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Welcome to the first edition of Milo-stones! Likely all editions will begin with “it’s so hard to believe” because really, time does go by so fast.

Milo is one month old. He is still very much a newborn, probably not much different than others, except that he’s ours. So we get to write all about him!

Milo is pushing a whopping 8 lbs. That’s 2 lbs. more than since he came home from the hospital, gaining the average ounce a day. His feedings are two hours apart, ’round the clock, and has no problem with the bottle, which we introduced in the second week and give daily to keep the habit. He still feels very small, but even that little extra weight can be admired in his chubbier cheeks and thighs.

Don’t be deceived: this little boy is strong. He puts up a fight at almost every diaper change, bending his legs as we try to secure the diaper and then locking them as we try to snap on the PJ legs. He hates a dirty diaper though and is achieving new levels of decibels. In general, he dislikes being exposed so the bath process is, ahem, still being refined. He prefers to turn his head to the right so we should start tummy time. For the time being it’s been replaced with numerous, extended naps on our chests. His arms flail less uncontrollably and are now included in full body stretches. He still doesn’t know they’re his so built-in mitts are key. It remains to be seen whether he really likes being swaddled, but at the moment, it’s part of the bedtime routine.

“Bedtime”. Milo hasn’t quite figured out night or day. Each night is a wild card. A good night is waking every two hours to eat. Other times he’s been in crazy hyper mode: wide eyes, frantic breathing, manic hunger. Is he nocturnal? Or maybe he just wants to visit his cousin in France. We caved: he sleeps best in our bed. But we haven’t given up on the cosleeper yet! There’s just only so much experimentation you can trade off for sleep.

My favorite feature of Milo are his eyes. Like all babies, he always looks into the light. He also likes contrast; one way to calm him down is on the bouncy ball in front of the multi-colored bookshelf. Milo’s awake time is small but rich, including story time, walks in the sling, hanging out by the fire, and joining us at the table. The book of the month is his namesake, The Phantom Tollbooth. Ben and Tata Chippy compete who gets to read or hold Milo; I’ve honestly missed enough chapters that I’ll catch round 2. Luckily Milo loves the sling and carseat, so he’s enjoyed walks on 23rd, hiked on the Wildwood, and snuck into his first beer garden.

Like I said, things are moving fast. Milo grew out of his first hat, the newborn insert for the carseat, and we’re not going to restock the newborn size diapers. He has a gmail account and a college savings fund. At both Intel and the climbing gym, we had to sign a waiver for him being under 18. The first month was exhausting and sweet. Wonder what the next 215 will be like!

Enjoy many more pictures on FlickR.

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