Elliott

I can't believe he's almost 6 weeks old already! How did that happen?!? A few things we've noticed about our boy:

* Very laid back... most of the time. He certainly has his fussy moments (or hours) though and I still haven't exactly figured out how to best soothe him during these times. It happens because he's overtired and can't put himself to sleep or stay asleep very long. I'm currently re-reading all my baby books and getting a refresher course on how to soothe a crying baby.

*Very alert. He is much more alert than I ever remember Jack or Cullen being. Even in the hospital, I noticed him following Brandon's voice when he walked across the room. At 2 weeks, he followed my hand for a few minutes as I waved it around his face. He will move his entire head to look around and see where noises are coming from. His favorite things to stare at are lights and faces.

* Loves to be around people and be held. He routinely starts crying when we're all in the kitchen eating dinner and he's been left alone in the living room. Once somebody picks him up and brings him to the table though, he's happy as a clam. And there's only been a handful of times when he hasn't been nursed or rocked to sleep. I really need to get working soon on this whole "drowsy but awake" sleep technique or I may be in trouble.

* Has incredibly good head/neck control for a newborn. From the day he was born, Elliott was flinging his head all around trying to look at stuff. It freaked me out at first, so I had to learn to keep a good hold on his neck at all times. Now he can hold his head up steadily for a few seconds at a time. He's also already rolled over from his tummy to his back a few times.

*Loves his tummy time. He practically does a cute little push-up and holds his head up to see what's going on. When he gets tired though, he usually just lays there calmly looking around. Sometimes, I put him on his tummy to calm him down when he's fussy too and he usually falls asleep.

*Great eater. When we left the hospital he'd dropped down to exactly 7 pounds. By his 2 week appointment though, he was back up to 8 pounds, 15 ounces. And  last week at his 4 week appointment, he was 10 pounds, 9 ounces. He seems like a giant to me compared to Jack and Cullen who didn't reach 10 pounds until they were 8 weeks. He wants to eat all the time too. Thankfully, he does go for longer stretches at night, but during the daytime he often still wants to eat every 2 hours.

*Light sleeper. After he's fallen asleep on somebody's chest, it's hit or miss whether he'll stay asleep if you lay him down. And he will often wake himself up when he moves around in his sleep. I've found loud white noise (like the vacuum), a tight swaddle and the swing to be the best help for getting him to sleep longer. I'm considering getting one of those noise machines though.

*Still has bluish/gray eyes but I'm sure they'll turn dark brown like his brothers' eyes soon.

*Loves bathtime. Unlike his brothers who screamed hysterically, he didn't cry at all during his first bath. His eyes got really wide and he splashed around a little with his arms- it was obvious he was totally enjoying himself. I love babies fresh out of the bath, it's one of my favorite smells in the world!

*LOVES being outside. Which is perfect because his older brothers do too. Our new afternoon routine is to take a blanket out to the front yard and sit for a couple hours while J & C ride bikes and play with the neighbor kids. Elliott could stare at the sky forever!

Jack and Cullen still adore their brother. So do Brandon and I :-)