My baby is 7 weeks old today!

He is growing up so fast.  At his last Plunket visit {pediatric nurse that does home visits here in New Zealand}, he was in the 91st percentile for height, 75th percentile for head circumference, and 50th percentile for weight.  We went and got his “jabs” {vaccinations} last Thursday and he weighed 5.08kgs, or a little over 11 pounds.

11 pounds!  I guess all of those days where it felt like I did nothing but breastfeed has paid off!

Joe is so much more alert.  He holds his head up incredibly well.  The Plunket nurse was amazed at how he stayed in a crawling position while she was examining his hips and gluteal folds, and we’re amazed at how strong his little legs are.  He’s constantly pushing himself into a standing position when we hold him.  All I do is keep him steady, and he basically stands up.

Joe’s tear ducts have started working.  His right eye has been watering off and on, resulting in some gunky build-up.  He woke up the other night and I looked over to see some yellow crud on his eyelid and eyelashes.  Poor thing!  He’s also had some “baby acne”.  It’s started to clear up, but his poor cheeks are a bit dry as a result.  I’m hoping that it’ll clear up soon.

Joe’s slowly getting used to bathtime.  The first bath he had was… interesting.  Lots of crying 🙁  That was weeks ago.  Since then, he’s getting more and more used to them and even seemed to enjoy the last one.  He’s “talking” a lot more and smiling all the time.  He usually gets a big grin on his face when I look in his bassinet first thing in the morning or when I finish changing his nappy and look in on him after putting the cloth nappy in the bin.

We’ve also started going on daily walks.  It was time for me to get moving again.  I was feeling a bit blue and cranky, and I knew that it was from not being able to exercise.  Now that Joe’s feedings have dropped down to about 1 every 2 hours, I’ve been able to get out with him.  I usually walk up and down the hills, through parks, and around the area for about an hour.  Joe loves it, and I feel so much better for having been outside and active.

I’m cautiously optimistic about Joe’s sleeping habits.  He slept for 8 hours solid last night.  I put him in the bassinet at about 8:45pm and he didn’t wake up till about 4:30am.  He was up for about 1 1/2 hours to eat, then went back down just before 6am and slept till 8:30am.  Amazing.  Before that he’d been sleeping for 4 – 6 hours at a time, so I’m wondering if last night was an aberration.  Only time will tell.  I try not to let him sleep too much during the day.  All of his naps are taken in the main room where it’s very bright and noisy {thanks to the street and construction}.  I usually have a CD playing baby music in the background.  The longest he naps for is around 1 hour, usually less.

I feel like I’m finally starting to figure stuff out and get a handle on things.  It feels great 🙂