Finding His Voice

Noah is starting to chat more and more. He also yells and lets his brother and sister know when he is mad at them for taking a toy away! He's usually a very happy baby and full of smiles and giggles.

Noah's 9 month photos

With a spontaneous decision this morning I decided to take Noah for his 9 month photos. I was going to just take them myself but the days of good lighting are so far and few between. Yesterday was sunny and gorgeous and I should've done it then but today it is a "warm" 35 degrees and it's "spitting" rain and dark. It looks like it's just going to get colder everyday with some snow on the way these next few days so... no sunshine. So here's a peek at our little guy right now.

Oh those EYES!!

Three Months Old

Noah,

You have done it again this month: grown up so fast! I can't believe how much babies change in that first year. Although to an outsider it maybe doesn't seem like much but the way you hold your head up so much stronger and look around watching your sister and brother makes you feel older. You don't like to just snuggle on my shoulder anymore, you'd rather face out. Even at meal time you like to sit on one of our knees now like you have a spot in the conversation! You'll even flail your arms more so we have to be careful you don't knock over our cereal bowl or push our utensils off the table. 

You are a great sleeper so far. Nevermind that I break all "rules" and nurse or rock you to sleep. You are my baby and I want to cherish these months while I can! I guess I will have to let you sleep on your own this coming month a little or you won't be a happy camper for your morning naps when I go back to school this fall. You are usually sleeping for the night by 9/9:30pm. You do fuss while we are trying to get the other two kids in bed so sometimes Daddy puts them to bed and you get me all to yourself. Usually you sleep until 3/3:30am (every once in a while you wake up at 12:30am - boo and sometimes you skip that 33:30am one - yay). Then you always wake up between 6:30/7am so I feed you and you usually go back down for another hour or two. I've got to be good about staying up to get some stuff done before the next kid is up at 7:15/7:30 but sometimes I just take you to bed with me and we both fall asleep until the others are up. (Daddy usually lets me sleep in on Sundays and he feeds the other two).

You do take about an hour nap in the morning but I'm terrible at enforcing that so far. Usually you just doze as we run errands. It's hard to sleep for a good chunk of time because Elijah is so loud he always wakes you up! Once he's down for his afternoon nap though you take a good one too (about 3 hours long). You still prefer to be swaddled and laying on your back. I tried your tummy for a nap one day and you fell asleep really well but kept waking up because you weren't swaddled.

You are great at nursing. Bottle are pretty "eh" yet but we'll keep at it because you'll need to learn to use them more when I start work. You are great at belching, ha ha! You've started spitting up a little bit and I think it's because you've also started drooling a ton now so you have more saliva in your tummy. I have you wear bibs more often now and you usually suck on your arm or someones shoulder when they hold you. 

You like to suck on the teddy bears ears on your carseat straps and you talk and coo and laugh at us. You smile and giggle when we tickle you too. You like to jump on your feet and be raised in the air (not thrown, just raised up). 

You are just moving into 6 months clothes now. You wear size 2 diapers and size 1 shoes, although you're usually barefoot and sometimes in socks if it's a cooler morning. Your eyes are still blue and you hair is lighter than Abigail and Elijah.

At three months old you weigh almost 16 pounds.

Here is Abigail and Elijah at three months old.

Two Months Old

 Noah,
Your sister and brother are already very used to you. Elijah still calls you "Nonah". You really are growing up so fast and I can't really call you my newborn anymore. I am able to tell your different cries apart and almost always understand just what you want or need. Most of the time you are just yelping because you are bored and want to be walking around face out to see the world.

 You are a great sleeper so far (better than Abigail or Elijah at this age I think). You will be sleeping for the night by 9pm (10pm at the latest). You do fuss while we are trying to get the other two kids in bed but it's only because you are tired as well. Many times you have slept until 3 or 4am so I would count that as "through" the night I think. Then you always wake up between 5:30/6:30 just tomake sure Daddy is getting up for work at that time. (Our other two always woke up then too, must be a natural baby thing!) You take another nap in the morning (about 10-11am) and then a long one after lunch (like 2-5pm). You'll doze on and off at other times too (in my arms or in the swing or stroller or carseat...). You love to be swaddled tight and do not mind sleeping on your back. You are doing great in your bassinet (on a wedge) so we're rarely using the rock-n-play. I've also had you nap on our bed because our old mattress has nice divots to cradle you a bit. I can't believe it, but I can even lay you down awake sometimes and you just look around and drift to sleep (as long as Elijah isn't too loud!).

You're doing great at nursing and have taken some bottles too. We've had you use pacifiers from time to time too. When I grocery shop it is easiest to wear you in the Bjorn and then pop a pacifier in yoru mouth to sleep while I shop. You haven't really been a spitter so that's great. I can sometimes get one good burp from you but sometimes nothing. You've just started to drool a little bit... are we getting teeth next month?! When you're full you will just lay there and start cooing and talking to me. I get the most smiles right after I nurse you.

You've started cooing and talking. You also smile a lot more. If I hold you under your arms and stand you up on my lap you will kind of jump so we bounce/jump you and it makes you smile. You'e ticklish on your tummy and sides and back so it makes you squirm. Your eyes are not turning darker to brown... I think they're getting bluer! You're hair is light brown too with some curls in the humidity. 

You wear 3 month clothes right now. I just pulled down the 6 month clothes from the attic so I could look through it, some of it you may be close to fitting. You wear size 1 diapers and size 1 shoes, although you're usually barefoot and sometimes in socks if it's a cooler morning.

At two month old you weighed 12 pounds, 13 ounces (61st percentile) and were 23.5 inches long (70th percentile). Your head circumference is in the 86th percentile.

Here is Abigail and Elijah at one month old.

4 Years Old

(Photos taken by Julie Hofman)

One Month Old

Noah,
I can't believe you are a month old already! Our little home has been so busy that every moment I get with you one-on-one is so cherished. You are often burped while Elijah snuggles on my other shoulder. I nurse you while I sit at the table helping your sister and brother eat their food. I hold you in the playroom while doing puzzles with Abigail. Our family is very busy now, but even just a month into this new family of five and the craziness feels like a new normal. We all love you so much, you get lots of kisses and hugs everyday. Elijah kisses you so much that sometimes your hair smells like strawberry jam from the residue on his lips from his breakfast toast. If I try to lay you under your activity gym it's a sure thing Abigail or Elijah will try and sneak underneath to lay next to you. Abigail always holds your tiny hand (or offers you her finger to grasp) when we ride in the car. It's really sweet and yet I have to protect you a lot!

You have acted like a pretty typical newborn in the sleep department. You were super sleepy the first day after all the "work" of being born and you also took a good snooze after your circumcision. But as soon as the pain medication wore off you were awake and rooting all the time. Most nights you awake to feed and go right back to sleep. During the day you'll doze off here and but it's not until the afternoon that you give me about a 3 hour long nap (just about the time Elijah is waking up!).

You've done a great job nursing! You'll also take a pacifier but it's not as necessary as it was with your brother. Noah, you made my milk supply come in on the day I left the hospital, wow! My supply is so good that often our night time feedings only use one side at a time. Daddy gave you a bottle today and you did great with it.

You're starting to really focus on my face which is fun to see. You use more muscles in your face and all those expressions are cute, especially your fake little smiles - a real smile is coming soon I know it! You know my voice and could turn your head toward it at only a week old. Daddy would hold you upright and iId hide on either side of him and talk to you so yo'd keep having to turn your head to find me; it was a mean little game. :)

You are not as loud as you brother was - thank you! You'll yelp if you're lonely. The first few weeks you snorted a lot, always sounding stuffed up. When you wake up at night you start by just fussing quietly. When you are really hungry (like in your carseat and I can't feed you yet) you'll cry loudly and it sounds like Count Dracula laughing... ah, ah, ah, ah... (as opposed to Elijah's Billy Goat cry!).

You wear 3 month clothes right now. I squeezed you into Newborn-sized clothes for the first week or two just because. You wear size 1 diapers and you did when you were born too. At home we used up the one pack of NB diapers I had, I bought them "just in case" you were a smaller baby. Ha ha.

At two weeks old you weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces (78th percentile) and were 21 inches long (72nd percentile). Your head circumference is in the 91st percentile.

Here is Abigail and Elijah at one month old. Your hair and eyes seem lighter to me than their hair or eyes.

Noah's first week home

 He gets a lot of kisses...