three weeks old.

three weeks old has been good to us.  little man is more & more awake with every passing day it seems.  and he is growing like a weed!!  we went to a breastfeeding class at the hospital this week & he weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds, 6 ounces on his three week birthday.  up from 6 pounds, 4 ounces at birth (plus the eight ounces he lost in the hospital).  what a good healthy boy we have!!  we didn't do much this week, just mostly hung out at home.  oh! and i did get away for the first real time without him - i got my hair done this week.  i contemplated cancelling the appointment because it's usually three hours long & we haven't introduced a bottle yet - but mike was gracious enough to come downtown with brady & me so that i could feed him in the car immediately before the appointment & then immediately after they met me at the door and all was good to go!  so thankful for a super helpful husband in all of this.  every day i've been intentional to get out of the house with brady, just to avoid going stir-crazy while mike's working...so we managed to fit in some errands, trips to the grocery store & target of course, a few lunches with friends.   i'm loving being home with him so much but i know myself and can't just stay in these four walls every day ;)  however, he's proving to be an easy laid back little guy and getting out & about with him hasn't been a problem at all.  he's really not been fussy at all except if it's getting close to time to eat.  he's pretty alert for the first hour after he eats & then he starts fussing and is ready for a nap.  he falls asleep easily wrapped in a blankie & with his faithful binky.  it's during these little naps that i'm able to easily shower, start laundry, or pick up around the house.  he's doing so well at night with minimum three hour sleep stretches (and occasionally the four hour stretch) that i feel pretty rested during the day and have only had to take an occasional nap.  i feel much more functional at three weeks post-partum that i'd expected.  again, we just feel so fortunate to have an easy going, sweet little baby that has seamlessly fit into our lives.  we are so so grateful for him.

here are the pictures from our week...

i love how snuggly he is in the mornings on our fluffy duvet cover.  he looks so comfortable!

it didn't last long though - he doesn't have time for photos when he's hungry!

self portrait of me & my boy.  i wanted to capture how tiny he still is.  he fits so easily in one arm, legs all pulled up in that sweet newborn way.

 we try to have a little tummy time every day.  this week his skin has started peeling a little.

tummy time is okay but he's much happier on his back looking around.

i love him in the mornings in his swaddle. he looks like a cute glow-worm :)

 sleeping on daddy is still his favorite activity.

sometimes just looking around while on daddy's chest.

speaking of daddies - my dad used to hold me in one hand and we were talking about it this week and decided to see if brady was that tiny.  and yep!  he fits in one of mike's hands perfectly.  and he was totally relaxed being held like this - reminds me of a cat when you pick it up by the scruff. they just go limp :)  i can't believe he is this tiny!!  before we know it he'll be a teenager probably taller than me!

we give the peanut a bath weekly on saturday nights or sunday morning - little boys have to be clean & smell good for church you know!  i think this might be his last week on the mat on the counter.  he's getting so long now & will probably fit well in the baby tub we have.

he hates his bath though - i think he just gets cold when we're done & he lets me know about how unhappy he is.  look at that sad lip!

 favorite baby reflex still intact - the monkey toes!

i love how he's starting to stretch his legs out straight so much more!  he still sleeps all curled up but when awake is kicking lots & extending his long legs.  crazy to see these little legs that were kicking inside me just a few weeks ago.  when we lay him on his back he immediately starts kicking and then startles himself and the startle reflex cracks us up.  arms & legs flail for a second ;)

brady is mostly into being very serious, and his little furrowed brows are about the sweetest thing ever.

i love his brown puppy dog that suzanne gave us before we even knew if brady was a boy or girl.  i'm going to start taking his monthly photos with this dog for one year to see his growth.  i put it next to him in the chair this week just to see :)  the other pic below is on the rug in his room.

baby naps are so sweet.

the curled legs!

 our peanut is VERY expressive.  he ranges from furrowed brow to sleepy (unintentional) newborn smiles in a matter of seconds.  i love capturing all his faces & laughing at how darling he is.

surprised at something aunt kate said apparently ;)

he sucks his lower lip in a lot & it makes us laugh every time!

sweet baby pirate!

 brady is the best thing we've ever done!  he brings with him a daily adventure of love, infatuation, wonder & laughter.  we are so in awe of how sweet our life with him has been so far.