Maxwell at 1 Month

Weight:10 lbs. 1 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 21 3/4" (55th percentile)
Clothing size: 3 month

Maxwell's Birth Story:
Paul's mom came into town the afternoon of Halloween. We took the kids trick-or-treating. After we got back, I went upstairs to rest and my water broke around 8. I went to bed to try to rest. My contractions started at 10. I labored at home until about 10 in the morning, sleeping on and off. We went to the hospital and they said I was a 4. I had been gung-ho about having a natural birth and getting a birthing suite with a birthing pool so I could use that for pain relief. But when the nurse told me I was a four after all those hours of labor, I gave up and asked them to just drug me up. Max was born at 3:02 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long.

lots of hair, lots of heartburn

Random tidbits:

• He developed jaundice that was so bad he had to use a biliblanket (a special light we had to keep on his back).
• He lost half a pound and then ate himself back up to 10 lbs 1 oz in three weeks. He loves eating and is always hunting and grunting for more food.
• He is either eating, pooping, or wanting to be held. It's hard to get any housework done. I'm glad my husband understands that it's more important to hold the baby than to cook and clean. Paul helps out so much with the kids, housework, and cooking. As soon as he walks in the door from work he takes over for me.
• We still mostly use cloth diapers and we use disposables for travel. I also use disposables when I want to take nice pictures of him because the cloth diapers are so big and bulky.
• I forgot how much I have missed all the cute things newborns do- stretching, eat with their fists up at their faces, their startle reflexes, the shifty eyes, eyes looking crossed. Holding and smelling a new baby is heavenly.
• He is such a good baby (for now) and only fusses and cries when he needs a new diaper, is hungry, or is tired.
• He only liked swaddling for a week or two. After that it seemed to make him mad and he would fight to get his arms out.

He smiles about a minute after he stops eating.

first bath, so chill

Jackson was learning about early hominids and was having nightmares about an Australopithecus. So Paul started calling Maxwell "our little Australopithecus" to tease Jackson. Max does kind of look like a monkey.

Mika wanted them to take a picture in their turtle pajamas.

The one eye open, one eye shut thing cracks me up.