Ryker's First Month

I can't believe a month has already gone by since Ryker has joined our family. It sometimes seems like such a short time (because it is) and at other times like he's been with us for so long (it could be the long nights). He is such a joy and we all love having him as a part of our family.

Here's a few things about Ryker:
He loves music and when sung to he gives us the reward of the biggest smile. He doesn't mind loud noises, which is nice with a 4 and 2 year old running around all day long. He also is such a happy baby. He wakes up everyday in all smiles. He really is a chill little guy too. He does cry a little bit but mainly when he feels ignored. He also loves his binkie. This is something new since I'm not a huge fan of them and neither were Elijah or Chloe but Ryker seems like all he wants to do all day long is suck on something, so him and his binkie are inseparable right now. He is our little chunk. He gained his birth weight back in just a week (it normally takes at least two) and has gained an extra 2.5 pounds since then. He spits up all the time! He's not as bad as Chloe was (we had to use bath towels with her and still ended up changing her outfit at least 6-8 times a day) but he gets to wear a bib all day long and by the end of the day it's normally turned around so it looks more like he's wearing a cape, plus wets many hand towels throughout the day. And of course, he loves bath time. I don't know a baby who doesn't, but he just relaxes in the tub and normally pees in it to end it, but he loves it as part of his nightly routine. He's also very alert (when he's awake) and loves to soak up his surroundings. He's already a fun little guy and we all adore him.

 During his first week, we had to take him back to the doctors because he was jaundiced. After a few days of sitting him under a window, his levels went from being dangerous to normal. His umbilical cord also fell off exactly one week after he was born. 

His first week we took him to Jed's family reunion over at his grandparent's house. It was Ryker's first official outing. He slept through pretty much all of it. A few days later we took him to the Brigham City Temple open house. He was a little more awake and alert for that outing. His nicknames this week were "the wise old man" and "Popeye" (because he kept winking like Popeye).

His two week doctor appointment he weighed in at 8# 9 oz and was 22 inches long. He also started to eat more so started waking up every 2-3 hours instead of every 4-6 at night. We took Ryker out to Antelope Island and to the Treehouse Museum for the Labor Day weekend. We also took him with Jed and I to go see Snow White and the Huntsmen for our date night at the base theatre.

His third week he started cooing and making the most cutest sounds. He also started smiling at us when he would see one of us. The kids love it (and of course so does Jed and I). He also got his first bath. We had to wait a little bit to fully bathe him since his belly button didn't heal properly so they had to cauterize it and it finally was okay by the third week. This was his first week at church. He showed his approval by making very long and loud "bubble" sounds in Relief Society. This week's new nickname was "our little chunk" (of course out of love). 

His fourth week we took everyone out hiking when my "brother" came in from out of town. He loved it and snuggled right up to his daddy the entire time. He got a little better with his sleeping habits but not by much. He's up a lot more during the day though and loves seeing everyone's faces.  Elijah wanted his nickname to be "frogger" because frogs are Elijah's favorite things right now.

 The kids still fight over him and are so helpful. Chloe is sometimes too helpful but she tries her best. We only had one day of scare from her when she picked him up and carried him up stairs by herself. She was bawling saying that he was crying and she wanted me to take care of him to make him feel better. After that we taught her about the magic of binkies and so now she's the first one to him and tries to get him quiet again. Elijah has decided to name his favorite stuffed animals all Ryker in honor of his brother, because he can "have his brother with him all the time now". Elijah also loves to try to teach Ryker new things and reads him all of his favorite books and has even tried to play catch with him, luckily it was with a really soft ball. And both kids still hover over him to give him lots of hugs and kisses.