School is in Session - End of Week 4

The future leader of the free world is officially four weeks old as of August 29th, which brought up an interesting debate: do you consider your child a month old when they are four weeks (August 29th) or one month (September 1st)? Prior to the arrival of my adorable manimal my scale of time was always measured in weeks, not months, but now that he's graced us with his presence, we have to switch to months as a marker of time rather than weeks. While we all contemplate what a cruel joke that is, please enjoy a picture of me as a newborn.

Chris went back to school on Tuesday, and it may sound silly but I had a bit of anxiety around him leaving and knowing I would be alone with the baby for prolonged periods of time. I knew how to take care of him, but when you're facing an 8 hour day alone with a child that requires as much attention as our little bundle of motion it can be kind of daunting. I should mention here for those that don't know that I am a planner, and someone who thrives on having somewhat of a schedule so I know what I need to do and when I need to do it. That being said, you can understand why the unpredictability of caring for a baby is somewhat nerve-wracking. Now that the week is over though, I think I've gotten better at rolling with the punches and I feel much more confident in taking care of him solo. The bottom line is, neither your nor the baby know exactly what he wants when he cries, BUT! there is somewhat of a flowchart you go through to get a better idea of what the immediate need is. Babies at this age only cry for a limited number of things: food, sleep. diaper change. Ours also cries when he is tired of being held and wants to be put on the floor to kick around freely. I managed to catch a blur of his spastic movements in the picture below.

Things are getting better and easier for everyone as each day passes. He's got the difference between day and night locked down, which means we're getting more sleep. We're feeling more comfortable in taking care of him, so we get less stressed when he cries. You hear people say that newborns are made to survive new parents and it is totally true. The bonus at this stage is that you get to see little glimpses of their personalities and all of this lumped together leads to you loving the growing baby even more every day.