently, and he's now spending about one to two hours awake at a stretch in-between periods of sleep, and that's how our days go! We get out of the house at least once every day, but usually more, but Eli generally just sleeps through our outings while I wear him in one of my baby carriers.

Brian and I have definitely had a division of labor here, with much of his time focused on Maia, and much of mine focused on Eli's Mommy-centric whims. Because infant care feels so all-encompassing, I do have to consciously make time for Maia every day; sometimes I take on the daily bike ride with her, sometimes I make sure to take over accompanying her through her bedtime routine ... that sort of thing. We're handling it well, and she really hasn't shown any signs of jealousy up to this point. (At least not behaviors that are clearly identifiable as such.) She asks to hold him all the time, and she gives him kisses and often asks just to touch him while he's nursing.

Eli has begun to smile this week, and he just seems so very big and substantial. I have no idea what he weighs now--our recent estimate was 12-13 lbs., but that was very unscientific. We'll not be going back to the doctor with him for another month, so all of our guesses are unscientific these days. He has a big round tummy and is fitting into some of his three-month and six-month clothes. It appears that his eyes are going to be blue, just like the rest of us--no surprise there. All in all he is a cuddly person who is pretty demanding about being in our arms nearly all day. He will occasionally be content spending a stretch of time in the swing or the bassinet, but those instances are relatively few and far between. Thank goodness for baby carriers, huh? :)

Next week we will begin all of our various orientation activities for Maia's preschool, which begins officially on September 20th. She'll be going to school in the mornings on Mondays and Wednesdays, and it's likely that Brian will take her there on his way to work, and I'll pick her up. She's been talking about school to everyone; we were recently seated at a table next to a U of M freshman and his family, and Maia even told him all about the fact that she was starting school, too, but not for two weeks.