1 Month – Happy New Year, Baby Monster!

N.B.: Yet again, this is late. I wrote it weeks ago, but I needed to resize the pictures and never got back to it. I haven’t really read what I wrote, but here it is, for what it’s worth – of course, he’s nearly 2 months old by now, but hey, it’s amazing I got it posted at all

Dear Torsten,

Wow, has it been a month. This first month with you has been exciting and scary and really difficult for your parents, but we’re all learning.

I have to admit it – your mama’s been something of a mess, though that’s not your fault. See, between you falling asleep at the breast and me not producing enough milk for you, you weren’t gaining enough weight, and the pediatricians were worried. This meant Mama was a nervous wreck, and in addition to not getting enough sleep because she takes the night shift with you, she wasn’t a lot of fun because she wasn’t taking care of herself.

As you can see, Mama still looked pregnant and very messy when we got back from the hospital, but Torsten still looked extra cute. It did get better this month, and Torsten still looks extra cute. Because he is.

But this letter isn’t about Mama – it’s about Torsten. And this month with Torsten has been cool.

You’re really a pretty laid-back little kid, though I think Papa would say differently when you want food from Mama and nothing else will do. You put up with your first bath really well (click to embiggen):

And you put up with your papa deciding you must be introduced to snow as soon as possible:

You still sleep a whole lot of the time, mostly on Mama, and boy are you cute:

But you don’t just sleep, of course. You’ve started to play toward the end of this month, and you’re even on the verge of being social.

We haven’t captured your little proto-smiles for the camera yet, but from the ones you give us in your sleep (and the couple we’ve seen in passing when you’re awake), you’re going to have Mama and Papa wrapped around your tiny little elegant fingers when they become more frequent. But even now, we can’t resist you:

This month you’ve also met your first extended family member, your Tante Conni, and you two seem to get along just fine:

Admittedly, things have gotten a lot easier, though we’re still learning how to be parents. And Mama has had her first long time away from you (5 hours!), and she has to admit, she missed you something fierce. You’re just too snuggly to be without, see.

But you’re teaching your Mama and Papa well, and they’re looking much better after a few weeks (even if Mama’s hair is always messy – speaking of which, Mama would be much obliged if you would decide on a different favorite toy than her hair – you really love to pull it out, and Mama has told Papa that if he doesn’t learn how to help her take care of it in the morning (braiding it and getting it out of your way), she is totally cutting it off!). We took some pictures on our first outing together last week (one in which Mama and Papa and Tante Conni didn’t get lunch because the folks taking reservations at the Boulder Tea House were totally incompetent… grrrr…), and I think you’ll agree that you are still the cutest one in our little family:

And at the end of this month, we’re all doing pretty well. We’ve sorted out feeding you (you still breastfeed, but you get some formula to make sure you get enough food – Mama is sorry she’s defective!), and your moods are mostly easy to predict. You like to play for longer and longer periods of time, and instead of being afraid of your feet and hands, you’re discovering they belong to you and that they’re fun to play with. You love the music that the little evil lion on your playmat plays, and you can entertain yourself for a good 15 minutes at a time if your tummy is full. You’ve noticed your little baby face in the mirror a few times, and wow is that exciting – then again, if I were that cute, I’d find my own face exciting too – and you love to stare into Mama’s or Papa’s eyes, which only makes us more in love with you.

You’re an amazing little bundle of snuggliness, Torsten Monster, and we looooooove you

Love

Mama