Month 1-2

Month #2: Our sweet boy is developing a personality. His coos and smiles brighten our days.

Smile- I love, love, love his sweet little smile. That smile melts my heart, especially when it's in response to my smile. He was super happy on Halloween and smiled all day. I think it was because he was so proud of his outfits. He was a skeleton for the day and Abraham Lincoln at night. Each day he smiles more and more though, which is so exciting. We've been able to catch his smile on camera too but the sounds he makes when he coos makes the smile even better.

Play mat- One of my teacher friends gave us a play mat at one of the showers. It has a little toy bar on it as well as a piano that plays different songs when you touch a key. He loves to lay on it during the mornings (he's a morning person) and stare at the toys. He started to grab at the toys at about 2 1/2 months though, which is so rewarding to see. Sometimes he will even hold onto them for a little bit before letting go. The music always makes him pause when his legs touch the keys. It seems as if he knows what he is doing. His smiles and coos are so cute in the morning while he's playing. Even though I would love to sleep longer, his sweet, playful demeanor in the morning makes me want to spend every second watching him.

Tummy time- He doesn't like tummy time that much unless he's on OUR stomachs. During this time he does a great job at getting his little chicken legs underneath him. If there is something near him on which he can push off he will and he will scoot forward. However, his arms aren't really strong yet. He can lift his head up and keep it pretty stable for a while before his loses it's strength and has been doing this for a while. While being on his stomach there's something about it that he doesn't like.

Gas- At the beginning of the month, we experienced some more gas. I have had ups and downs trying to figure out what I'm eating to upset him. I'm no longer eating onions and I'm limiting myself on spicy things, tomatoes, broccoli, beans, and other things that may produce gas. Gas drops have been our friend off and on this month though.

Food/Weight- He got weighed at his 1 month check up and hadn't gained any weight (well 0.5 oz... to 7 lb 15.5 oz) since the last time we went and that was about 2 weeks prior when he was at 7 lb 15 oz. However, we do attribute some of the problem to the fact he had a messy diaper the last time he was weighed. Even so, he didn't gain that much weight even if we take off a few more ounces for the dirty diaper. As a result I was asked to do a little changing up of the feeding routine to see if he would gain some weight. Even though he seemed to be eating the entire 30 minutes on one side, he might have been suckling and wasn't making a fuss about it afterwards. We changed him over to where he would eat on both sides and a week later and he gained 6 oz (8 lb 5.5 oz)! For weight he was in the 4th percentile at his one month appointment. Although I know that someone has to be in the lower parts of the percentiles to make them so we got a little worried to know that he wasn't growing. I don't need or necessarily desire for him to be in the 99% for weight, but I do want him to continue to grow. We went back the next week and he went up to 8 lb 10.5 oz and was in the 2nd percentile, but he was traveling along a new percentile line, so our pediatrician said she felt better about his weight. Through the month he decided he would even increase his feeding time. Sometimes he would eat for 45 minutes. Now I don't know how much of that he was actually getting milk on each side, but he was happy suckling if not! When we went back for his 2 month appointment on December 4th, he was 9 pounds 6 ounces. He grew but he's still little. 

Swaddling- From the beginning we've known that he has a love/hate relationship with being swaddled. Even in the womb he had his hands by his face and nothing has changed. He LOVES having his hands close. Now swaddling a little guy who likes to move his hands is quite a challenge. "Catch the hands" is a game he loves to play and often wins. Even so, we swaddle him because he feels safe and falls asleep soon after he realizes that. One morning I looked over into the bassinet and saw that he got one hand free. He started smiling and was so proud of himself. He loves to have his left hand in a fist in the air, in a superhero pose, so many times that's the one that gets free. Sometimes while he is crying all it takes is to hold his hands down on his chest and he calms down.

Paci- When a child has a pacifier, there most likely are stories. Sometimes they take a tumble to the floor and bounce. Sometimes they land face up and make me sigh a sigh of relief, while other times they land on Maverick or on the floor as if saying "I'm ready to be washed." One morning I woke up and saw that he didn't have his pacifier in his mouth but he was happy so I didn't worry about it. However, I decided to look closer and I saw the pacifier laying in his ear! I guess he thought that would soothe his ear during the night. Through the month he seemed better able to soothe himself without it because we would hold his hands down, but he loves it especially when he's gassy.

People- He loves people and being held. I think he knows when he's not at home because he is always EXCELLENT when we are around other people. This is good too because other people love him. They always comment about how cute he is.

Acne- It's funny to write about how people think he's cute because I always question whether or not people are being serious. After talking to others, people say they don't really comment on babies that aren't cute. He had a bit of acne for about a month or so. I tried Vaseline, washing his face, and putting breast milk on it. I even read about a lettuce bath but was a little afraid to try it out because I just thought it was interesting. I was sad because I wanted to take pictures but was embarrassed. I even made a comment about removing the acne in his 1 month pictures on the computer. Jeremy didn't want to because he said we need to remember our son as he was not as I wanted him to be. My insecurity extended though and when we would be around other people, my first comment would be don't judge the acne. He's starting to grow out of it now though and it cleared up throughout the month. We wonder if it's detergent of some people that have held him though because it will pop up at random times after people have held him. I really do love him acne or not though, I just am sad that he has it.

Firsts

Since we were asked to keep him away from the public for 6 weeks, we did, but then we slowly started introducing him to the outside world this month with places like Costco, Target, and Publix during non-peak hours.

Dinner out- The first few places we took him to were (other than the Costco trip) Zoe's Kitchen, Zaxby's (a trip with Miriam/Patton), Burger 21, Chili's, and then to Ted's Montana Grill.

Grocery store- Publix where we piled things around the carseat, which was in the buggy.

Trip to Jonathan and Kristi's house- October 29, 2014 (with Gary-ate dinner) and then November 5, 2014 (with Cindy- Jonathan was out of town- got massages/ate dinner). The family loves holding him but their dog Pretzel is jealous.

Halloween- October 31, 2014- He didn't really go anywhere other than to the houses of family, but he enjoyed dressing up.

Wedding- November 8, 2014- The wedding was for Ansley Cash and Jonathan Waters and was outdoors in Watkinsville in the late afternoon. It was a little chilly and Jeremy and Jonathan sat in the back with him all bundled up. The reception was in a barn without heat. It was cool in there too but we kept him bundled up. He slept most of the time. Cindy and Jonathan held him most of the time. 

Church- November 9, 2014 I didn't want to put him in the nursery since he was only 6 weeks and 3 days old. He sat under the sound booth. All of Jeremy's tech friends and other staff members oohed and awed at him in his carseat. We didn't take him out of it while we were there.

Trip to Providence (Jeremy's school)- November 13, 2014 I wasn't feeling well (I had strep) and I didn't want to get him sick so Jeremy took him to school. He got to take a tour of the school and got to be loved on by everyone who saw him.