E @ 2 Months!

July 12, 2012 - Day 1, Month 2

It is time to wrap up lil E's second month.  I am not certain I took a picture every day this month, but I certainly found a lot I wanted to share so I'll sprinkle them throughout.  He was a very lucky boy this month to get lots of time with his family and friends and I am so thankful to all of you who shared in his care and loving this month!

Here is E in M's baby cradle - he still fits, but probably won't for long as he grew  a lot  this month.  Exactly how much remains to be seen as our Dr. appointment isn't until Thursday morning, but he seems much chunkier to me, and longer too.  I feel like his face has morphed continually during the month.  Every time I look down it seems different.  I wonder what it will look like when it settles, but for now it is a fascinating evolution of looks. 

Growing bigger means his time in our cradle is getting short as well, as are many of his clothes. He is still in some newborn things, but mostly 3 month or 3-6 month type sizes.  We don't put him in the swaddle wraps much anymore, but do still wrap him up at night. He seems to have an easier time falling and staying asleep if he is wrapped fairly neatly even if it isn't completely tight.  When we set him down with his hands free he tends to wake himself up right away by hitting himself in the face.  It is sad, on several levels.  This will likely improve soon, but for now he and we get frustrated.  

Despite many attempts from this duo he still isn't really taking a paci routinely or sucking his thumb.  We did get him a new Wubnub paci - which is a soothie with a small giraffe attached.  He sort of seems to be getting the idea of grabbing on to the animal to keep the paci in his mouth, but still only minimal success.  When he/we can get it to work it does seem to help him stay asleep.  Generally, his sleeping patterns are all over the map.  They will get much better and sort of have a routine for a few days and then implode.  I suspect more and more that he is starting to have reflux.  He gags, gargles, and makes choking noises more and is starting to spit up.  This coincided with the trouble staying asleep last week and even trouble staying asleep when sleeping with me as he was wiggling his little torso constantly.  I'm hoping the Doctor can help us out with this tummy trouble too.  When he does have a good sleeping night, like last night, not only are the grown-ups much happier, but so is he. I don't think I've seen nearly this as many smiles before as I did today from the first moments he was up.

These two get along very well.  B is a great helper and a fun playmate.  B loves that he can make his brother smile the best of anyone.  He is great at keeping E company when I'm busy or E is having his exercise.  I love seeing them together and the bond they already share. 

Breastfeeding, to my great shock, continues.  I'll say, once again, that I think it is waning, but I've said that before so I might be crazy.  This week saw an uptick in the amount of formula he is drinking to the occasional 6oz bottle.  He is, however, drinking very little at night - maybe a portion of a 4oz bottle and one nursing session on good nights.  Even on bad nights, he doesn't eat much, mostly he just has trouble staying a sleep....

Naps vary too - He likes to take a nap around tenish and 2ish, but sometimes life intervenes or for some reason he just doesn't and decides to stay up and play instead.  Since the onset of the tummy troubles he is taking shorter naps, at least if he isn't in the car.  There are many more "cat naps" of 20-45 minutes rather than the two longer ones.  He will, generally, sleep pretty much indefinitely in the car on our trips.  Above, he is at the Jones' house basking in the shade by the pool after his first big car trip to Dallas.  We also took a trip to Tulsa this week, which he handled like a champ.

M continues to love and love and love her brother.  A shown here, maybe sometimes too much, but we've had less of that more recently.  She likes to tell him stories and try and calm him by saying "it's ok, Maggie's here". She has gotten to attempt feeding him a time or two, but largely lacks to focus for extended tasks with a delicate boy.  She does sing him songs, give him dozens of hugs, and help pick out his clothes and fetch things for him throughout the day.  She also sticks close to him when they are at the Y childcare and gives me a report on how he does while I am exercising.  She is a good big sister a big fan of her little bro.

I am still loving to snuzzle my crazy-haired baby.  In good news, his baby acne is largely gone, but he does now have some icky cradle cap under that fun hair as well as little bumps on his legs that vaguely remind me of eczema.... He doesn't seem bothered by any of these skin ailments though and does still love his snuggles. 

These two love to make each other smile.  I love that E seems to have inherited his Daddy's chill personality as his brother did.  It may be wishful thinking, but he seems a smidge calmer and more relaxed a baby than M was.  Regardless, they are very handsome happy boys.

The next few are from our 2-month photo shoot with Mr. Bear.  There will (I hope) be some of these each month to see how he is growing and try to capture some of his "look" as he grows. 

 

 

 

Finally, I almost captured his sweet grin today - love it.  I hope this month finds you and yours happy too as we are loving ours and heading into another big month of change.  I have just 6 weeks of maternity leave left and school begins this week so change is definitely coming on all fronts, but for now, I'll just stare at that grin and love where we are as best I can.

P.S. If you want to look back the Month 1 post here.