Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Alan at One Month **Updated

I cannot believe one month has passed.

Amidst the constant diapering, incessant soothing, bathing and cuddling two babies need, my tiniest one has somehow grown from a helpless newborn to a slightly sturdier newborn.

Four weeks is not enough time to get to know someone in every way, but I can say that thus far, he is proving to be a very different baby than his sister. Alan is mellow where Sam was high strung. Gone are the crying jags of unknown origin. Alan loves to be held and as long as someone has him, he is almost always happy. He is a Mama's boy, definitely sensing the difference between me and someone else and almost always preferring me. This does stroke my ego, but is so different than Sam who pretty much hates me if there is someone cooler (I believe the mailman qualifies as such).

Alan is also different than Sam in some less desirable ways. He is not a sleeper. At his age, Sam was sleeping in six hour stretches and was just two weeks away from the 12 hour stretch that has remained the norm for her. Alan is nowhere near that. Last night he did two four hour stretches, which was amazing, but the night before he was up every hour. He is a very hungry boy.

That hunger has also made him a much better eater (and grower) than his sister. He has been putting on an ounce and a half a day and my guess is that he will be 10 pounds, 12 ounces at today's one-month check up (stay tuned, I will update).

I LOVE having a boy. Everything I said about not wanting a boy has flown out the window. I feel so lucky to have one of each. It is such an amazing thing to be able to parent both a boy and a girl. I can't wait for him to grow and be into all his little boy things.

He and his sister are hilarious. She adores and hates him all at once. And even though, they can't be alone, I can already tell they will be close--of course he has to survive first. Sometimes Sam's love hurts.

As for me, I am adjusting. I have started running again (I am up to 12 miles this week). The weight is coming off. I am tired but not overly so. I am tentatively ok with having both kids alone, but sure am loving the doula. With three big deadlines approaching, I am learning to get work done in the midst of such chaos. It works sometimes, others not as well. But it is just going to have to happen in the coming weeks.

The election has heated up this month and even though he will not remember, I will always remember his first three months as a time of so much hope and anticipation. We spent all weekend at the lake house, riveted by CNN. Since mocking McCain's VP choice is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, I will say only that I am wondering about possible campaign slogans. I am thinking, "From the Double Wide to the White House." Catchy, no?

Here are some photos of Alan:




*** Alan is weighing in at 10 pounds, 6.5 ounces and 22 inches. Big boy!

6 comments:

Gal on the Go said...

Your son is so sweet Sasha! Beautiful little boy!

Unknown said...

Alan is GORGEOUS! I'm so happy things are going well for you. :-)

Kristi said...

Those eyes are captivating. And I am so happy to read that your boy fears are gone. That makes me think mine will be too once I meet my son.

PS: Love the campaign slogan. It's almost too easy, isn't it?

Amy said...

He is so precious!

Brigid said...

Wow. I'm more than a little disappointed in your slogan. I've enjoyed reading your blog because I like to challenge myself with ideas and beliefs different from my own. I think that those kinds of statements are exactly why we as women have NOT progressed further. I’m hoping that my daughter can learn to live under the guidance of Eleanor Roosevelt (one of my favorite women in history) who once said "Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people." Just my opinion...

My Wombinations said...

I chose not to discuss Sarah Palin's ideas because, to be honest, I do not feel they merit the energy of my thought.

I do not believe that a woman who dismisses global warming, encourages abstinence education while allowing her teen daughter to get pregnant, opposes gay marriage (even though she has "gay friends"), calls herself a "feminist for life' (even though there is no such thing. If a woman does not believe all women have the right to make up their own minds about abortion, she is no feminist) and supports the NRA wholeheartedly is anyone worth discussing.

I am offended by McCain's apparent disregard for women and his apparent belief that all women will vote for a vagina just because it's there. Hillary Clinton was right to ask her voters if they stood for her or if they stood for what she believed in. McCain appears to think women cannot think for themselves and that we need the big strong hand of the "experienced" senator and his "hockey mom" running mate.

And besides, I think a self-described "Hockey Mom" who was in the PTA and attended the U of Idaho with a minor in Poli Sci is in no way ready to be our President and I find it offensive and upsetting that anyone in this country does.

But instead of including this in my blog, I chose to make a joke. Sorry you were offended, but to be honest, it is her lack of intellectual thought and ideas that highlight her failures as a person.