4 Weeks of Pierce

So Pierce has joined our family for 4 weeks now so I figured it was time to give a little update.  We had Pierce's first doctor appointment a week ago.  When he was born he weighed 7lbs 3oz.  Of course babies lose some weight right after birth so he only weighed 6lbs 13oz when we left the hospital.  Well on Monday last week he weighed 9lbs 6oz.  That's right folks, in two and a half weeks he had gained over 2 lbs.  Then on Thursday we had an appointment with the midwives and he weight 9lbs 15oz!  HOLY COW!!!  I must be feeding this baby pure cream!  In addition to the weight gain he grew an inch!  Way to go Pierce!  After all this is the only time in your life that rapid weight gain and chubby thighs are considered a desireable trait!

With all of this weight gain it's clear that Pierce is a great eater.  I've been very blessed and haven't had any problems nursing.  I know some women really struggle with this, but I've been lucky and have had sufficient milk and a baby who loves to eat!  I fear that when he's about 16 I will need to take on a second job to be able to afford feeding this boy!

Pierce is also a fantastic sleeper.  From the day we brought him home he has been good about sleeping 2-2.5 hours at a stretch at night.  He wakes up, eats, gets a diaper change and falls right back to sleep.  What a blessing!  While Clay and I are still sleep deprived we know that Pierce is really an easy baby and we are blessed that he is such a a good sleeper.

While he is a good sleeper, he is also a NOISY sleeper.  Seriously, this kid makes nonstop noise.  The first night we had him home, Clay and I kept hopping out of bed to go see if he was awake.  But instead it was just the constant moaning and groaning and whining and grunting that Pierce makes.  He also has this funny little squeaky noise that sounds like a puppy's bark.  And he makes these noises CONSTANTLY, even when he's sleeping.  Clay and I are still getting used to the noisiest sleeping buddy on the planet!  I fear he takes after his Geezer and future girlfriends will need to be forewarned that this will develop into a serious snoring problem some day!

Pierce is a cuddler!  This boy is happiest when he's cuddling.  Clay and I are getting him used to sleeping on his own in the cradle in our room, but he is the most content when he's snuggling on someone's shoulder.  But we don't mind.  It's fantastic to have baby cuddles.

That's what we've learned about our baby so far.  He is really thriving and slowly we are finding a bit of a routine.  Hopefully by the time I go back to work most of the kinks will be worked out.

My recovery also continues to go well.  I met with the surgeon this week and am cleared to work out again.  So I'm taking it slow and trying to get back into a bit of a routine.  With the crazy heat here it's been hard to get out and about but we've been taking morning walks before it gets too warm for a baby.

And finally here are a few more pics of Mister Pierce!

I had mentioned in the birth story that our doula, Nikki, had the presence of mind to bring the camera into the delivery room.  I finally took a look at those pictures.  Here I am meeting Pierce for the first time.   Shortly after this moment the anesthesiologist knocked me out for a couple of hours.

When we brought Pierce home Clay couldn't wait to show him the Millennium Falcon!

If you're wondering what the red spot is on Pierce's head, that's the injury he sustained when the doctors tried to suction him out of me.  Not pretty!  But it's healed now and he just has a slight bruise left.

 Our bright eyed little boy!

Here's a look at how much our boy has grown.  This pic was taken the first week we had him  home.

Chillin' in the swing!

 And here is he today!

Finally, Pierce does not like waking up.  He normally moans and groans and rubs his face for quite a while before he actually wakes up.  I've learned to wait until he actually wakes up to get him because if he's still in wake up mode and I pick him up he goes right back to sleep and cannot, will not wake up to eat anything!  But I think his struggle to wake up is pretty darn cute!