1-month-old!!

From the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Gerber website:
During the first month of life, your baby will focus on learning how to make sense of his new environment using his eyes, ears, sense of smell, and touch.Through the love, comfort, and attention you'll provide, he'll bond even more closely with you. If you notice a lot of crying, realize that it's part of your baby's communication with you since he sees that you respond to his cries by meeting his needs. With your help he's learning new things and growing every day.
Your baby’s growth
At each checkup your doctor will measure your child's height, weight, and head circumference, plotting his development in percentiles. What’s most important isn’t exactly how much your baby weighs but that he continues to grow in a steady way.
Length for 1-month-old babies usually ranges from 18 inches (10th percentile) to 20.5 inches (90th percentile). Weight usually ranges from 7 pounds (10th percentile) to 10.5 pounds (90th percentile).
we have a Dr. app't on Monday...it will be interesting to see exactly how much Eli weighs...We think he's close to 11 lbs...and he was 20 inches long when he was born, so we'll see how much he's grown that way too! It will be fun 2 see his progress!

This month your baby may be able to:
· lift his head slightly as his neck muscles strengthen (he does this already quite a bit!)
· focus his eyes on your face as he begins to learn how to focus both eyes together (does this too!)
· visually follow an object that moves about 6 inches above his face (high-contrast colors such as black and white are what she can see best at this time) (does only when he wants too...he's pretty stubborn already!)
· blink at a bright light (he loves lights!)
· recognize familiar sounds and voices and respond by turning his head toward them (he recognizes mom & dad's voices!)
· grip your finger when you stroke his palm—part of his developing grasping reflex (sometimes...he really doesn't like to share his hands with anyone!)
· turn toward your finger when you rub a corner of his mouth (this rooting instinct is what helps him to latch onto your nipple for feeding)
· recognize you by your scent (he can smell your milk if you’re breastfeeding) (he does know mom's scent!)

What you can do
· Develop his awareness of his environment by stimulating his senses.
· Speak to your baby in a higher-pitched voice—he’ll best respond to this sound. (as corny as it sounds we do this a lot!)
· Stimulate his hearing by playing soothing music, hanging wind chimes outside his window, and providing soft toys that make interesting sounds. (he loves the Christmas music. We listen to a lot of that during the day!)
· Stimulate his visual development by hanging bright mobiles or soft sculptures in black-and-white patterns near his crib. (Babies this age seem to prefer black and white over other colors.)
· Stimulate his sense of touch by letting him feel age-appropriate soft toys and blankets. (we do this too, but need to more of it I think!)

Crazy to think that Eli is a month old already...wow how time flies! Yet is hard to imagine life without him...and it wasn't that long ago that he wasn't here yet!