Christian: 2 Months

Some of you may remember this post when Daphne was 2 months old. How could I not repeat the pose with Christian?

Christian, 10-31-11












Daphne, 2-24-08














Christian was more excited about dressing like a flower than his big sister had been. He was cooing at me the entire time.

Speaking of cooing, I love that our little 2 month old loves to chit chat. When he's awake and his tummy is full, he is content to lay on the floor and talk to anyone who is listening. He very rarely gets too upset, even when his big sis is laying across his stomach. Sometimes in the evenings he'll be fussy, but even then, thanks to the 5 S's from The Happiest Baby on the Block, he is pretty easy to soothe. Magical.

We weighed him today and he weighs 10lbs 10 oz. Almost exactly 3 lbs heavier than his birth weight of 7lbs 11oz. He can still wear newborn clothing, but I have him mostly in 0-3 month or 3 month sizes since his gigantic, cloth diapered buns fit better into those larger clothes. Sometimes I want to put him in a disposable just so I can put him back into those tiny newborn clothes.

I love taking care of this happy little dude.











2 months

Happy

I'm so thankful we had Daphne first and Christian next. Christian is such a good baby; I would have thought all babies were so calm and laid back, and I would have prided myself on my amazing mothering skills to have produced such a gem of a child. Having the Daphinator next would have shocked me senseless and I probably would have been shut away in the attic as David's crazy wife who no one talks about anymore.















I love Daphne, bless her screaming little heart.

Anyways, I say that in part because Daph was very slow to smile as a baby. I don't know why she was so unhappy with us, but she didn't smile until she was at least 8 weeks old and then would only smile once a week or so. If we were lucky.

So it makes my heart happy that this little guy smiled right at 6 weeks, and even smiles multiple times in one day.















I hardly know what to do with all the happy energy floating around our house.

Friends. Possibly.

In case you were wondering how Daphne felt about her baby brother, this photo really sums it up:















He's a playmate, all shiny and new, brought home just for her.

Besides listening to his heart she was also giving him shots. (I was confused on how she thinks she knows what shots are since I think she's only had one shot in her life back when she was 3 months old.)

Daph was telling me the other day that someday Christian will grow up and she can play with him. For now, as soon as she sees him on the floor, she brings over a toy or two and contentedly plays right next to him.















I hope Christian will grow to like her just as much someday, since the looks on his face right now are generally of fear and trepidation as he anticipates getting shots or any other manner of actions that intrude on his personal space.















We'll keep you posted.

I Miss My Brain, Part II

Remember when I said Christian was doing so well napping lately?

Hahaha, joke's on me.

Except I'm not really laughing because I don't think I have the energy to muster up any actual laughter.

I think he decided he wants to be just like his big sister and never sleep. I tell him, baby Christian, sleeping helps your brain grow and if you want to go to Yale someday like Rory Gilmore you need to sleep so you can be smart. Then he looks at me, wrinkles up his forehead and pukes down the sleeve of my last clean shirt. But at least he gets my Gilmore Girls reference since we had season 4 playing the entire time we were in the hospital having him.

The other night he didn't go to bed until 4:30 in the morning (and then was up for the day at 6:15) AND he's decided daytime napping is for babies. Apparently he doesn't realize that he IS a baby and he should delight in the opportunity to sleep whenever he wants to.

Daph needs to stop whispering in his ear because I'm pretty sure she's the one giving him the sleeping tips.

Christian: Month One

It's been just over a month since he joined us, but oh my does it feel like 5 years. Not in a bad way, just in the way where time has no end...night and day are the same; the morning comes and I feel like it was never night. That newborn time zone.

We're slugging through the newborn nighttime. Christian eats around 11, 2 and 5, but maybe he'll think about dropping the 2AM feeding soon? I would like that. He is the slowest eater ever and takes about an hour before he's done. That hour goes mighty slowly at 2 AM. Some nights he thinks it's fun to stay awake between the 2 and 5 feeding. It's not fun, baby. Honest.

Daytime naps are getting better. We follow the wonderful routine brought to us by The Baby Whisperer and he has adapted to it so well. He eats every 3 hours and is doing such a good job learning how to put himself to sleep at nap time.

Evenings are rough, mostly because I'm trying to do the evening crabby hours and bedtime routines alone. David had two weeks off, but now he's back and working loads of overtime. Thank you to the protesters downtown who are making him work noon to midnight this week. Nothing like protesting corporate America and how much money they make by giving the police a bunch of overtime cash. But, David says he feels badly that I've been doing the 24 hour shift by myself so much lately that he feels he needs to buy me some gifts. I think he feels badly that my face looks so haggard and my eyes look glazed over. So I don't say no to gifts. Nope.

It's hard to say much about the personality of a 1 month old, but so far Christian seems pretty laid back and calm. This morning I set him in the infant seat so I could take a shower and he just sat there and stared at the wall the entire time without making a peep. Last week we had to take Christian to the doctor and so left Daphne with my sister. As we were sailing down the freeway I told David that it's strange to drive with a child who is making no noise. Suddenly I had a minor panic moment because I thought maybe we had forgotten to bring him. I checked his car seat real quick and he was there, just relaxed and quiet. After having a firstborn who acted like the world was ending if you ever even tried to put her down, this is like a miracle. As long as his basic needs are met, he seems to be a pretty relaxed guy. Hallelujah and amen.

Maybe I will survive this journey with two.

1 week























1 month























And for good measure, Daphne, 2 and 3/4 years

1st Patch of the Year

This was how thrilled Christian was with his first pumpkin patch trip:












Snug as a bug in the Moby Wrap, wearing a tiny pumpkin hat. Life is good for the baby.

Daphne LOVES the pumpkin patch. And the mud puddles, sticks, dirt and tractors.
















































If you ask her, she will like to tell you how she held Christian at the pumpkin patch.













































If you ask Christian, he will tell you how he was squished by his ever-loving sister at the pumpkin patch.


















Life as usual.

Just Read the Shirts

In case you were confused on their positions in our family, we've labeled them for you: