Anthony Update: Months 1-4

A few days ago on Instagram I asked whether y’all would prefer to read an Anthony update or a travel post, and Anthony was the clear winner. One of the (many) reasons I have barely blogged since Anthony was born is I’ve really struggled with how much to share about him online. I keep having this idea in my head of Anthony’s future employer googling his name and finding a post about how much he pooped as a one month old (this is a moot point because I don’t put our last name on my blog, but it’s how I think about it). Still, I really want to share this sweet time with y’all, so I am going to start to write a more about him. If there is something I don’t share but you want to know, send me an email, and I’d be happy to tell you more in a more private setting.

Anthony-three months

At some point in time, I had wanted to do monthly updates on Anthony, and that obviously didn’t happen, so I’m going to combine all four months in this post. It’d be a super long post if I went over everything that has happened, so I’m taking a then and now approach.

General Thoughts
Time is so weird after giving birth. Anthony turned four months on February 20, and I am amazed we are already a third of the way through his first year. Then again, it feels like he has been part of our lives forever. It’s such a crazy feeling.

Who Does Anthony Look Like?
Then: 
When Anthony was born, he looked a lot like Christopher. There were several features that were definitely mine (like his long fingers and toes-so cute to see on a newborn!), but if you look at Christopher’s newborn photos, it almost looks like the same baby.

Anthony-one month

Now:
Anthony is definitely a mixture of both of us now. The feature of mine people always comment about is he has my eye shape. One thing I think is interesting is Anthony does not have much hair yet, but so far, it’s light brown. For some reason I always thought his hair would be dark brown, like his dad. Obviously, it will still change a million times, but Chris was born with dark brown hair, so it was a little surprising to me.

Anthony-a few days ago

Milestones
Then: 
One of the things that really surprised me was how early Anthony started giving us social smiles (around six weeks). He also started laughing a little before three months.
Now:
He has recently started rolling tummy to back and is babbling constantly these days. It’s so fun to hear all the different sounds he makes.

Anthony-one month

Sleep
Then:
I mentioned it in my last post, but Anthony has never really been a good sleeper. When he was born, he had his days and nights flipped. Around two months, he had his first five-hour stretch (which counts as sleeping through the night), but it has only really happened once or twice.
Now:
Here’s the detailed version of how sleep is going currently. Long story short, he’s waking up about every hour and a half right now.

Eating
Then:
I’m hoping to share a little more about this later, but I feel like people always tell you how great breastfeeding is for a baby and how natural it is, but no one really talks about how hard it can be. Those first few weeks were so hard, and I wanted to quit about a million times because of how painful it was. We later discovered Anthony had a tongue tie, and fixing it made things so much better.
Now:
I still pretty much exclusively breastfeed (I do pump every once in a while), and it’s going well for the most part, though Anthony is much more distracted these days. I’m still dealing with a pretty major oversupply problem four months in, which is pretty frustrating, (I deal with clogged ducts multiple times a week), but I’m hoping to continue as long as I can.

Anthony-two months

Likes
Then:
Anthony has always liked music, and it’s still one of the best ways to calm him down. He has also always loved riding in the car and going on walks. One of the best toys for him has been a Baby Einstein Musical Toy. It can usually calm him down when he’s upset, even now.
Now:
Since about two months, Anthony has loved spending time kicking and playing on his Fisher Price Kick n Play Activity Gym. He loves playing with his hands, and walks and car rides are still his favorite parts of the day. He also loves when people talk to him.

Dislikes
Then: 
Anthony has always hated being swaddled and even broke through those Velcro SwaddleMe swaddles as a newborn.
Now:
Sleep and naps. He used to be a big napper, but he’s really fighting them these days.

Us on Valentine's Day

Other than the sleep, this is such a fun age! It feels like every day Anthony is learning something new, and he’s such a happy baby. Hopefully I’ll have the time to share a post like this every month from now on, but I’ve learned not to make any promises with how unpredictable our days have been lately!