Bradley Steele - 1 Month

Height: 21.5 in

Weight: 10 lbs 4 oz

Wearing: Size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes

Little man also completely surprised us with a full head of RED hair and some bright blue eyes! He is so handsome!

Eat

Bradley is a great eater! He is breastfed and usually nurses 10-12 times a day, and about half of those nursing sessions occur in the evening when I'm trying to get Addie down for bed and cook dinner ;) Nursing him has been SO different than it was with Addie, mostly in good ways because I struggled a bit with Addie in the beginning. One thing I was NOT prepared for is the spit up! Addison never spit up, but Bradley does after almost every feeding and I am still not used to it. We've all been walking around with towels and receiving blankets over our shoulders 24/7!

Sleep

Little man is a GREAT sleeper so far, although I probably just jinxed it ;) He loves to be swaddled and he looooves white noise, so if I get that combo going I know he'll settle in for a solid stretch of sleep. He also sleeps well in his car seat which is so helpful while I'm shuttling Addie to and from all of her activities. Currently bed time is between 9:30-10:30 and he likes to start his day between 7:30-8. He did his first really long stretch of sleep (7 whole hours!!) over Tuesday night, so fingers crossed he keeps that up!

Play

Bradley really likes watching the ceiling fan spin! He also loves when his big sister talks to him, being worn in the Solly wrap, and taking baths.

Well, they all say that going from one kid to two is a huge adjustment and they were NOT kidding! Bradley is an incredibly laid back baby, but even so it has been such a big change for our whole family to have him around. Addison is taking her role as big sister very seriously, and loves to help me with "baby brutter" in so many ways. She loves throwing away his dirty diapers, helping me burp him after feedings, and rubbing his head and giving him kisses! So far she's done really, really well adjusting, and I kind of find myself waiting for the other shoe to drop!

Physically, Bradley's birth has been super easy to recover from but emotionally it's been more of a struggle. I definitely find myself feeling guilty that I'm not able to give out as much attention, whether it's to Addison or Mike or even the dogs. And I find myself also feeling guilty that I don't get to just sit and stare at Brad's sweet face all day long like I did with Addie! But we are definitely starting to find our groove, and I know once Addie goes back to school at the end of the month, it will be easier to make special time for each kid and for Mike as well!

I thought time flew by with one kid, but with two it feels like it's just disappearing. I can't believe Bradley is already a month old! It's been a great month and I can't wait to see what the next one will bring :)

Next up for the Beards: I'll be sharing some of the amazing photos we had taken at Bradley's "newborn" session, and we'll be counting down the minutes until my dad gets into town later this afternoon to finally meet our newest addition!  

Happy one month sweet Bradley! We love you so!