Our little man is growing up so quickly!! And he gets more and more lovable by the day : ) We absolutely adore the smiles that he gives us now, and love listening to him laugh. He has even gotten better at entertaining himself- I bought a baby mirror from Target the other day, and I am so glad I did. He will sit in front of it and laugh and talk to the "baby in the mirror" for quite some time- it gives me a chance to do the dishes, etc. in the kitchen, while he sits in his pack n' play.
Sean has a tattoo on his neck....
He has been going through growth spurts like they are going out of style- just when we think he will eat on a "normal" schedule, like say every 2-3 hours, he changes his mind, and is hungry pretty much all the time! I am still nursing him, but after almost every nursing I have to supplement with either a bottle of breast milk or a bottle of formula, depending on what I have on hand. After nursing for 20-30 minutes, he drinks about 2-4 ounces of breast milk or formula after that, so the whole eating session lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. And because he is getting hungry every 1-2 hours, he pretty much eats all the time! When I finally get him to nap is about the only time this week when he is not acting hungry or eating. I am hoping he mellows out soon, because we are going through bottles, formula, and pumped breast milk like crazy!!
This was the amount of bottles and breast pumping supplies I went through in less than one day earlier this week...
The doctor says if this doesn't pass soon, it would be ok to put a teaspoon of rice cereal for every ounce of formula he drinks into his bottles. It is supposed to help keep his tummy full longer. I thought it might be a bit early to introduce cereal into his diet, but if doc says so then I guess it's ok!
At his well baby visit today, I was told he weighs 11 pounds 10 ounces, 22.75 inches long and his head is about 15 inches around. He is meeting all his two month milestones- he can lift his head while on his belly (and he holds it up pretty well while I am carrying him), he smiles and coos (and laughs!), he recognizes his parents, and tracks objects moving in the room. I am so proud of our little guy!!
My friend Katie and I (Luke's mommy- Luke is about 3 weeks older than Sean) have been walking in my neighborhood almost everyday now. It is great exercise- we wear the babies in a wrap, and they sleep while we burn calories. We always joke about how we need to figure out how to nurse in the wrap, so we can burn twice as many calories while we walk! LOL. It is soooo nice to have a mommy friend- whenever Sean does something cool, or whenever I am overwhelmed or frustrated, I can call her and she knows exactly what I am going through. Pretty soon we will have more mommy friends- our friend Rachel is due to have her baby girl Brooke any day now. Heather is due to have her baby boy in April. And Bec is due to have her baby boy in June. I can't wait for this summer- we are going to have little ones running around at the BBQ's, and parties with babies at the pool.
Being a mommy has taught me so much- it's amazing how your life changes once a child enters your life. I have learned to slow down, and enjoy the little things. I have learned where my tolerance levels have been daily for certain things. I appreciate hanging out with adults more than ever before. And I appreciate just sitting with my little one and trying to soak up all of his baby goodness, before it's gone.
It's amazing how you can hurry hurry hurry because the baby is sleeping and it's the only chance I will have to wash dishes. Or he just ate so we need to get him in the car seat and to the store and back before he is hungry or fussy. Or he just yawned so I need to hurry and get into the rocker and help him fall asleep or we will miss this nap opportunity and it will take twice as long to put him to sleep.
At the same time, I have learned to slow down- it's next to impossible to make "plans" with a newborn, so I take everything day by day, minute by minute. When I start to feed him, it could take 20 minutes, or it could take an hour- who knows. When I get to the store, if he starts to fuss, I will take him out of his seat and rock him to sleep, so I can finish my shopping without having to listen to his wails and disturb everyone else in the store- but it can turn a 30 minute shopping experience into an hour and a half excursion. And of course, I have learned to love our nursing time- I used to have a hard time with it, because he would dawdle and take 45 minutes to nurse, and then be hungry again in 30 minutes, so I never had a moment to myself. But now, sometimes I just like to sit there in bask in all his innocence and beauty. What an angel : ) I think about how much I love him, about when I was pregnant, and I think about when he gets older- what will he look like, how will he act, what will he like and dislike.
Life is so different now. It's amazing.
Sean gets a bath in the sink before bed, usually every other night....
He looks a lot like his daddy here : )
