2 Months

Cole is two months old today!  Time flew with Jackson, but the days and weeks have passed even more quickly with Cole.

Cole continues to be a happy and laid back baby and we've thoroughly enjoyed the last month with him.  It's brought lots of growth and many big milestones.  Here are a few:

• Smiling - he started smiling around one month old, but not necessarily in response to us.  Over this past month though, we get big smiles when we get him up in the morning and after naps, and throughout the day. He's especially smiley while being changed, and when he sees you come into focus from across a room.
• Sleeping - we've transitioned him from the Rock and Play to his crib for overnight sleeping, as well as for naps. He takes most naps in his crib, though if he wakes up early and still seems sleepy, I often times hold him and cuddle with him so we can both catch up on Zzz's for a bit, or will use that time to run errands, during which he falls back asleep.
• Schedule - we're on a much more consistent schedule these days, which goes something like this:
• 7:30/8 a.m. - wake up, followed by first feeding (5 oz.)
• 8:30/9 a.m. - first nap
• 10:30/11 a.m. - second feeding (4-5 oz.)
• 11:45 a.m. /12 p.m. - second nap
• 2 p.m. - third feeding (4-5 oz.)
• 3 p.m. - third nap
• 5 p.m. - forth feeding (4 oz.)
• 6 p.m. - forth nap (in his bouncer or our arms, while we eat)
• 7:15 p.m. - bath time (every other night), fifth feeding (often with a top off shortly after), books, songs/cuddles
• 7:45/8 p.m. - bed time
• 2 a.m. - sixth feeding (5-6 oz.)
• 5:30 a.m. - seventh feeding (does not always wake up for this; in fact all of last week and most of this week, he's slept through this, so hopefully this will go away completely soon)
• We used to rock or bounce him to sleep but he started waking up within minutes of us putting him down, so we're working to put him down for naps and bedtime very drowsy, but awake. This seems to work much better, and he's been able to fall asleep on his own.
• His scrawny froggy legs are no more - they're chunking up, especially in the thigh area, which I love.  Jackson always had what I call "butt thighs" (fat rolls that make his thighs look like butt cheeks) and Cole has these now, too.  Love, love, love!
• When he wakes up in the morning and we take him out of his swaddle, he loves to stretch and it's adorable.  His arms immediately fly up above his head while he arches his back. He stays like this for a few minutes while yawning and kicking his legs.  I love to rub his belly and help him stretch, which gets lots of smiles from him.
• He tolerates tummy time well for a few minutes at a time.  His neck is getting very strong and he often uses this strength by arching his back and looking around when being burped.
• While he's not drooling nearly as much as J at this point, we have started to notice some drool when he's concentrating hard on something, typically the spinning bird over one of his bouncers.
• He's started babbling to himself and "talking" to us periodically throughout the day.
• While he's not actually breast feeding much (still tends to fall asleep or lose interest before he'd completely full), his diet consists of all breast milk for the time being (we'll be switching him over to formula before I go back to work at the end of May).  And while pumping can be a bit difficult logistically at times, I've been able to cut back the number of times I have to pump and no longer have to pump after his middle-of-the-night feeding - yay!  And with bottle feeding, it's been so nice to have flexibility over who can feed him, and to know how much he's getting at each feeding.

We had his 2 month check-up this morning, and his latest stats are:

• Weight: 13 lbs even (75%)
• Length: 24.25" (90%)
• Head: 15.7 (75%)

For comparison, his previous stats are here, and Jackson's 2 month stats are here.

Here are a few photos taken over the last month.

Hard to tell from the pic, but his arms were straight out in front of him. 

Love this bear suit.  It's so soft and warm - wish they made them in my size. And this beanie is too cute on him - it was a gift from one of our neighbors.

 

 

Love this snuggle bug, and his unswaddled sleeping positions, to pieces.

 

He started occasionally busting out of his swaddle last week.  I can't believe he actually fell asleep with his arms out!

He gets stronger every day.

Definitely still wobbly, but he tried out the Bumbo for the first time yesterday.  Looking forward to using this more as his neck gets stronger. 

Love how he clasps his hands while he's eating.

Changing table smiles

Apparently he's not a selfie fan...yet.

He waned to be held one day while I was prepping dinner and I remembered that we had a sling he could relax in while I cooked.  Loved being able to see this sweet face while I finished making dinner!

Enjoying a stroll through the neighborhood on a sunny day.

Out of the Mouth of J

 

 

They say kids say the darndest things, and it's no different with Jackson.  I look forward to picking him up from school each day, not just because I miss the heck out of him and want a big hug, but also because I can't wait to hear what he has to say.  And the talking doesn't stop there - he is my chatterbox, talking nearly nonstop until he's in bed falls asleep.

Of course, no conversation is completely without a few "whys?" from J, but it's the stuff between those "whys" that is the best.  I love how his mind works and enjoy seeing how he connects things.

Walking out of school, I mentioned that he should put his artwork in his backpack because it was windy out.  As he did that, he said, "Yeah, we don't want it to wind away!"

When it's cold or rainy outside, the kids play in the gym at school rather than go outside.  The gym was locked one day, so I'm assuming one of the teachers had to go find keys and/or someone to open it.  As Jackson was telling me this, he asked if he could bring his keys to school the next day so that he could unlock the gym doors.  (He has his own set of real keys that he used to carry around, rather than our keys, so we didn't have to worry about losing them.)

He's often extra affectionate while cuddling before bed.  I've mentioned it here before, but because it's not something he says every day, I can't get enough of it when he does say, "Mommy, I love you so so much..."

As Cole, J and I get to my car after picking J up from school, I tell Jackson to stand by the end of my car, just beyond Cole's door, while I put Cole in the car.  I tell him, "stay right here, and don't move a muscle!" so that he doesn't run out into the parking lot.  Recently, I've started to say, "okay, stand here and what should you not do?" and he replies with, "Don't move my muscles!"

Leaving his class each day, there's a huge bookcase in the hallway at school that has tons of books and toys.  J's recently taken notice of it and literally "shops" it for birthday list ideas. He'll leave his classroom and say, "I want to look at toys for my birthday list for a minute".  He consistently shows me the same toys, and has been know to show them to daddy at drop-off in the morning.  I love that he's so excited about his birthday and that he's planning ahead and scoping things out.

My grandma took a bit of tumble a few weeks back (she's recovering well) and we were talking about how she wasn't feeling well (she was sore).  Jackson said, "we can't go see Great Gramma because she might throw up on us...". 

And the best is for last.  While cuddling last night before bed, Jackson, out of the blue, said, "I like Cole. He's such a good baby."  Melted. my. heart.

6-0

We celebrated my dad's big 60th birthday over the weekend, and had a great time.  Jackson has understood the birthday concept for a bit now, but was so excited all week leading up/counting down to the celebration. He even remembered things like the fact that my dad's birthday is actually today, but we were just celebrating it on the 8th because they would be here. 

He talked about singing Happy Birthday, eating cake and ice cream, and celebrating by "putting sprinkles on".  I asked what he was going to put them on and he replied with, "On his birthday".  I think he literally thinks anything birthday related should have sprinkles.  I agree, I must say.

Jackson talked about opening his presents, and of course, my dad allowed him to help.  And even though none of the presents were toys, J had such a blast opening them.

Happy 60th, Dad!  You are an amazing father, husband, and grandpa and we are all so lucky to have you in our lives.  Thank you for always providing fun, humor, crazy dancing and singing (favorites include Deliverance's Dueling Banjos, and the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, to name a few), support and love.

 

 

And here's a short video of Jackson calling Grampa this a.m. to sing Happy Birthday:

 



Bed Time, Bath Time & More

Over the last two weeks, the rough nights with Jackson have gotten much better. I think there's only been one night since we started "Jackson + Mommy Time" that we've had to go back into his room after we've tucked him in.  He looks forward to our time each night, looking at the clock and asking how long until it's time, and then telling me what activity(ies) we'll do during that time. We've also given him extra cuddles during his bedtime routine.  

During one recent bedtime, I was singing our normal songs (Twinkle, ABCs and Row Row Row Your Boat) and Jackson asked, "Does Daddy sing to you before you go to bed".  How adorable is that?  I just love the way his mind works, and all the things he comes up with. I told him that I would ask Corey to, and asked him what song he should sing.  He thought ABCs would be a good song for Daddy to sing to me.

And here's a pic of our sweet toddler.  Has nothing to do with this blog post, but is cute nonetheless.  And, you'd never know it from his expression, but he's enjoying some leftover cake and ice cream from Grampa's birthday, which we celebrated last weekend.

Cole continues to enjoy bath time, and Jackson still loves to help rinse him off.  Here's a short video of Cole in the bath - my favorite part is the end where (I think) it sounds like he's trying to say "Hi!".

Cole's been smiling more and more each day.  He was very happy and smiley this a.m.:

The other day, he wanted to be held while I was prepping dinner and I remembered we had a sling that I could pop him in.  He seemed to enjoy it and I love this shot of him in it.  Seeing this face makes any chore fun.

Big Bro Update

I've been doing a lot of Cole updates, and figured some big bro updates were long overdue.

Jackson has continued to be a great big bro, often giving Cole kisses and "helping" however he can.  When I pick him up at daycare, he often rocks the car seat when I put it down to give him a hug.  He still loves to turn on the bouncer music for Cole, and is very gentle with him.  He also loves to help rinse Cole in the bath, and has even held the bottle for Cole during a feeding.

Last week, I was giving Cole a bath and waiting for J to finish his shower with Daddy so that he could rinse Cole.  Cole was crying a bit as the water had gotten too cold, and J heard him and came running saying, "he needs me!".  Adorbs.

He's had a few rough nights of needing extra cuddles in the middle of the night, and one night he became so upset that his crying made his cough flare up, and subsequently caused him to throw up.  After some extra cuddles (and a change of clothes and sheets), we had a talk about only calling us in if he's really hurt or sick, and that we love to cuddle but it's best to cuddle before bed, or in the morning, rather than the middle of the night.  We've also began "Mommy & Jackson" time each night before bed for 20-30 minutes, where I give him my undivided attention while Corey takes Cole, and do whatever activity he wants during that time.  He's been on a great streak since, and has been very proud of himself each morning, saying "I slept a long time and I didn't cry for you, Mommy!". 

In other Jackson news, I had Dora's "I'm a Map" song stuck in my head.  I mentioned this to J after I kept singing it, but what I didn't realize it that he hadn't heard the expression of a song "being stuck in your head" so he took it very literally.  He looked at me for a minute, looked at my head and said "Where is it, Mommy?!"  I explained to him that it just meant I couldn't stop singing it but, still unable to wrap his head around this concept, he then asked, "Is it still stuck?" as he looked at my head again.  Later on, he asked if it was still stuck and after I told him that it wasn't, he asked, "Where did it go?". 

Each night before bed, Jackson continues to watch YouTube videos of people playing with Sesame Street Play Doh tools.  Jackson loves Play Doh but one of the rules is that he can't mix the colors together or else everything would change colors or become the same color, which we know would upset him.  In the video we were watching, the woman was mixing colors, and he got very serious, looked at me, and said with concern, "She's mixing colors!".  I told him that she wasn't following the rules and he responded with, "I follow the rules, I don't mix the colors".  As we continued to watch, he kept talking about how he follows the rules.  So far, we've been really lucky with a kid who listens and follows most of the rules (including those much more important than Play Doh color mixing).  Let's just hope he continues on this path!