Michael at 6 weeks

Mikey hit the milestone. He was six weeks old on Sunday. We made it!

Six weeks is a big deal for many reasons but mostly for me it means the newborn honeymoon is over - which can be a happy and sad thing.

For instance, our nights of snuggling the little one in our bed come to an end which is sad, but that usually equates to better sleep for everyone and that is certainly happy.  My days of nursing around the clock come to an end and we start a better schedule which frees me up to be more normal, but not so attached to baby - again happy and sad.

For sure our family rhythm is returning at this six week mark. That is a huge relief because there were a few moments in there where I truly believed I was in over my head and life would never be the same again.  With effort and constant, clear communication Tyler and I were able to manage everything and keep on the same page - and we survived. 5 pregnancies and 5 newborns have taught us a lot and we learn more every time. But mostly we know it just isn't easy.

But we made it!

Like Claire, Mikey turned a corner this week with his sleeping and honestly that right there affects everything (a sleepless mom is a problem). Almost overnight he went from waking every 2-3 hours to sleeping 10-3 and then 3-6! He's done that exact thing for the past 5 nights!  We did move him out of our bedroom into the closet and his bedroom and I swear that makes the difference. He sleeps more soundly.

He is also on a pretty predictable daytime schedule. Now I know when I feed him he is set for a good couple hours. I know when he sleeps it will be for a while. It just not so up in the air like it is the first few weeks when mommy feels on-call at all times day and night.

He is starting to give a little feedback which is always appreciated, too. A smile here and a coo there melts our hearts.

He continues to be as noisy as ever. We've added machine gun, kitten and grunter to our list of comparisons. When he is awake he grunts and roots around a lot. When he eats he squeaks and gasps and when he's asleep he hums. He is taking a binki pretty well but still needs some practice and he may be trying to get a finger or thumb in his mouth, we shall see.  As for his beauty regime, its always a battle keeping his neck clean as he tends to spit up (after gasping for air as he drinks from my firehouse), he does have a little baby acne this week and little lumps in his chest (all thanks to my hormones I guess) and he continues to fill his diapers (size 2). His plumbing works.

He is a sweet butter-ball bundle of love. A precious boy.