McCoy James :: 1 Month

McCoy James Spraggins

Born: Monday, October 26, 2015

Time: 8:01am

Weight: 9lbs 4oz

Length: 21 in

With the teddy bear that Smith and Sanford gave him when he was born.

Nickname: Baby Boy, his brothers call him "Bayyyy-beeee!"

Weight: I weighed myself holding him today and our home scale said he was right at about 13lbs. He was 9lbs 9.5oz when I took him to the doctor for his 2 week appointment. So looks like he's gained a good bit of weight over the last 2 1/2 weeks.

Height/Length: I can't remember how long they said he was at his 2 week appointment. I guess we'll see when we go back in a few weeks.

What I've been up to lately?

• First and foremost, BEING SWEET! This little BIG guy is just a big ol' cuddle bug. 
• Sometimes he has a little trouble getting settled because he's a little refluxy and has been spitting up more these last several days but nothing too major.
• He has already gotten accustomed to loud noises. His big brothers scream and yell and squeal like it's what they were born to do and he barely even flinches. Hopefully it stays that way as he gets older. 
• He is usually a good nurser but sometimes gets a bit lazy and doesn't want to eat for very long which means he gets hungry sooner. I'm working on getting him out of that habit. He usually goes 2.5-3 hours between daytime feedings (Mommy has to wake him up to eat sometimes) but he also has times where he wants to eat every 1.5 hours. Its usually in the evening so maybe he's just storing up to sleep longer.
• He sleeps really well at night. A couple of nights ago he went more than 7 hours between feedings (the time is measured by the time he starts eating until he starts eating at the next feeding. So when someone says "My kid slept 5 hours last night", chances are he/she didn't actually SLEEP for 5 hours. Probably more like 4 or so.) He usually has at least one longer stretch that can last anywhere from 4.5-7 hours between feedings (they lean close to about 5-6 hours). Either way, Mommy appreciates those longer stretches.
• He's still really laid back. If he gets upset about something, he usually doesn't stay upset for long. If he gets cold, as soon as you cover him up he's fine. If he's gassy (which is pretty often), as soon as that burp/gas passes, he's fine. If one of the big boys throws something at him and whacks him in the head (which has already happened several times lol), he usually doesn't even flinch but if he does, more often than not its just a mad face and never mutters a sound. But if he does cry, it lasts for maybe 2 seconds.
• The boys is a champion head holder upper. Since the day he was born, he has been holding his head up. Nowadays he can hold it up for pretty long stretches. Sometimes as long as 10 or more seconds at a time without so much as a head bobble. 
• He is very curious. He loves to look around at moving objects and lights. At night, Mommy tries to keep the room as dim as possible so that he doesn't get too stimulated which makes it difficult to go back to sleep but he always finds something to look at and is wide eyed until we go to the next room where it's pitch black. He has no trouble sleeping in loud bright rooms, he just likes to look around sometimes.
• He loves when Mommy wears him in his Lillébaby carrier. She loves all of the extra snuggles too! 
• We celebrated his first Halloween. Since he was only a few days old, we didn't dress up and go trick or treating. Instead, we stayed home and watched Auburn football in our Auburn football shirts. 
• We also celebrated his first Thanksgiving. Zach got to be off yesterday AND today! He hasn't had 2 consecutive days off in months so it was definitely a treat. The boys always love when their daddy is home and so do I. Our Thanksgiving this year was a bit different than usual but it was nice. Although we love spending time with our families, this year there was no fussing over cooking or traveling or anything. It was just us hanging out together and being lazy. Our Thanksgiving meal consisted of chicken that Zach grilled on the grill, Jiffy corn casserole, green beans, and rolls. Nothing fancy but oh so tasty. Zach and I even managed to each get some extra sleep.

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This last month (+1 day) has been nothing short of a blessing for our family. I've always heard parents who are preparing to welcome their second child say that they don't know how they could ever love another child as much as their first. When I used to hear that I would think that we had it all figured out because we had to share our love with two from day one. But I'm not going to lie, while I was pregnant with McCoy, I think I was so overwhelmed with crazy emotions that I went through a time where I had similar thoughts. I knew I would love him as much as his big brothers but thought it would take longer for that love to grow. When the big boys were born, it took me a little while to have that overwhelming feeling of "I would die for this human being!" feeling. I was a bit embarrassed to admit it at first because I always hear of people saying when their first child was born "now I know what true love is" or "I've never loved another person as much as I love this child". I didn't feel that way when the twins were born. Don't get me wrong, I loved them. But it wasn't the love that I imagined I would feel/experience. It didn't take very long to feel that way and I think with McCoy's birth, that feeling was more instantaneous. While I was pregnant I was a bit nervous because I was so overwhelmed with just knowing how much a child can change your life. Honestly, I had some of those worries that I wouldn't be able to love him as much as I love his brothers. But boy was I wrong. This little boy has stolen my heart over the last month. I know it sounds cliche but I don't know what we did without him. The big boys have definitely kept us busy but now, our family just feels more whole than it did before even though I didn't know it was missing anything. Who knew!? Kids are such an amazing blessing and if we could afford it, I would have 10 running around our house. I don't know if Zach would agree but I would love to have a huge family. Maybe one day :)

I cannot believe how fast this first month has flown by. In a way it seems like it has flown by but in another sense, it feels like McCoy has been a part of our family forever. I seriously can't imagine life without him. Our days were already pretty chaotic but nowadays they are even more crazy. Its a good thing that I'm not a germaphobe or neat freak because I would have already gone crazy if I was. Our house is rarely…okay, its never clean or even neat these days (Ha! Who am I kidding? It never was before either) but we definitely have fun. I seriously have the best job in the world. I cannot imagine my days consisting of doing anything other than being with my boys. Some days are hard...really hard, but those boys bring me so much joy and I am so thankful that I get to be there for every milestone.  

Gobble 'til You Wobble!

I was planning on adding about a million pictures I've taken over the last month but it was going to take me forever so I'm settling for adding just a couple. I plan to post another blog with his birth story and more hospital pictures later. Maybe I'll get around to doing it before next month's update.