Happy 1 Month Nora and Holden!

Nora and Holden are officially 1 month old today! Wow time is flying already! Here they are before we go out to lunch to celebrate their birthday!

Holden's telling Nora a funny!

In honor of their first month I am going to give you a summary of how each baby is doing, their progress, and their personalities.

We'll start with Nora, the Big Sister (by a whole minute, if even that!)

Nora—6.1 lbs now--at birth she weighed at around 4.10lbs (that’s what we think anyway—the scale was off kilter when she was officially weighed after birth so they had to do an estimate birth weight a few days later when they realized the error). After birth she dropped down to about 4.4 lbs. So that is an official gain of 1 lb 13oz in 1 month!
She’s still wearing some preemies and some newborn items-kind of in between the sizes right now. Although she’s gaining weight, she still has a teeny tiny waist that even preemie pants are still a bit loose! But, just a couple inches higher she’s got a huge pot belly! Her head’s getting a little bit bigger too, which is good news for mommy who was having a hard time keeping all those bows on her head!
She eats exclusively breast milk and wants to eat at least every 3 hours. On occasion she will give Mommy a 4-5 hour break . It is obviously hard to tell how much they are eating, but the one time they have taken a bottle, she drank just under 3 oz. There is no set day/night schedule yet. Some nights she sleeps fine and then other times she is awake for the majority of it. Mommy and Daddy are working their hardest to get her days and nights in order so everyone can sleep better!
Nora has started to become much more aware in the past week. She spends less time sleeping and more time looking around taking in her surroundings. She keeps her eyes open and wide for long amounts of time and fixates on lights and moving objects. She also is getting really good at holding her head up during tummy time so she can look around. She needs to always know what is going on!
Nora has an ear-curdling scream that she uses quite often to tell us she’s not happy—although it seems that mommy and daddy can’t always figure out what’s wrong! She’s like a light switch, and as soon as you figure out what’s wrong she gets quiet again. She’s quite independent though and most of the time doesn’t really mind being by herself.

Nora’s likes include:
-sleeping in her swaddle blankets
-making faces
-eating
-swinging in her swing
-riding in daddy’s carrier
-soothie pacifiers
-crib aquarium ocean sounds

Nora’s dislikes include:
-having to wait on brother to eat
-not getting what she wants RIGHT when she wants it
-diaper changes
-any other pacifiers that aren’t soothies
-bath time
-taking vitamins
-bed time
-crib aquarium lullaby music

Here she is in a very "serious" pose

Holden—7.2 lbs now, started at 5.15 lbs and dropped off to 5.3lbs. His official weight gain is 1 lb 15 oz for the first month!
He’s wearing newborn clothing only, and has been from birth although there is quite a bit of grow room in them still. Holden is much thicker than Nora. Although I wouldn’t consider him chubby (yet!) he has thicker extremities—especially his legs and feet.
Holden also is exclusively breastfed and he, like Nora, eats on average every 3 hours. We do our very best to keep them on the same schedule. At night time he sleeps longer than during the day giving mommy on average 4-5 hours of sleep at a time. Mommy and Daddy appreciate this very much! On his one bottle feed, he also drank 3 oz before quitting, but on average he will feed for about 10 minutes longer than Nora, though we’re not sure if he is eating more or is just a slower eater!
Holden is ALL boy. He is constantly making grunting noises and he gets real "huffy puffy" when he’s upset—he even snores at night sometimes! We actually took him to the doctor because we thought he was congested and couldn't breathe…they told us he was fine though and was just a noisy baby! (they also asked if we were first time parents!)
In the NICU the nurses would say that the boys have “wimpy white-boy syndrome”. I would say that Holden fits in that category for the most part. He really hates to be messed with…it seems to worry him a lot. His cries are pitiful and he even sticks out his pouty lip from time to time. When something upsets him, unlike his sister, he tends to hang onto it awhile, brooding, if you will. He also never wants to be alone and is most secure when touching someone else…whether it be his sister or mommy and daddy.

Holden’s likes include:
-eating
-sucking on ANYTHING—pacifiers, clothes, fingers…etc
-rocking and patting
-sleeping with mommy and daddy
-being held
-riding in mommy’s carrier
-swinging in his swing
-sitting in his vibrating chair
-being with his sister—TWIN TIME

Holden’s dislikes include:
-having to wait on sister to eat
-being left alone
-diaper changes
-clothes changes
-bath time
-doctor visits
-photo shoots
-loud music
-the dark
-taking vitamins
-having his arms bundled up

Holden beginning to smile!