A Village

I can't believe Brayden is already one month old! At his one-month appointment he measured 22 inches, and weighed in at 10lbs 10oz. He's in the 80th percentile for height, weight and head circumference.  Big boy! 

For the past month, I've been home every day taking care of him, but I haven't been alone.  As they say, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, we brought the village. Brayden is lucky enough to have three sets of grandparents who love him very much.  They have been visiting in shifts, bringing their baby-raising expertise to help out the newbie parents:

Here's a video of Brayden's first month:
 

Sleep Deprivation

Eat, Sleep, Poop.  That's what everyone told me was the extent of a newborn's repertoire.  Our baby has the eating and pooping down like a pro, but a couple of nights this past week had me wondering if I'd unknowingly given birth to a vampire.  Instead of sleeping, he'd much rather do this:

Yes, it's incredibly adorable.  And don't get me wrong, it's just as adorable at 3a.m. A couple of nights this week he was wide awake in the wee hours, doing absolutely nothing but eating and... being awake. I finally took the "if you can't beat em' join em'" approach and started our day.  Frustrated as I was with my lack of sleep and his lack of empathy for my lack of sleep, I knew there had to be an explanation.

A day later at my dr. appointment I got one. He was due for his first growth spurt, demanding a larger milk supply, and all that eating awake time was just what he had to do as a baby to accomplish what I believe should be the fourth task in a newborn's life- grow.  Eat, Sleep, Poop, Grow.

And I know it's only been three weeks, but I already believe it's too fast.