Sunday, May 25, 2014

2 months old!


I cannot believe that, as I type this, my child is almost 10 weeks old!  The time has flown by, and although his 2 month doctor appointment got pushed back to 5/28, I wanted to go ahead and share Mr. Miles' monthly update before it's time for the next one.

We've come a long way in the past month, and the best way to describe it is that Miles is more of a person than just a baby now.  He recognizes us and interacts with us, and feels comfort when we snuggle him when before he seemed to see us as caretaker #2 and the milk machine.  He thinks that we're pretty hilarious, too, and hearing that little laugh-squawk when we play is pretty much the best thing ever.  He is still what the books call a "spirited baby", which basically means he is easily pissed off.  We're much more equipped to deal with it now, and the fits are not as long or frequent, but heaven forbid someone hold him in a way that he doesn't like, stop the car at a red light, or interrupt his feeding for a burp!

I'm not sure what he weighs now, but he's definitely getting heavy and building some baby fat rolls on his little thighs and arms.  He remains tall for his age, and has long outgrown his newborn onesies and sleepers.  He is still (barely) skinny enough for the pants and shorts, though, and most 0-3 month clothes are pretty loose around the middle.  When people see him for the first time, they usually say that he's long and really good at holding up his own head.  We walk and bounce around all the time, and he rarely loses control of it now.  The only thing he may not be on track with is picking it up like a turtle during tummy time - instead he looks to the sides or sucks his fingers and frowns at us.

Here are some more 2 month tidbits:
  • The books and apps say that Miles should be starting to learn his name soon, and we should use it all the time.  We're trying to get better about that so he doesn't think his name is Buddy or Doodle Bug.  Right now he still doesn't seem to know that "Miles" is him.
  • He is starting to do more tracking of sounds and objects when they're outside of his field of vision, but especially if the object in question is me or Nick.  He notices the dogs sometimes, but they aren't yet fascinating to him.
  • Nap time has become a daily struggle for me.  He takes a pretty predictable morning nap (I like to say it's between first and second breakfast) but the afternoon and evening naps that babies his age need are not consistent.  This child fights going to sleep, and gets fussier and louder as the hours pass.  I've found that swaddling and rocking in his dark bedroom often works, but the transfer to his cosleeper often results in two bright brown eyes staring into the baby monitor within 10 minutes.  That's why I spend so much time in the recliner in Miles' room, and am really up to date on Facebook and the Huffington Post.  Do any of you parents have sleep training tips?  I think we're getting to that point, and he needs to be able to fall asleep on a mattress. 
  • Night time has gotten better since last month, and now he wakes up around 3 to 3:30 for a 20 minute feeding and then again between 6 and 7.  We've been trying to make bedtime happen around 8-9pm as opposed to 10:45, and it has been a struggle resulting in an extra night feed around 1:00 and a really sleepy mama.  I am considering waking him up for a "dream feed" before I go to sleep, but I'm scared that I'll end up with a fit on my hands instead.  
  • June 3rd will be Miles' first day at Miss Bloomingdale's Academy in Las Colinas.  I go back to work in the mornings for two weeks, and he'll start going full time on June 16th.  I am REALLY worried about how he's going to adjust, and have definitely cried some tears already when I think of him wondering where we are or being unable to fall asleep in a room that's not dark with white noise.  However, my good friend's son is already in the infant room there and we've heard nothing but good things, so I know he'll be in good hands and in the end will probably get a lot more stimulation than he would at home with me.  I do miss my work, and still find being at home all day to be very very tough.  
  • Because I don't like sitting at home, we go run errands around town just to get out of the house, and it usually goes pretty well now that I quit caring about what people will think if my baby cries for a minute.  Sometimes we have to abort the mission and go home, but usually I can time it to where the car ride lulls him to sleep or he will ride in his ring sling or Baby Bjorn carrier and look around.
  • On that note, I am trying to train Miles to get used to being worn since he hates his carseat if he is awake and it is not moving vigorously.  We have a ring sling and a Baby Bjorn carrier that he will tolerate, and I'm hopeful that we can forgo the stroller/carseat combo more often.
 Nordstrom has some very nice nursing facilities :)
  • Miles is also starting to take notice of his toys, and changing diapers often turns into play time.  His favorite thing is his teddy bear, whom I've named Mr. Beans, and he likes to feel how soft the fur is and for it to "boop" his nose and cheeks .  He also likes his big dragonfly with crazy wings and a smiling face, a string of plastic rings in bright colors, and the animals that hang from his activity gym.  His other favorite games are peekaboo with Daddy (he doesn't seem to care if I do it) and what we call Airplane Baby where he "flies" around the house like Superman.  He also enjoys the baby in the mirror in his room.


That's all for now!  Just for fun, here are some photo shoot outtakes: