dear baby sam,
today you turned two months old! i've said this to your big bro pretty much since the day he was born, but time sure flies. it goes by even faster these days, now that i'm tryin' to keep up with two! we've had some ups and downs, but i think we've finally started to figure life out as a family of six and it just keeps getting better.
your second month on earth was much better than your first month here. i blame myself for the first month. it's not that it was bad or anything, i just made the huge mistake of not trying to figure you out better, so for the first month you were overly-tired, which resulted in fussiness. i wouldn't even say that you were too terribly fussy, you just seemed uncomfortable most of the time. i thought the discomfort you were so obviously experiencing was due to gas. turns out i just wasn't doing the things you needed. i feel so guilty, and SO bad for you that you went that whole month on very little sleep, no schedule or routine, probably as uncomfortable as all get out. seriously, mother of the year (or at least of the month) definitely didn't go to me! ;)
good news is, we figured you out (or i did, anyway). i read a few pages (seriously, just a few) of secrets of the baby whisperer, and it basically changed both our lives. i'm just sorry i didn't read it the day we brought you home. i had the book in my nightstand since before finn was born, but for some reason i just never pulled it out. lazy me. the part of the book that helped us was the test she has the reader take about what kind of baby you have. i took the test, we determined that you are a "touchy baby," i did the things she recommends for a touchy baby and voila! seriously, it worked like a charm in no less than a day. i kept thinking to myself, "this has to be a fluke, there is no way that changing those few simple things could change your life, and mine," but here we are, about a month later and you are a 100% different baby. you are happy and content and so easy to be around as long as we do what you need. and i mean hello, isn't that my job as a mom - to figure you out and do what you need? yes, it is. :)
as a touchy baby, you are very sensitive to external stimuli. you are not a fan of bright, blinding lights, you get easily distracted by the tv, loud music, strangers all up in your grill. ;) you like to nap in your crib, swaddled, with the shutters closed and a white noise machine on. you are particularly fond of the "ocean" sound on your sound machine. probably because the crashing waves sound like what you heard for 9 months in my belly. :) for the first whole month of your life, i thought you weren't a very good sleeper (day or night), but it was my fault, because i had you napping in the pack-n-play, on my chest, in the swing, bouncer, carseat. you actually do like sleeping in your carseat, but the rest....nada! you just like the comfort of your crib, and i can't say i blame you! i sleep best in my bed, why wouldn't you?! needless to say, you'd be awake for hours at a time during the day (like sometimes, 4+ hours!) and i always wondered why you weren't sleepy! turns out you were extremely sleepy. i think you spent month two catching up on all that missed sleep, because now you sleep a ton! we have to watch your cues very carefully, and if we do, you go down for naps and bed easily, but if we miss them it takes some rocking and/or a bottle to get ya down. no biggie though, at least we now know that you are, indeed, a good sleeper. :)
you are extremely patient with your big brother, and i have a feeling you're gonna be a tough little guy. let's face it, you're going to have to be with finn running around! if i turn my head for two seconds he is laying on top of you, giving you all sorts of loves. one thing is for sure - finn loves you more than you will ever know! it melts my heart to watch him with you, and i pray each day that you will grow to love him as much as he loves you. :)
a few things about you as a two-month-old:
-you have a very strong neck, and hold your head up incredibly well for your age. finn's neck was never this strong at 2 months.
-you are very alert and happy just after you've been fed, as long as you've been fed enough! i swear you could eat all day long!
-you smiled early on (a little before 4 weeks) and have smiled every day since. you love the sound of mom, dad and grandma cindy's voice and smile whenever we talk to you! we love it.
-you eat every 3 hours. first you nurse, then you drink between 2 and 4 oz of formula. apparently my milk isn't enough for you! i was certain that you'd be off-the-charts-HUGE since you eat so much, but you were just slightly above average. that was a relief for me to hear, since i was convinced you were on the path to obesity as a 2-month-old. haha ;)
-after eating, you like to stay awake for 30-45 minutes and play, then it's back to bed.
-you've been sleeping between 6 and 8 hours at night, on average. mama sure does love those long stretches! does wonders for us both.
-we finally took you back to the hospital for your hearing test. you passed, but it took us a looooong time to get you to pass. haha nothing at all wrong with your ears, you were just wide awake, hungry, had a blow-out, etc and those are not ideal conditions for that test. it was a pain, i won't lie, i'm just relieved you passed!
-you like looking at lights (christmas lights, the rope lighting in our house) as long as it's not too bright. you are not a fan of the sun! i think you must have your dad's sensitive eyes.
-you like to lay on your playmat during play time, but only for 15 minutes or so. if we go too much longer than that you start to get fussy. you aren't a fan of the swing or bouncer.
-you are incredibly portable, as long as you've been fed. we rarely hear a peep out of you when you're in your carseat!
-you aren't a fan of big crowds. i think unfamiliar faces must make you nervous/scare you.
-you like to know that i'm nearby (or dad, if he's the one taking care of you). if we leave you on your playmat and you can't hear/see/sense we are nearby, you panic. i kinda like this...it means you like us! ;)
-i think you might be a momma's boy, but who knows! i would love it if you were.
we went to the doctor yesterday and you are doing incredibly well. as i mentioned above, i was certain you were going to be huge. in fact, i've been stressing about it for weeks now! seriously, you eat so much, and some of your clothes are even too small. turns out all that worrying was for nothing though! here are your stats:
height: 23 3/4 inches (80th percentile)
weight: 12 pounds (59th percentile)
head circ.: 38 1/2 cm (18th percentile)
i'm thinking that the reason some of your clothes don't fit is because you're so tall! it was a relief for me to hear that you aren't, in fact, on the road to childhood obesity. ;) jk.
you started your immunizations yesterday. it's no fun, i know, but it is a necessary part of keeping you healthy (we hope so, anyway!). you weren't a fan of those darn shots. screamed bloody murder!! it was so sad to hear. you calmed down shortly after, though, and did pretty well the rest of the day, considering what had been done. you did scream a few different times throughout the evening, but not for too long. breaks my heart to see you in so much pain. :(
anyway mr. samuel james, i just wan't you to know how happy i am that you are part of our family. i'm sure you sometimes wonder in that tiny baby head, "why did i agree to come to this family?? they are crazy! what is up with this finn character, always laying on top of me and kissing me all the time? and this person...what's her name? mom? yeah, why did it take her a month to figure out what i do and don't like? some mother she is! and dad...is that his name? i guess he's alright. he usually just smiles at me and gives me food to keep my happy. i like him okay." haha i'm sure that's what you're thinking most of the time! but even though you have only been a part of our family for 2 months, i can't imagine life - or our family - without you! you have made being a mother of 2 humans surprisingly easy, and for that, i say thank you and i love you. i love you more than you'll ever know dear boy.
love,
mom
No comments:
Post a Comment