2 months

12 pounds 6 ounces
23 1/8 inches long
wearing size 0-3 months, some 3-6 months for the length
love the kick and play- your feet just go non stop in it
very vocal- always talking to us
nursing every two hours, sometimes longer at night
recognize Mom and Dad
noticing Mingo and Haplo
responding to us- we read you stories and make fun noises that you love
playing with toys- look at them and enjoy them hanging above your head

Charles,

I am so amazed by how much you have grown.  I look at you and  you have really become a little baby, not just a newborn anymore.  You have really awakened in the past few weeks and are starting to play with us and respond.  It's a whole new world interacting with you and it's just so much fun.  We sing and giggle and just love on you.  Your Dad and I are so happy to be your parents.  Sometimes we really think we're getting the hang of this, although you still keep us on our toes. 

Santa Claus is coming to town

I wonder what Charles wished for from Santa Claus. 

Christmas at home

It was fun to decorate our new home for Christmas.  I didn't buy anything new this year so we worked with what we have.  Next year I definitely want to change up the decor and make it more whimsical.  I can't wait to share Chrismtas with Charles and help create the magic for him.         

 

Derek's company had a work party and they had a decorate your own wreath table.  Derek brought me home the goodies and I put them all together.  I hung this on our pantry door.  Derek said he chose the two gingerbread people because they represent us with their hearts.  Isn't he a sweetheart?!

 

Our stockings were hung on the mantle with care.  I found those darling deer at an estate sale, same as the wreath.  I think I'm going to spray paint them next year a bright red and put them where Charles can see them.  But this year it was a bit of a rustic theme with the birdhouse and woodsy Santa.  So, I know the stockings don't match but they are more of the direction we'll be headed in over the next few years.  

It was fun to decorate this railing.  I enjoyed being able to see it from below rather than being hidden in the stairwell.  Again, we'll probably have different ribbon next year but I love the look.

 It was hard finding a spot for the tree in the house.  We put it in this corner but next year we'll have built ins here so who knows what we'll do.   This is the first year we put the santa hat on top of the tree and I just love it.  It will definitely go with our new whimsical and magical decor theme we're headed in. 

7 weeks

milestones:
responsive interaction
smiling

This week has been a big one!!  Charles is now responding to us.  We can play with him and he watches us and it is just the best thing in the world.  He likes all different noises and tickling and just plain attention.  When he's awake we're loving it.

His reflux has also gotten pretty bad.  He'll spit up while nursing, immediately afterwards or an hour later.  And he's got quite the projection.  It hits the floor, all down our backs or the back of the couch.  We're definitely glad we got leather couches and wood floors at this point!

My little clown fish

Have you heard about Nemo?  That's my mom's favorite children's movie.  She keeps putting me in this onesie.

 

I know, it's so embarrassing.  

 

Sometimes I pretend to be asleep so she'll quit talking whale to me.  

6 weeks

changes this week:
-he's been sucking on his hand/fingers much less
-growing pains, the poor thing will just cry in his sleep sometimes.  clean diaper, full belly, just growing pains.  Thankfully we can soothe him most of the time

milestones:
-getting better neck control
-more arm control
-can follow us around the room with his eyes and sometimes his head
-he's gotten big enough to do a new nursing hold-which is awesome for us-no pillow needed.  It's not quite perfect yet but once he grows just a bit more we'll be golden on the go.

 This was a big week for us.  Charles and I went out by ourselves several times.  On Tuesday we went to a le leche league meeting.  I'd gotten so tired and while I know I'm not anywhere close to giving up breastfeeding I was struggling a bit.  It was really nice to get out and be around others that are having some of the same struggles.  It was also nice to have our first outing be in a place where I could nurse if I needed to, which, of course, happened.  There are weekly meetings during the day that I'll probably go to while I'm on maternity leave and there are also monthly meetings during after work hours that I can go to when I'm back at work.

On Wednesday we headed to the grocery store.  There were some things that we just needed.  It's hard for Derek to stop on the way home from work because he's usually so tired.  The weekends are for chores and sleep, so grocery store is low on the list.  Charles and I did pretty well.  He made it about thirty minutes before getting fussy.  I checked out while he was crying and they were so helpful.  Without even asking a woman put all the groceries in a cart and walked me to my car.  When Charles took a breath I tried to chat with her a little bit.  She was really sweet and loaded up my car, I attempted to help and she said nono, put the baby in the car set, I've got this.  I love how friendly people are and I"m so thankful for their help.

On Friday we headed to Target.  I wanted to finish up Derek's stocking gifts and was looking for a few other things.  Shopping with Charles is a very different experience.  There's no milling about.  It's go in and get what you need before he gets fussy.  I'm still babywearing which is very helpful.  He did end up getting fussy in the store so I slipped in an empty aisle and set him up for nursing while in the sling, covered him and me up with the tail and headed to check out.  It was definitely a first.  The only open line was a male.  The lines with a female employee were atleast two deep!  So, I sucked it up and went in the male line.  It was an older male so I figured maybe he'd understand.  And then two males got in line behind me to check out.  We handled it though.  He finished nursing halfway through check-out and I put everything back together, set him back up in the sling and we were off.  It's really weird nursing.  My breasts have stopped being sexual when I'm in Mom mode.  So I"m not as conservative about nursing as I thought I would be, and when Charles is crying and I know he needs to nurse or nursing will help-you better bet we're gonna nurse!

that's right-our baby can sit up by himself.  look at that cuteness. the chubbiness kills me. I could just eat him up.

I've also clung to the mantra of sleep when he sleeps.  I was sitting on the couch with him in the sling and he kind of leaned to one side and dozed off.  The pillows were right next to us so I leaned over and we took a nap.  It was fabulous.  I didn't have to worry about him falling off the couch or me squishing him or any thing getting in his face.  We've been doing this every day since then and it's been a life saver for my sanity.  I love snuggling with him and the sleep I've gained is wonderful.  

I know this isn't the proper hold, but for laying down it works. 

5 weeks

milestones:

- drinking from a bottle

I didn't grab a weekly picture of our little munchkin this week. Tuesday was a little crazy.  But Charles had a big week between 4-5 weeks old.  Derek gave him his first bottle.  We used tommee tippee's and he took to it just fine and came back to me without a problem.  I've been pumping to go back to work and have a supply.  It's kind of a pain but at the same time, at least Derek gets these moments?  And it will help if I ever decide to have a beer. 

 It was really hard for me to be around for this.  I know it's silly but I felt like I had no more purpose.  I might have cried.  Yes, it's silly.  Thankfully I could look at Derek's pure joy in being able to provide for Charles and nurture him by feeding him and it made me happy.  I mean- look at that face on Derek.  And Charles was looking at him during the feeding- it was pretty amazing.

 I think we should call these weekly updates "photos of Father and Son".  I have got to get on Derek to take more pictures of Mother and Son!!  But I love capturing all these moments of my two guys together.  Some things are getting easier but it's still hard.  Not lots of sleep, he still gets fussy.  But we know what to expect.  We're getting better at soothing him and we know what his cries mean. 

 The ring sling has come in handy so so much.  Derek is learning the joys of baby wearing too.  At night sometimes Derek will wear him to soothe him- it's like swaddling I s'pose but he's so hard to hold once he's swaddled.

 We are planning on giving him a bottle once a week.  So, Derek has given Charles a bottle twice.  He still loves it and we're having no problems.  Thankfully.

 We got our Christmas tree up over the weekend.  It wasn't the easiest thing to decorate for Christmas with our schedules and lack of sleep but we did it slowly over the course of a week or two and now we're all done.  Derek went out to get a tree on Saturday and we decorated it on Sunday.  

how has one month passed already?

~10 pounds
wearing size 0-3 month clothes
nurses every two hours, three at night sometimes if Mom is lucky
loves to be bounced on the exercise ball
like it when Mom and Dad sing to you
head full of hair
gaining eye control and arm control
cutest little chubby body.  you've put on good weight since you've been born.

Dear Charles,
What a wild ride this past month has been.  Derek and I have jumped in to being parents.  It's really hard sometimes but we always end the night saying how lucky we are to have you.  You are such a sweet baby.  You respond to me playing with you and know mine and Dad's voices.  You are starting to pay attention to Mingo and Haplo some but I think they annoy you mostly when the look in at you.  You like to be held and sung to. Our go to songs right now are skidamarink and favorite things.   Sometimes you get fussy but we can soothe you fairly easily.  I'm so surprised by your ability to scream!  You are hot blooded and love the cold air-just like your Dad.  You'll get fussy if you're too hot. So, I'm in long sleeves and pants and you're in a onesie and still hot most of the day.  You make the sweetest noises.  You are always babbling and listening to yourself.  Dad calls you his little terydactyl and you do sound just like one!  We are truly blessed by you and the gift you have given us to be parents.  You have made our hearts grow a little bigger everyday and we love you so much.

Oh Hey

                                                  I'm just chillin here on a Thursday, being adorable.

4 weeks

                      

Likes:

-keeping his parents up at night

-shopping with Mom and Dad

-baby wearing

-the vibrating chair is a big new like this week.  He loves it and it's been so helpful!  It soothes him and he'll also play in it. 

-being bounced on the exercise ball. 

-chilling on the changing table.  It's so funny, he'll be fussing and when you put him on the changing table about halfway through he'll just start kicking and checking things out.  So, we'll just leave him hear sometimes.  I'll do squats right by the table to kill the time and talk to him. 

Dislikes:

-sleeping at night 

-being changed

-a dirty diaper.  He's starting to want to be changed right after dirtying his diaper, a new thing this week. Before, he could have cared less. 

Milestones:

-outgrowing his newborn clothes

-can roll from his stomach to his back (but only on the leather ottoman, not quite during tummy time yet)

Last week was a big one.  Charles had his first growth spurt and it wore Mom out.  He had many, many marathon nursing sessions.  And you can tell!  He's put on sweet little baby fat on his thighs and fingers and he's gotten so much bigger.  I swear he's doubled in size.  He doesn't fit into most of his newborn clothes anymore.  *cry* my little boy is growing up.

precious chubby baby legs

He developed his first case of diaper rash this week.  I had some all natural diaper cream from Ellen that was very helpful.  I hadn't bought any because I was hoping he wouldn't get diaper rash with cloth diapers.  To be honest though, for a bit there we were using disposables maybe once a day or at nights.  The cloth diapers are hard to keep up with sometimes and so sometimes we'd run out before a load was done.  The diaper cream and lots of open air (hanging out on the changing table) has really h helped out.  It's almost gone.

Derek is so sweet with him.  Even when Charles gets fussy Derek is ready with coos to calm him down.

 

Sometimes sleeping with one eye open is necessary, just in case santa comes early for an extra little cute reindeer. 

  

We had our first outing with Charles on Thanksgiving.  We went to Whole Foods to pick up some things and him and I braved going along.  He did wonderfully and so many people wanted to say Hello to the little guy.  He did wonderfully.  I wore the Maya wrap as it's easier to get him in and out of.  I'm still not super confident to just let my hands down but we'll get there.  It doesn't look like it here but there is head support for him.

We had our first walk with him.  There was some nice weather so I put on the moby and we headed out for a walk.  My legs handled it fine and Charles slept most of the way and really really likes the moby.  When I took him out he screamed like he did at birth. 

Gobble Gobble Y'all

Happy Thanksgiving! we're getting take out from whole foods and catching up on sleep and payne pack time today. love to everyone.

3 weeks

Likes:
- being bounced.  but, he doesn't like the bouncy chair.  go figure
-the ring sling.  I've started to wear him in the mornings while I tidy up the kitchen and he enjoys looking around while in it.
-the baby swing
-his black and white stim mobile.  so glad I got this.
-riding in the car seat.

Dislikes:


Stats:
8 pounds 5 ounces
21 3/8 inches

 Milestones:
-he can roll over on his side now
-we sized him up in diapers.  he's wearing the baby g now, not the infant/preemie g diapers.  Hopefully these won't leak as much.
-2 week doctor appointment. Clean bill of health!

Derek went back to work on Wednesday so there has definitely been an adjustment. Everyday I get a better handle on things but it's not easy.  Derek makes my breakfast and lunch which helps a lot.  Putting him down to prep these things usually leads to crying.  And if he's content for awhile it's usually not long enough for me to prep and eat, so I'm very thankful Derek has been helping out with that.

We've given up on trying to switch his nights and days back.  It's just too hard to keep him awake during the day.  Which makes things hard at night.  Derek is definitely sleep deprived.  Charles' tends to be pretty good at night but there is a 2-3 hour window around 2 am that he just won't sleep.  Otherwise he's sleeping and is up every two hours to nurse like clockwork.  Every now and then it's three hours and I feel like I'm in heaven with that extra bit of sleep-though I usually wake up anyways ready for him to nurse.

I had my first solo outing with him when we went to the pediatrician.  It was a bit nerve wracking to not be able to watch him while driving and know he was doing okay.  I might have turned around and poked him to make sure he was moving at a stop light or two.  And the car seat is definitely heavy- we haven't been using the stroller just yet for these short trips.  I am definitely going to have biceps of steel after carrying him around.  Yay!

I'm healing ok.  Every day is a bit different but definitely recovering from the birth.  I'll be ready to go out for a walk when I'm cleared.  I've started to do a few exercised with him in my arms- squats and shoulder presses with him.  So, that's fun and different for us to do and makes me feel good.  Gotta lose the baby weight.  

2 weeks

Likes:
-baths
-being sung to
-hearing different sounds-particularly whale a la Nemo
-pooping in clean diapers
-being swaddled up in the car seat
-sleeping on chests

Dislikes:
-being changed
-sleeping at night

 This was a big week for activities.  He had his first bath.  He didn't like it so much.   He also had his second bath.  He was a much bigger fan of baths the second time around.  He liked to sit in the warm water and was very content.  And we had our first poop in the bath experience! 

 I love the skin to skin time after baths and our little munchkin looks pretty cute in his hooded towel doesn't he?!

 Derek spent some quality time with him teaching him the ways of video games.

 Our first time baby wearing.  The moby made him pretty happy.  I know he's not positioned quite right in this picture, it takes some fiddling and we're getting better at it. 

 More father and son bonding.  Derek is the baby whisperer and they do enjoy their time together.  It's so sweet to see Derek be a Dad.

Our first Tummy time.  The dogs were interested and Charles wasn't a huge fan.  I didn't like it so much either but it's good for him.  It's just hard to see him struggle on the play mat.

 Kent stopped by for a visit and I snapped a quick photo.  Charles' has his nights and days confused so we spent a lot of time this week trying to keep him up during the day so he would sleep at night.  We had some success but it got harder and harder to keep him up during the day.  Kent gave us some advice on how him and Megan dealt with newborn screening, but unfortunately their method of splitting the nights won't really work for us. 

 I do most of the photo taking around here and I usually look like crap.  So, we tried to set up a little photo op for Charles and I.  Of course,  by the time I got ready he was a fussy so we didn't get too many good shots.  And yes, I realize that these diaper covers look ridiculous on him- I was trying to coordinate with him.  They are too big on him now but I'm sure in no time he'll be fitting into them.

 A footie shot.  I'm still rocking my pedicure from when I went with the girls to try to induce labor from the foot massage.  I can't believe how little his feet are and they've already grown so much since birth.  Seriously, he is so much bigger than a week ago.