Teach. Laugh. Photograph.: December 2013

2 Months!

Liam,

Happy two month old birthday baby boy! I can hardly believe you are already two months old! I don't think I'll ever realize how quickly time is going by... You have changed so much this past month and it has been amazing to watch your ever growing and inquisitive personality grow.

Weight & Height:
You are growing like a weed, little bear! You have grown 3 1/2 inches and around 2 1/2 pounds! Your doctor couldn't believe how 'long' you had gotten. (It amuses mommy that only before you can stand on your own are you measured by your length, and then suddenly we switch you tall and height...) Your height puts you in the 89th percentile!!! Your weight, however, puts you in the 23rd percentile. You're so slender. You were born rather thin for your height and have gained steadily on your curve so the doctor isn't concerned. She did say though that if you ask for it we should gladly feed you more and whenever you are requesting it. It's okay for you to put on some weight!

Thanksgiving with Papa

Eating:
You have maintained a pretty steady eating pattern this month. You get one bottle of frozen breast milk (3 oz) in the afternoon, and around 6 bottles of formula (4oz) each day. You have created a nice-predictable- routine for mommy during the day. You wake up between 530 and 630 to eat and see daddy before he goes to work and then from there on you eat around 930/10 and every three hours after that. You take a bedtime bottle at around 7 and then get changed for bed. We "wake you up" to feed you 1030 to dream feed you, and then you only wake for one feeding during the night.

You are a very serious eater and do not want to be bothered or interrupted during bottle time. This makes burping you a bit of a challenge as you like to start whining the moment the bottle is missing from your lips. This is helpful at night as you are just as anxious to get back to sleep and are an efficient eater.

Spending time with your Great Grandma

Sleeping (naps):
You love your naps. You are in a routine during the day of eating, getting changed, then either playing with mom, watching the puppies, or playing on your Nemo Mat and then cuddling up with mommy for a nap until you're hungry again. Sometime mommy is then able to move you to your chair for the rest of your nap- but for the most part you want to be curled up with me. You did fall asleep a few times during tummy time, and mommy let you keep sleeping.
We are going to work on changing this practice in the coming month and hopefully get you to taking your naps in your crib, since mommy will be going back to work in January.

I hate tummy time! So, I nap instead.

Sleeping (at night):
You are a champ at going to bed right now. Although, we don't have a consistent bedtime routine down yet, you still seem to understand when its time for bed and are ready to go. You usually get a bottle around 7pm, followed by a diaper change and a loose tuck into your Rock n' Sleep. Usually, mommy has to come back in once to help you find your pacifier again and then you are out until your dream feed/change/swaddle. Then you go straight back to sleep and don't wake up for your night feed until between 2 and 330 am. Then a quick change and straight back to sleep until between 530 and 630. I'm proud of how well you are sleeping at night already and only hope it continues.

See you at 10pm!

Clothing:
You are still rocking the 0-3M clothing, but outfits with the feet are definitely getting too short. Your belly is so small, but you're so long that a lot of your pants are too short for you and flooding. Not sure how we are going to transition you to 3-6M clothing (for the length) though because you will be swimming in them. Oh well, hopefully you'll fill out a little bit more.

Thanksgiving with Daddy

Social:
You have become an extremely social baby in the past month. You love sitting in mommy or daddy's lap and making faces with us. You have definitely started to smile in response and are getting pretty close to laughing. You don't usually mind who is holding you, as long as they are cuddly and you aren't hungry. However, if you are hungry or gassy-- forget about it. You want no one else but mommy. (Mommy doesn't mind.) You love spending time with your grandma and grandpa and you really enjoy going to visit your GiGi and Papa and I know you want to see more of them.

Family Photo! Tourist visit to Pier 39

Likes:
Your likes this month are pretty simple- especially since you haven't really started grasping objects yet. You enjoy being held (as long as it is belly to belly), and spending time curled up with mommy or daddy. You like spending time on your Nemo mat and making it sing to you and get frustrated when you can't kick the right spot to make it sing. You also really like your pacifier and don't want to sleep during the day without it, at night you can take it or leave it. You also really enjoy being in your car seat as long as it is moving (in the stroller or in the car).

Dislikes:
Your biggest dislike... tummy time. You can't stand it, and because your head is measuring in the 95th percentile (much bigger than your height or weight) you are not able to really lift it yet. The doctor said it could take you longer just because your muscles have to grow even stronger and work harder than most of your peers. I hope you learn to tolerate tummy time soon-- your angry cries are so hard to listen to. You also dislike being held in a cradled "baby" position. You either want to be chest to chest with the person holding you or looking outward at the world.

Just love this photo of your ever moving arms.
You look so much older. Where did my newborn go?

New This Month:
Your smile! You love to smile and are so close to laughing- right now you do this gasping thing that reminds me of the way Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory laughs. It's my favorite.
You celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time and were a total champ being around so many people for two days in a row- though you were exhausted by Saturday.
You got your first real set of vaccine shots on your two month birthday and hated each and every moment of it.
You went with mommy, daddy, and Gigi to Pier 39 for the first time this month and had a really good time- though you weren't too sure about the noises of the Sea Lions.
You reached out and grabbed Tilly by the muzzle for the first time when you were crying and she was trying to comfort you.
You have started grabbing mommy's hair- leaving her hair now in a permanent ponytail.
You went from drinking a combination of breast milk and formula to drinking only formula and frozen breast milk and didn't even bat an eye.

Mommy:
I am doing really well. I feel like I finally have a good handle on this whole mommy thing, and am trying not to think about the fact that I will be heading back to work after the new year. About half way though this month, I made the decision to stop pumping and it proved beneficial for my sanity. I was so unhappy and struggling emotionally- deciding to stop and then finally stopping was a surprising relief and I feel like it has made me a better mommy and better wife. My hormones and emotions have gotten back into check and beside the struggle with pumping and the defeat in that I feel much more like my former self. Daddy seems happy to have me back, as much as I am also happy to be back. We have a good routine, you and me, I'm not looking forward to it changing...