"You have a first grader!"

...is what the pediatrician said when he saw how big Whit had gotten since his two week visit. Whit weighed in at a little over 13 lbs. (about 70th percentile) and was in the 50th percentile for length and head circumference. So hooray, we haven't been feeding him too much! The doc and nurse were also pretty surprised that Whit's been sleeping the night through most nights, has been rolling over for weeks (Dr. said that's a 4-month milestone!), and how strong he is trying to stand up. Everything was looking really good for our visit and then... the shots.

Whit (and us) actually did pretty well considering. He didn't care for the sugar water rotavirus vaccine, didn't even mind the first shot, but shots #3 and 4 pissed him off! He had been such a happy baby while we were waiting to see the doctor, it broke our and the nurse's hearts to see him so upset. The nurse was so sad as soon as she was done she cuddled and apologized to Whit. Ben said she was pretty close to crying, too. Oh! I can't imagine having that job!

He only cried for a couple of minutes and calmed down, but didn't sleep. I was shocked! My sisters and I all require a nap after something traumatic, so I was hoping Whit had inherited that trait. He took a few catnaps the rest of the night, but once the fever started coming it was inconsolable. I had been waiting to see if he would even get a fever before giving him any baby Tylenol, but I know better now. Next time I'm giving it to him as soon as we leave the doctor's office, before he gets a chance to feel feverish!

Happy Two Months!

First, here's Whit's one month old picture. In the chaos, I did manage to take a few, just haven't had time to blog. Priorities, folks! And here he is at two months. What a difference four weeks make! 

I adore the fact he looks like he's doing the Popeye dance! 

At two months, Whit...

...weighs in at about 12 lbs. (I'm guessing here, but we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we'll have some accurate measurements soon.)

...smiles A LOT! And may even be trying to laugh, we can't tell if his new grunt or his sounding like he's gasping is about to become giggles, but he's definitely up to something.

...is a morning baby. He is his happiest in the morning and any time he's on his changing table. But around 6:00 happy baby goes away and leaves behind a grumpy little man. 

...loves car rides and our walks around the neighborhood, when he stays awake for them. Out of nearly twenty walks, he's only been awake for three and he was a big fan. Car rides? Fuhgetaboutit, this kid is out in about two minutes of being in a car. (Totally gets that from me)

...is a big boy! He's graduated to size 2 diapers and 3 months sized clothes. Some brands I'm putting him in the 3-6 months size. He's not quite long enough or big enough in the belly for them, but his shoulders are huge! We may have a future linebacker on our hands.

...refuses to take a pacifier. Alas, those days are long gone.

...loves being held, on your shoulder, all the time. This week I gave up and bought yet another baby carrier. This time a backpack-style front carrier and he loves it. This has helped tremendously with the 6-8:00 cranky time and my back is so grateful. 

...is a champion sleeper at night. Last night he slept for 12 hours straight!!! He's also a fantastic self-soother. It only took two nights of letting him cry it out (only for two minute intervals) until he could put himself to sleep at night. 

...is amazingly strong and coordinated. He's rolling over tummy to back a lot now, and finally in front of Ben. He acts like he may roll over from back to tummy any day now. He's held toys we put in his hand for a long time and occasionally brings them to his mouth. This morning his was batting the animals on his activity mat and for once I was sure it was on purpose. He holds his head up almost the entire time he's being held and a lot when he's on his tummy on the floor.

...his favorite toys are: Zoey, our Boston; his key ring of keys, a bunch of different colored links, his activity mat, and a toy giraffe that "talks" to him. I've never been a great puppeteer and his giraffe kinda sounds like Santa Claus, thankfully Whit doesn't mind. 

...his favorite things to do are: me swiping a tissue over his face, playing "tasty baby" (me "eating" him up with kisses), bath time!, being outside especially if it's windy, and listening to music (and occasionally Mama singing along and dancing-- this was how I managed to cook dinner the other night).

Mama is...

...not looking forward to tomorrow's doctor visit. Shots! Eek!

10.6.12

{baby facepalm}

Dear Whit,

Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and hope I hear you cry soon, because I want so badly to snuggle you.

Stress, stress, and more stress.

The past two weeks have been pretty close to a nightmare. I will say thank God Whit has been fine! He's the only one that's been fine lately and he really has been blessing for the rest of us to delight in while things got rough.

5 weeks!

Yesterday Whit was five weeks old and to celebrate he rolled over from his belly to back... three times!

When they say "do this" they mean it, and more advice to ignore...

Woo, I had a rough weekend! I had been wondering what the baby blues were exactly and I got hit hard the past couple of days. One day (can't remember which now) it was so bad once Ben got home from work I handed him Whit, ate, and promptly took a shower and cried the whole time. Thankfully I feel much better today! I think it was a combination of not enough sleep, Ben being at work a lot right after paternity leave, one of our dogs, Foster, hurt his eye again and the vet bill was outrageous and there's a chance we may be moving again. Oh, and I can't figure out clothes right now. It was all just too much to deal with at once. So what have I learned?