Some RUS Tidbits

In keeping with my commitment to writing down "the boring stuff", here are some tidbits about RUS's first month.

--He hates the pacifier and will not take one. We have tried four different kinds, at various times, when he's calm, when he's upset, when he's half-sleeping, when he's wide-awake, all to no avail. He does not like the thing. He chews on it a bit and spits it out almost immediately. If he is upset, he gets more upset at being offered a pacifier. Sometimes his gag reflex is activated and he looks as if he's going to choke or throw up. They really are not working.

--Just in the past week and a half or so I've been watching his hands unfurl more. At first when he would be nursing, he would have his fists laying on my chest, but now his hand is usually open and he often grabs at my finger.

--Smiles have been coming more often but I'm not sure we're seeing fully-social smiles yet. I'm waiting on those, they're my favorite.

--When he is doing tummy time, which he actually doesn't seem to mind at all, he can already lift his head up and turn and look in more than one direction with his head up. Granted, he can't do it for very long, but he's got terrific head/neck control for a 5-week-old, in my opinion!

--He still, at 5 weeks, does not sleep well when he is not being held. We've had some success at laying him down in the bassinet after he's fallen asleep, but then he tends to make a LOT of noise-- grunting, groaning, moving around, kicking, etc. He's not awake-- his eyes are closed and he doesn't open them-- but he's definitely not as peaceful a sleeper as he is when he's in someone's arms.