One Month with Nathan!

Our sweet little Nathan turned 1 month old yesterday! I cannot believe a whole month has gone by, yet at the same time it seems like our littlest guy has always been a part of our family. Nathan is such a calm, happy and alert baby. He spends long periods of time every day wide awake observing his little world. I don't remember either of our other babies staying awake calm and happy so often at such a young age.
 

just hanging out watching the lights through the window

enjoying some bonding time with all the Boyer boys :)

He also continues to be a pretty good sleeper, giving me a least one stretch where I can get 3-4 hours of solid sleep! It's been really helpful since I have two other busy boys to keep up with during the day. His longest stretch of sleep usually starts at about 10 or 11, so my good sleep is in the middle of the night when you need and want it most; another blessing. He does have rough nights where he is up every 1-2 hours, but those are rarely consecutive. He can nap through almost anything, and I attribute that to his in womb conditioning of listening to his brothers act wild including jumping on my belly and probably knocking him around a bit. The noise level has only increased for him since his arrival, so he has had to adapt to a less than quiet sleeping environment. We don't have any type of sleep routine yet, but I think he will adjust beautifully when we do start having more of a schedule for naps and bedtime.

fell asleep while playing on his special "legacy quilters" blanket

he seems to love his bassinet

napping on momma's chest (wish I could do this every day!)

the bassinet my siblings and I used

Nathan is eating well and seems to be growing right on track too! During the day he likes to nurse every 2-3 hours (with less time between feeds towards the end of the day). His cheeks are filling out and his belly is getting nice and round. At his two week check up he weighed 8lb 4oz and was 22 inches, so he had grown 14oz and 1/4 inch since we left the hospital (5 oz more than his birth weight). Dr. D said that he was "very mature" because he was already starting to make some eye contact and was holding his head up well for his age. It always makes my heart feel so happy when we get a good report from the pediatrician; what a blessing to have healthy children! Due to his speedy arrival there were a few extra concerns, but God was with us and everything turned out great! Another issue with Nathan's accidental home-birth was that the hospital could not fill out the paper work for the birth certificate or his social security number. The government really makes you jump through hoops and grills you with questions to get them after a "non institutional birth." Just what you want to do when you are caring for a newborn.

 tummy time, "learning to crawl" according to his big brothers

I'm official...and loved the process.

Unfortunately he seems to have his first cold. He is a bit congested and has a gunky sounding cough (especially in the evenings) for the past 2 days. This breaks my heart, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. I guess it's all part of having 2 older siblings who bring home germs from school and have a hard time keeping their hands and kisses to themselves. Although I am a bit worried, with the viruses that go around this time of year, so I may end up taking him to the doctor if it doesn't clear up soon (Prayers appreciated). I'm trying my hardest to savor every sweet moment with my Nate. I know how quickly he will grow and change; he has already changed so much! He is starting to smile, attempting to roll over, lifting his head off the ground during tummy time and finding his voice. Won't be long and he will be running around and wrestling with his big brothers! We are all so thankful for the smallest member of our family, and love him more than we could describe! Thank you God for Nathan!