Three Months Old

Last Sunday, BB turned 3 months old. Time is flying around here people! The first year goes so fast, and then again, not so fast too. We are still night feeding twice a night, and that is not going by fast. Ha.  But, otherwise, fast it goes!

What have we learned about this boy in the last month? Well, he is still a good eater, and a happy boy. He loves his parents, and seems especially tuned into his Mama. If I am in the room, he follows my movement and if he hears my voice, he clues right into it. 

Brainwash 'em early, I always say

The baby boy loves to watch his parents and "talk" to us - he likes to make noises and smile  - and he likes to play the "tongue" game - you put your tongue out and in, and he mimics your movement. If you do some other movements, he watches very closely to see if he can figure out what you are doing. 

This has become our miracle pooping cure.

Ahem.

He is a little bit prone to not pooping on a regular basis, shall we say. After one four day stint with no poop - and see, here we go again, talking about poop just seems so normal - I called the doctor's office and spoke with a nurse. She informed me a breastfed baby can go 7-10 DAYS without pooping. Wow, I thought. But she did say if we wanted to try some pear juice - 1 to 2 ounces - it might get things going again. So, we did. He ate one ounce. Two hours later - poop! This happened one more time - the four days without poop - and once again, the pear juice came to the rescue like a miracle worker. And, since then, no issues. 

His new over stimulation center aka activity mat.

Funny faces

Serious boy with the blue eyes.

BB has still not  dropped a nighttime feeding. This is starting to frustrate and wear thin on his Mama. She is not getting enough sleep to be a proper human while back at work - and I am back at work - so here's hoping he drops one soon. LM dropped one, like a textbook baby, at 10 weeks, and my work life fared much better under this scenario. But, even sleep deprived, this Mama cannot stay frustrated so very long when she snuggles with her sweet boy.

Love when I get this one looking up at me. 

Looks so much like LM at this age in this photo.

During the last month, we also traveled to Indiana for BB to meet all of his Hoosier relatives. One day I might even put up some photos from that visit! He was such a good boy while we were there really, given that we carted him to and fro, with no real deference to his schedule whatsoever, except that we tried to feed him regularly. He had to sleep on the go - and he did, for the most part. On a couple of days, he was over tired and the late feeding became a cry fest, but other than that, this boy was (and is) mellow and incredibly flexible. 

Looking like LM here too, I think.

Three months on Nana's quilt.

LM is still enormously enamored with his little brother. He smothers him with attention - my mother reports I was the same way with my little brother. Then, on another day, I was talking with my dad about LM's "spirited personality" and my dad reported I was that way too at his age. Goodness - God bless them both. Ahem. But back to BB - the short way to say it is - add LM to the long list of BB lovers - in fact, put him at the top.

I love this one.

In this one, I feel they already know they are placating their mother with the photos.

So, another month in this whirlwind first year is behind us, and we look forward to all the happy memories to come with our special Baby Boy.

See you soon.

Two Months Old

 

On April 25th, BB turned two months old. Here are some photos of his time over the last month, and some things we have learned about him:

The Dunlaps met BB

He likes to be swaddled, something his brother never enjoyed, and therefore also likes to be in the baby sling! Hands free baby!

And so did my friend Jill and her family!

And even Nana came back for a quick visit.

BB also was smiling at us and starting to coo during this month. He also seems to be able to sleep through just about anything. And, we were making progress with his sleeping on his own in the crib. He is now a champ at this, so much so that I don't mind sneaking in a nap or two with him because I know he'll sleep alone the next time. 

Five weeks on Nana's quilt

 

Sleep eluded me...

love this - BB and LM's hands

This was his preferred position  - starting to straighten out now.

Six weeks on Nana's quilt

Baby legs! Nothing cuter!

Seven weeks on Nana's quilt

 

Midnight feeding

Seriously, no sleep.

Thankfully, this is improving.

 

Eight weeks on Nana's quilt

 

 

Boo boos from 2 month shots...

Two months on Nana's quilt! 

He was just under 12 pounds and 23 inches at his check-up. This put him about the same length as LM, but a whole pound lighter. LM was (and is) always so solidly built - maybe BB will be slighter - time will tell!

Look at those blue eyes!

He grows and changes every day - and will be three months this weekend - so I had to get this post up! I have tons more to post, when I get a moment. We love this boy and are so blessed he is with us! 

See you soon.

His Favorite Part

He chose this outfit one day recently all by himself, without prodding.

No superheroes or firemen - there is hope.

So we've been having a bit of a time of it with ol' LM the last few weeks. It is all part of becoming an older brother, or being almost 4, I'm sure, but it's been trying and a learning curve for the parents. Of course, this boy - and this blog proves it if nothing else does - this boy has been the center of our hearts and lives since before his birth. And now, he has to share that time and energy. 

This might look like a sweater vest to you. 

To LM, it's a basketball jersey. 

A ham and a half, as we know

The good thing is, he doesn't seem to equate any of it to the baby - he loves the baby - constantly wanting to talk about the baby, hug or kiss the baby, or help with the baby. He does however understand he is not getting as much attention from Mom and Dad. I have to admit there have been more raised voices in our house than I wish. And, we've been trying lots of other angles to mitigate this. We've been trying to give him uninterrupted one-on-one time. We have tried using the count to three again, which worked so well when he was a bit younger, and we have started taking away privileges when behavior doesn't match what it needs to be, and giving privileges for good behavior. We have also been trying to praise even the slightest good behavior. We have tried managing our own behavior and expectations. All of this has worked - sometimes.

A recent day at the zoo with Dad

Enjoying some ice cream recently at the Ft. Worth arts festival

Now, all of this is minor at best - not doing what he has been told to do - or going as slow as molasses to get it done. That's about it. He hasn't harmed himself or others. He isn't committing scary or illegal acts. He is just not following instructions in normal daily life, which is frustrating to us. And, really, he must learn that he does have to follow requests from authority figures before he hits "real" school here in over a year. So, we keep trying.

It's blurry, but this is one of his Power Ranger get-ups - 

re-purposed toys used as "weapons"

Pushing the grocery cart that is his size at Trader Joe's 

But, he is still, with his brother, and in between being a little booger who isn't listening, the sweetest, cutest, smartest little one. And this is, four paragraphs in, what this blog post is supposed to be about. For the last couple of weeks, after the 4ish a.m. feeding, I have often relocated to the recliner in the boy's room to finish up the night. This has been for several reasons - first, it was because the baby caught our cold and he was stopped up, and holding him upright helped this. Second, he is sometimes gassy, and by that time of night, sometimes the feeding takes a while and it's more comfortable to eat/sleep through that in the chair. And, sometimes, I'm just awake and a change of scenery helps. 

LM and BB

At the dentist

After a few nights of this, LM woke up and noticed us in the chair. So, along with BB and I, he climbed into the chair as well. This meant we had one very full recliner - I'm quite sure we are over the recommended maximum weight. But, he wanted to be there and I have sort of a thing where I don't argue or start new rules in the middle of the night - if adjustments need to be made, we'll do it when we are all awake. So, into the chair he comes, and we all get comfortable. Really, we do. I didn't mind it much - we all find a spot and keep sleeping. 

Learning the joy of a tire swing

So this has been happening for a number of nights. And the other night, LM climbed up, got under the throw blanket, snuggled up to the side of me without a baby, and I put my arm around him. And that is when he said, "This is my favorite part". 

And that is when my heart melted.

Thank you, LM, for reminding me of my favorite part too. This hiccup in behavior will pass, but my (and your) favorite part will still be there. Love you to pieces.

Such a big boy

See you soon.