Engagements

Weddings

Wedding photographer, Dunkin' enthusiast, and lover of all things romance and weddings.

MEET MONICA

boudoir

For Brides

That moment you realize you never pressed “publish” on Luca’s one month post! We’re just going to blame first month exhaustion for this one ha! Enjoy the two month post immediately following this one!

And just like that, Luca is one month old!

It feels like I just had him two days ago. It is beyond wild to believe that one month ago, our sweet boy made his debut and changed our lives forever. I could cry with how much I love him, and sometimes I just look at him and tears of joy happen just because I am so so grateful that he is ours, that he’s beautifully healthy and strong and that he’s my son and I’m his Mama. I thank God everyday for making me his Mama. 

The first month was hard, it’s been a roller coaster of emotions. It’s been a lot of learning and still learning. Many many sleepless nights and first time parent jitters. The first night we had him at home, I could not sleep. I had to keep checking on him to make sure he was okay, he was breathing, he was fine. It was scary, he had round-the-clock care and nurses 24/7 in the NICU to be there within seconds if anything happened. Because he was in the NICU for breathing issues, that was what scared us the most when we brought him home. I was constantly checking to make sure he was okay. I didn’t have monitors to go off if something went wrong, I didn’t have the knowledgeable NICU nurses there with me (although I could call when needed!) so it was normal first time parent jitters on top of lingering fears things would go wrong. Luca did fantastic. He was perfectly fine. As time went on, my anxiety started to slowly – very slowly – go down. 

Thankfully, Luca is such an easy going baby. He’s not a big crier. He’ll cry if I don’t get his bottle fast enough but he is such a calm sweet baby. The first two weeks, we discovered that Luca was a big “sleep all day, party all night” kind of baby. He would have a good hour of alertness from 2-3 am, where nothing would get him to sleep! Feed him, change his diaper, burp him, repeat. Nothing. Eventually we found out that putting him right next to Daddy to snuggle helped him fall asleep really quickly. There’s nothing like Daddy snuggles. Now I’m thankful that Luca wakes up twice during the night now! 

He’s been growing like a weed, gaining weight at his two pediatrician appointments this month already and able to lift his head exceptionally well for a baby his age! I’m a very proud Mama so don’t mind me here 😉

When I was pregnant, I wondered what Luca would look like. After looking at pictures of myself as a baby and my husband, we realized that I gave birth to my husband’s clone. For now, at least, he looks just like his daddy. Maybe as he grows older, some traits of mine will appear, but for now, he is just like his daddy 🙂

Some of the best moments from this month:

  • Learning that Luca was off his feeding tube and able to take bottles in the NICU. I almost cried tears of joy because this meant he was getting so much better! He didn’t need intervention to eat anymore!
  • Taking Luca home finally. He spent 3 days in the NICU, 1 day in the nursery and he was finally able to come home with us December 18th. 
  • Meeting the family! We both have big families. Luca is the first grandbaby, the first nephew on both sides of the family so needless to say, everyone was excited to meet him! Along with our families, we have our fur-baby, Blaze. That was probably one of my most favorite things about this month. Blaze was so curious and cautious meeting Luca. He carefully sniffed him but wanted Mama and Daddy cuddles and pets most. As the month went on, he’s gotten used to the baby coos and cries, and occasionally is protective of Luca as he nudges people away from the baby. But Blaze is mostly concerned about treats for now 😉 I can see them being best friends once Luca is old enough to play.
  • Celebrating Christmas with our son! It was a very very special Christmas season this year.
  • Seeing Luca smile… he smiles mostly just before a fart or poop, but those baby smiles melt my heart every single time.
  • Seeing my husband with Luca. This is my all time favorite. Vicente is an incredible husband and I knew he would make an amazing daddy. And he is. Watching him with our baby makes my heart so happy. Daddyhood looks good on him. I know Luca is going to grow up thinking Daddy is his superhero. 
  • Getting his newborn photos done! Luca at first was such a squirmy wormy but halfway through the session, he fell right asleep. So thankful for Anna Russell Photography who took the most amazing photos of him! 

Luca likes:

  • Mama and Daddy bedtime snuggles
  • Eating RIGHT AWAY
  • Getting clean diapers dirty immediately after a diaper change
  • His pacifier
  • Shaking his hands in the air (like he just don’t care)
  • His swaddle
  • Car rides

Luca dislikes:

  • Waiting even one second for his food
  • Changing clothes
  • His hats

Time is flying by already so I’m trying to soak in every moment I can. Before I know it, he’ll be two months, he’ll be crawling, he’ll be running… so I’m enjoying every single newborn cuddle I can. 

lucaonemonth-1.jpg

filed under:

Luca | One Month

© MJ MENDOZA PHOTOGRAPHY 2022

Close