Last Saturday we took Daniel to the Addison Oktoberfest. While I was looking forward to going and enjoying some good food and beer, I was nervous about how Daniel would handle it. First, it was going to keep him out long enough that he'd need a nap and if he didn't get it he was sure to get cranky and off schedule for the whole day. Second, it was going to be hot and crowded, not an ideal condition for a baby. Third, Daniel's too little to ride in a real stroller so our only stroller option would be to put his carseat in the snap n' go carrier but he gets hot in his carseat so that didn't seem like a good option. So with a few reservations and our new Beco Butterfly II carrier, we set out for Oktoberfest. I figured we'd get to stay an hour, hour and a half tops.
I put Daniel in the Beco when we parked and we walked into the fairgrounds. So far, so good. We met Nicole and baby Alejandro there and on her smart advice we headed straight to the International pavilion to get into the air conditioning. I looked down to see that Daniel was sound asleep. Over the next few hours he stirred a bit but slept soundly. Whenever he would get a little restless I would just stand up and sway a little and he would settle back to sleep. Finally after about 2 hours or so he woke up and after eating in the carrier (add the International Pavilion to the list of places I've nursed now) and then hanging out a bit he had had his fill and we left. But we ended up getting stay for over 3 hours, much longer than I had expected. And he did fine the rest of the evening once we got home too.
It was our first extended use of the Beco and I have to say I'm quite impressed. Daniel was obviously quite comfortable in it and after wearing him all day I didn't have any soreness in my shoulders or back. And the hood helped protect his sensitive skin from the sun and gave him a darker space to nap in. We still love our ring sling but the Beco is a great addition to our babywearing line-up and should be more comfortable for Kevin to use too.
Ein prosit for the Beco!
Here he is during an awake moment with Daddy:
Today our little boy is 2 months old and he's doing really well. He had his 2 month check-up this morning and he's grown by leaps and bounds since his last check-up. At 2 weeks he was 7lb 8oz and 21 in. Today he measured in at 11lb 10oz and 23.5 in and 15.25 in head circumference. He gained over half his body weight in 7 weeks! He's around the 50% percentile on all his measurements and developing wonderfully. It's pretty satisfying to know that every ounce he's gained, before birth and after, is thanks to me. Little pat on the back for mommy!
Unfortunately he didn't get a great "birthday" present today. He got his first 2 shots. He was lying on the exam table smiling and cooing at the nurses then got a shot in each thigh, Hib in one and Pneomococcus in the other. He's been a little fussy since but he took a nice 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon and after a bath this evening and he's been asleep since 7. Our doctor suggested trying to get him down for the night around 7 or 8 so we're trying that out tonight. Normally he'll nap on and off during the evening but not really go down for a long stretch till about 11 or 12 but our doctor said in her experience, babies around this age either go down by 8 or not till around 12. So we'll see how it goes. Maybe he'll be sleeping 12 hours or so a night soon!
Following the good suggestion of our friends Charlotte and Alden we're taking a picture of Daniel every month on the 21st in his carseat so it's easy to see growth from one month to the next.
Here's his 1 month picture:
And here he is today at 2 months:
He is much bigger and more interactive than he was a month ago. What will he be doing at 3 months? Rolling over? Laughing? Can't wait to find out!
Since my 6-week postpartum checkup was last Friday I was thinking this was a good time to give a general "state of the union" update on how Daniel and I are coming along, him with his development and me with my recovery:
Daniel
Recently we've really noticed how much Daniel has grown. 2 weeks ago we thought he had outgrown newborn size diapers so we went up to level 1, then decided we might have been a bit hasty so we got another round of newborn diapers. By the time we finished that pack though we knew he was ready for level 1. He's also wearing cloth diapers now too and while some of them seemed too big for him even 2 weeks ago they seem to fit better now. Going to give those another week or so to decide which brand we like best before ordering more, but soon we should be mostly in cloth.
Daniel has also graduated to 0-3 month size clothes. Last week we did a "farewell tour" of his newborn size outfits. To see how much he's grown, compare these two pictures of him in his going-home outfit:
This one was taken 4 days after he was born and the inseam, legs, and arms were all too long for him.
Last week the arms were the right length but the legs and inseam were looking short. He's also developing a little Buddha belly to fill it out. And as you can see, he's quite the active little guy!
In other exciting developments, he started smiling right around the 1-month mark. I have yet to capture it on camera but trust me, it's the sweetest, cutest thing you've ever seen. Add in the cooing noises he started making around the same time and it's a heartmelting combination. He is also starting to learn how to use his hands a little. He can grab a finger that's put on his palm and this morning he reached out and touched my face a few times. He doesn't have great control yet but I can tell he is beginning to make more voluntary movements instead of just reflexive flailing around.
Another happy development for us over the past 2 weeks has been a lengthening of his nighttime sleep. His 3am feeding has gradually shifted back to 4 and now 5 and sometimes later, and several nights he has slept for at least 6 hours at a time. We seem to be trending toward eliminating that middle of the night feeding, which will be great news for us. Our daytime sleep patterns are still evolving, but he will pretty consistently nap for around 90 minutes or so at a time in the morning and a few 1 hour naps in the afternoon and evening, though those are less regular.
In the past few weeks he's also begun to have some periods of quiet alertness when he's just looking around and taking it all in. He loves for me to talk to him then. I like to point out facial features on my face and then the same ones on his. I know he can't understand yet but never too early to start, right?
He has also gone from hating his bath to tolerating it to really enjoying it. Kevin fills the tub and gets in and holds Daniel, who smiles and coos. He seems to like having his body submerged in the water up to the shoulders and having water poured over him. His first baths we rushed to get through as quickly as possible but now we stretch it out for 15-20 minutes or until he starts to get fussy. He doesn't get dirty enough to need one more than a few times a week but since he likes them we'll try to give one almost every night. He also doesn't cry very often during diaper changes anymore like he used to. When he does cry now though, he tears up, which makes him look even sadder.
He's still a pretty easy baby and doesn't tend to be very fussy most of the time. That said, last week he was crankier than usual and this past Saturday night he gave my poor mother-in-law a hard time on her first babysitting gig. I had read that fussiness usually peaks around 6 weeks of age so I guess if that's as bad as it'll get, we have it pretty easy.
Me
After putting my body through pregnancy, labor, and delivery, I'm happy to report that I'm pretty much recovered. I was a little nervous about how quickly the 37 pounds I put on would come back off but I'm now within about 7 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. I've still got a little bit of a belly and can't fit into my normal size pants and shorts yet, but jeans one size up fit a little loose, and the other night I fit into a normal size dress. My goal was to be back to my pre-baby weight by the time I return to work October 12 and it looks like I have a decent shot of achieving that. Funny, in pre-baby times I'd have felt really out of shape at this weight but right now I'm thrilled with it!
I also have the go-ahead to resume exercise and in the last week I've rollerbladed 10 miles, run 2 miles, and rode my bike almost 5 miles. I overdid it going my normal distance when I rollerbladed so I decided to start with shorter, slower outings on my first run and ride. I definitely feel out of shape but exercise was a big part of my pre-baby life which I really missed as I got farther along in my pregnancy so it's nice to be able to do it again even if I'm not at 100%.
Aside the unfortunate brush with mastitis breastfeeding has been going well. We've come a long way from those first nursing attempts in the hospital when the lactation consultant had to coach me and it felt like every detail had to be exactly right in order to get a latch. In those early days I felt like I needed a spotter to guide me and an extra hand or two and I couldn't have any distractions. Now I can nurse him while working on a laptop and watching tv, eating a sandwich, or lying down in the dark. He's still not fond of the nursing cover I use when other people are around so that's something we'll need to get more comfortable with.
It still feels a little strange to me that "the girls" are actually functional now rather than merely decorative. It's like they've taken on a life of their own, and sometimes that can make things rather inconvenient. But it's nice to watch Daniel grow and know that I'm directly responsible for all of that growth. And as a wonderful side bonus breastfeeding burns 600 calories a day. That's like an hour's worth of pretty intense cardio, just for sitting and watching tv!
So all in all, we're both doing quite well!
