Week 5 -

Brady got to meet and spend time with his birthday buddy Uncle Erik this weekend.  Erik brought him a copy of the April 20 2012 Boston Globe featuring the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park - what a great gift!  Brady enjoyed playing and napping with his Uncle E.

Brady turned 1 month old this week measuring in at ~9 lbs and ~21 3/4 inches long.  We've read at this age that they grow 1 inch and gain 4-6oz per week, wow!  Suzy is jealous, where was that growth spurt when she grew up.  He's outgrown his newborn clothes, and has moved up to Size 1 diapers (a couple blowouts later that Erik got to witness firsthand).  Brady continues to be more awake and alert during the day and we continue to look for ways to play with him and teach him about the world around him.  He likes the mobile in his crib and some of his toys that rattle or squeak. He likes being held and shown objects that he can stare at and try to focus on.  He loves things with color contrast staring frequently at picture frames on the wall or images on the big screen TV.  We rock him and read to him, but this doesn't satisfy him for very long.  He sleeps best in his lamb swing, Moby wrap, and at night in his co-sleeper.  Now that nursing has been well established we introduced a pacifier.  He quickly got the hang of it and enjoys sucking on it until he falls asleep in his swing or stroller.  He's also finding and sucking his thumb more making a loud sucking noise that drives Gary crazy but is really cute.  He does seem to be slowly gaining control of his arms and legs.  He holds onto your shirt or cuff when you hold him in the cradle position.  He's also used his fist to hold the pacifier in his mouth although it's 50/50 sometimes pushing too hard and knocking it out.  His legs are getting stronger allowing him to stand under his own weight.  He doesn't sleep as soundly during the day, mostly in active REM sleep which we read is normal for brain development at this age.  In addition to more frequent smiles, he's started cooing making "ah" and "oooh" noises and blowing bubbles.  With all this activity, Grandpa Bob predicts he will be a very active toddler.  And yesterday we saw his first tear as he was straining to poop, poor guy.

It's hard to believe he's 5 weeks old and over 1/3 of Suzy's maternity leave is gone already!