Vaught is Two Months!

I can't believe our little guy turned two months old yesterday! Time has flown, but at the same time it feels like I was pregnant forever ago!

Weight: 13 pounds

Length: 23 inches

Two Month Checkup: Vaught is right on target with where he should be at two months. We saw a new pediatrician today, and she was very happy with his developments and measurements. He got three shots and an oral vaccine; right after the shots he screamed for six seconds, then looked at himself in the mirror and giggled. I've given birth to the strangest child! The doctor said we could probably try some solids (rice cereal or oatmeal) when he's about three months old, so she gave me some pointers on incorporating that into his diet. He was asleep before we left the doctor's office and is now napping in his swing. We are very blessed with such a happy baby!

Food: He takes 5-8 ounces at each feeding. We'll introduce solids sometime around three months old.

Back to Breast...Kind Of: A few weeks ago I noticed that I was still expelling breast milk, so out of curiosity, I plopped my boob out in Vaught's face (TMI?) one day just as he was nodding off for a nap but was still smacking his lips for his bottle. He took to the breast like we had never even stopped. I could not believe it. I pulled back to see if he was even getting anything and sure enough, he was. Since then, I make a point to breastfeed at least once a day, at a time where we're both relaxed and in good spirits. Sometimes he'll refuse, which is fine, but most of the time he will drink for at least a few minutes before nodding off or turning his head. The doctor we saw today can't believe he and I are able to do this without him getting an upset stomach or me getting mastitis, but "more power to you!" she told me. Once he's officially in childcare on Monday, I'm not going to do this anymore, but it almost makes me wish I'd never stopped after that first week. There are so many hormones involved with breastfeeding that even though he was doing well, all the chemical changes going on in me were too much to handle at the time. I have not regretted a single decision I have made as a mother, but I almost wish I'd just sucked it up and stuck with the boob.... though I'm thankful to not have to wean him off of anything for daycare!

Sleep: Again, read my post on sleep training if you haven't already. It works. He was getting 7-9 hours from about four weeks old, and for the past week our window has been more like 8-10. A full night's rest for infants is about eleven or twelve hours; we're almost there! But even if he were to sleep the way he is now for a while I wouldn't mind at all, for I am getting more than enough rest! He rarely cries himself to sleep now when we put him down in the drowsy state. He'll babble and coo then drift off.

Clothes: He's officially outgrown size newborn :( He wore his last newborn outfit the day he turned seven weeks old. I washed it and retired it that evening. Most 0-3 clothes still have enough wiggle room for him, and he can wear some 3-6 pieces. Nearly all of his sleepers are 3-6 months for the length; he is so long!

Diapers: I spoke too soon about Huggies and Luvs; Vaught starting leaking out of both of these and I watched several diapering videos to make sure I was doing it right. Back to Pampers we went and they are back on top. He's been wearing strictly Pampers for two or three weeks now and we have not had a leak or a diaper explosion. He's in size 1 still, and I had to buy my first box last Friday. He's got several bags and boxes of size 2 diapers, but I am sending those to his daycare for him to wear there. They might be a tad big on him but will be perfect very soon! I shouldn't have to buy diapers for daycare for a little while!

Developments: Vaught's been able to lift and turn and hold his head since he was born, but now he's getting much more coordinated with it. He loves tummy time and is trying to hard (grunts and all) to push up with his hands. He'll get it before too long! He smiles and giggles; his first real giggle scared him and he began to cry then started giggling again. I so wish we'd caught it on video! He has also taken up Babble, the official language of infants! He will now entertain himself in his swing or on his mat for up to twenty minutes, just babbling and cooing away. I can't get enough of it! He also seems to be noticing us more and will turn to look at us when we talk to him.

Learning the Cries: Contrary to popular belief, YES my child does cry sometimes! They say you'll learn what each of your children's cries mean, and I have learned the three that Vaught has so far...
The Whine: this typically signifies "I'm not getting enough attention" or "I'm hungry." If he doesn't get fed or get some attention within a few minutes, it escalates into...
The Cry of Despair: full-fledged, red-in-the-face, gasping-for-air wailing. He strangles himself sometimes, it's that serious. I don't hear this cry very often, but when I do it breaks my heart.
"Help, I'm in Pain:" I have only just discovered this cry and it was when Lola got really excited one night; I was playing fetch with her and had Vaught in the floor in his Bumbo at the same time. Her tail wags at a speed of about 150mph and she whacked him in the face with it. I'm sure it felt like he got slapped (it hurts us when she hits us in the leg with it!) and he cried for a couple of minutes. It wasn't wailing, but at the same time it was such a desperate sound. I held him to me and "shhhh"ed him for a few minutes and all was well. Lola got a spankin' and hid underneath the kitchen table for an hour.

Likes:
Tummy time
Sitting up (with support)
His Bumbo seat
Bath time
Napping on mommy's chest
Napping in daddy's arms
His swing (BIG thanks to Holly and Jonathan for letting us borrow it!)
Mealtime
Sucking on his hands and fingers
His car seat and riding/strolling. We go out all the time--never a peep out of him.
Lola... except when she slaps him in the face with her tail.
Being sung to & music
His crib...but only at nighttime. With sleep training, he's learned not to cry himself to sleep. He usually babbles then drifts off.
The vacuum... when he's fighting a nap, I just run the vacuum. Problem solved.

Dislikes:
Suck-sucks. I've not completely given up, but I don't force them on him.
Being hot... This is the only time he will cry in his car seat.
Not getting fed within 10 seconds of his "I'm hungry" whine.
Being swaddled... I think we're official done swaddling.
His crib if it's NOT bedtime. He will no longer take daytime naps in there, which is fine. I just put him in his playyard or swing.

Pictures

Our last newborn outfit at 7 weeks old!

Probably  my favorite picture of him... ever.

His half-smirk that is 100% me.

Bathtime with mommy

We've had such an amazing two months with our precious baby boy. We're looking forward to a fun-filled Thanksgiving Day with family tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!