Three weeks and thriving!

Three weeks today! At his two week checkup, Jacob tipped the scales at 9 lbs 10 oz, was 22.5 inches long, and received a "gold star for growth" :) I can't remember if I posted his birth weight, but he was 9 lbs 4 oz at birth, 22 inches long, and then 8 lbs 11 oz when we left the hospital. For a breastfed baby it is ideal for them to come close to regaining their birth weight by the two week checkup. Jacob knocked it out of the park! So, we know that breast feeding is going really well, he is such a champ at eating...yes, I'm proud :)

Since Jacob is three weeks and since breast feeding is clearly going so well (as evidenced by his stellar weight gain), we are going to introduce a bottle tonight. I've been pumping milk once each day for the past two weeks and currently have over 75 oz of breast milk stored in the freezer! Most of the experts say three weeks is the sweet spot for introducing a bottle. Jacob is clearly well established in his breast feeding habits, so there is not much concern that he'll get a bottle and decide to abandon the breast. He is also still "new" enough that he shouldn't balk at the bottle, which is a risk faced if you wait too long to give them that first bottle. I do plan to breast feed 'as exclusively as possible' (not a fan of extreme statements like 'exclusively') for the first year, so when he takes a bottle it will be pumped breast milk he is drinking. But, this way I will be able to do crazy things like be away from him for more than 2 hours, or drink wine and still feed him. Tonight I'm celebrating the three week mark with a bottle of my own as well, some delightful Cabernet :)

At the three week mark, here is what I've observed about my second born:

*He is VOCAL!! Every movement has an accompanying grunt or snort or squeak or other sound effect. He purrs and growls and hums when he eats. If you pick him up while he is trying to sleep he will make some sort of sound of protest. And, at the very first tiny little bit of discomfort he will howl like he hasn't eaten in days. It is endearing during the waking hours of the day, and when I'm not trying to get anything else done. It is, I'll admit, quite irritating in the wee hours of the morning. It is hard to have him sleep next to me at night because he just makes noise all night long, sleeping or awake, he is sounding off about something. I am excited to see if, and how, this tendency manifests as he grows!

*He is ADORABLE! I was worried, I'll admit, that Jacob could never possibly be as cute as Kaleb was. Fortunately, my worry was in vain. He has his very own brand of cute, different from Kaleb's version but just as intense. Jacob is adorable in an expressive, animated, engaging kind of way. Not only is he vocal, he is expressive. Everything is a production for him, from growling and doing the "woodpecker head" when he is hungry and looking for food, to straining and grimacing in his sleep as he tries to shift to a more comfy position. The world is a stage when it comes to my sweet baby boy. Again, I look forward to watching how this plays out over the coming years :)

As the days go by I am feeling good about our decision to have Kaleb continue attending day care during my leave. When we are all home at night there just isn't the time to focus completely on memorizing each and every one of Jacob's facial expressions. And I want to be able to do that with him just like I did when Kaleb was a newborn. I'm happy to have this gift of exclusive bonding time with Jacob. As the weeks go on, I intend to keep Kaleb home for more days, and to pick him up early on some days. But for these first few weeks, I love the special time that I get to spend bonding with my newborn.

I have so much to share about how I'm adjusting to having two kids, but the time to post hasn't presented itself and tonight I wanted to capture all this stuff about just Jacob.

Happy three weeks to Jacob and to our family of four...I don't know if I'll ever get sick of how cool that sounds!