Two Months!

This is several days late, but I wanted to post a 2 month blog for the little man!

JJ turned 2 months old on May 23rd.  We celebrated by...well, we didn't really celebrate.  But he got lots of hugs and kisses.  Come to think of it, that's not different than any other day.  Oh well. 

At 2 months old JJ is still an amazing eater and sleeper.  He usually goes 10 hours at night.  Then he eats and goes down for another 2 hours or so.  He eats every 2-3 hours during the day, and usually takes 2 good naps.  I can't wait until we can start cereal, but I know that's still a couple months away.

JJ can be a little cranky during the day.  He doesn't like to be in one place too long!  He usually enjoys his bouncy chair in the bathroom while I take a shower.  Sometimes he likes laying on his back on his playmat, and sometimes he likes laying on his tummy.  (Tummy time!)  He hasn't rolled over in awhile, but he has rolled (tummy to back) several times.  He's tried out the Jolly Jumper a few times (supported with blankets!) and he seems to like that.  His favorite place?  Being carried of course!  He loves to be outside too.

In the mornings JJ is a very smily boy!  The rest of the day?  Sometimes you have to work hard to get a smile out of him.  He loves to watch Zoe, and doesn't even seem to mind when he gets a tongue bath from her.  And speaking of baths...JJ loves his tubby time!  He kicks his little legs and I hate to take him out of the tub because he loves it so much! 

JJ has been to a couple softball games to cheer for Daddy!  He's been in the church nursery several times, and he seems to do pretty well.  Since Mommy and Daddy both play on the worship team, he doesn't really have a choice!  :)

JJ has moved up to size 2 diapers, and most of the time he's wearing 3-6 month clothes!  He's pretty much growing right before our eyes!  At his 2 month check-up he weighed 12 lbs and 1.5 oz.  He was 23 and 1/4 inches, which I think is wrong...but oh well.  :)  He got his shots and goes back in another 2 months.  I can't imagine how much he's going to weigh then!

We're planning on moving JJ out of the bassinet by the bed, and into his crib at night soon.  I don't mind doing it, I'm not worried about him...it's just so nice to grab him from the bassinet, feed him and plop him back down without ever having to get out of bed!!  So really it's my lazyness that's been keeping him in our bedroom.  He does sleep in his crib for all his naps, so at least he's used to it!

If JJ is being fussy at night and it's not quite time for tubby or food...I can sit down at the piano with him on my lap and almost always he'll be happy for about 10 minutes while I play.  I don't know if it's the music, or the movement while I'm playing, but he seems to love it!  He also seems to really like TV.  I put on a Baby Bach DVD today and he was cooing at it for about 15 minutes!  And of course he enjoys watching the Mets with Daddy.

That's about all I can think of for his 2 month update.  We're more in love with him everyday and I can't imagine our lives without him!!

Bottles & Binkies & Burpcloths...Oh My!

As I glance around our house I can't help but chuckle.

There are binkies on the coffee table and bottles in the sink.  There are blankets strewn about and burp cloths always within reach.  Baby nail clippers sit on the arm of the sofa and there's a carseat on the dining room table.  There's a basket of clean baby clothes that need to be put away, and a dryer-full ready to be folded.  Our tub has an infant tub taking up space, and a rubber ducky (police-style) is in there as well.  We have a baby play mat on the living room floor and a swing blocking the front door.

And in the other room, the room that used to be our 'junk room', there's an adorable little boy sleeping admist the fire truck motif.

I rush around to finish household chores while he naps.  (Sometimes I just surf around facebook while he naps.)  Some days I don't get a shower.  (He gets a tubby almost every night.)  My little man sleeps and eats like a champ.  (I sleep well...I need to eat better.)  I haven't had the time to read, scrapbook or play the piano like I used to.  (But taking care of my sweet son is soooo much more rewarding.)

Can you believe this is my life?!?

eclectic...

I have too much to say.  So much, in fact, that I feel like I'll never be able to say it all the way I want to, so I just haven't been blogging!  I've wanted to, I've started to, but nothing has been worthy of hitting that 'Publish Post' button.

I feel like I'm behind in everything.  I mean, everything.  So in moments like this, when JJ is sleeping soundly in his crib, there are so many more pressing things I need to do.  Laundry, dishes, dusting, thank you's, yard work, vacuuming, sorting.

Not today.  Today I'm relaxing on the couch, watching mindless TV and trying to put my thoughts together enough so they make sense outside of my mind.

First off, JJ had his 2 month doctor visit on Tuesday.  He weighed 12 lbs and 1.5 oz.  He was 23 and a quarter inches long.  (75th percentile for both if I remember correctly...)  I honestly can't believe that he's already 2 months old!  John and I are just loving every moment with him.  When he wakes up in the morning he's so happy and smiley...I love it!  He's still eating at 8pm, then waking up around 6am to eat again.  Then he goes back down, usually till about 8am or so.  We get lots of sleep and sometimes I feel very guilty about that!

I'm gearing up to go back to work soon.  Let's not talk about that.

We leave a week from tomorrow on JJ's first airplane ride!  We're traveling to Kentucky for John's cousin's wedding.  I'm a little nervous about how he'll do on the trip, but I think it'll be ok.

Nothing much else to talk about I guess.  The days seem to be flying by, and we're just along for the ride.  We have a weekend full of parties and picnics coming up, and John has vacation time!  Yay!  

Schedule me in

I'm not a baby expert.

(Phew, got that out of the way!)

I do like to consider myself a smart, common sense using, advice filtering, flexible Mommy.

And I will admit, I was getting a little frustrated having a cranky baby pretty much any time he wasn't eating or sleeping.  Nobody likes a cranky baby.

(Okay, I still really liked him a lot, I'll admit it.  But I didn't want him to be cranky!)

So after talking to my sister on Sunday and mulling things over in my mind, I decided to try and start a very loose schedule for JJ, based on his cues.  It wasn't seamless, considering we were out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  But here it is Friday, and things are going well!  He seems less cranky (although he still has his fussy time at night...unavoidable!) and (BONUS!) I can even get some things done!  Like, you know, a shower! 

So this is what our flexible schedule looks like.  :)  JJ wakes up and eats and stays up, sometime between 7 and 8.  This is where the schedule starts.  After eating, he's up until his next feeding.  Let's just base this on him waking up at 7:30, to make it easier to explain.  So he stays awake after his 7:30 feeding, then eats again at 9:30.  I put him down for a nap after that and he sleeps roughly an hour, 10-11.  I feed him again at 11:30 and he stays awake.  We do tummy time, run a quick errand, go for a walk or just hang out in the backyard with Zoe.  He gets fed again at 1:30, then goes down for his long nap.  Usually 1:30 till 3:30 or 4.  I try to feed him at 4 and 6.  After his 6:00 feeding he's usually a little cranky, and a little tired.  I like to go for a walk with him to keep him calm.  Sometimes he falls asleep, and that's fine with me.  This is also when I give him a bath if I'm going to!  Then comes his 8:00 feeding.  I change him beforehand and swaddle him up good.  Then he eats and I lay him in his bassinet.  Goodnight!

Like I said in the beginning, I'm no expert.  But for now this seems to work really well for us.  JJ usually wakes up at 3:30am to eat, and then again around 7 or 8am.  If he wakes up at a different time and he's hungry?  I feed him.  That's why this is a flexible schedule.  Basically he sets the schedule for the day, based on when he gets up.

There, that's my schedule soapbox.  Works for us!  I'll step down now...

But...

In this new, wonderful world of motherhood, I've adjusted to many things.  I've come to realize the majority of my time is spent feeding the baby!  Sometimes I don't get the chance to go to the bathroom when I get up in the morning, because JJ is demanding food.  If I forget to make the coffee at night before I go to bed, I do it one-handed in the morning.  Breakfast...sometimes doesn't happen.  I'm slightly tethered to the house, and almost fully tethered to my little man.

And sometimes in quiet moments I start to think...

...I haven't taken enough pictures.

...I haven't written what I need to in his baby book.

...I haven't taken (or had!) the time to scrapbook any pictures.

...I haven't blogged about recent milestones.

...I haven't gotten out of the house as much as I want.

...I haven't kept up with cleaning like I should.

But...

...I stare at my little boy's face for hours a day.

...I store up in my heart all the cute things he does.

...The pictures will be there later...he'll never be this age again.

...The blog will be there later too.

...I appreciate when we're able to get out of the house.

...The house will always need cleaning, one day JJ will be gone!

So I try to let those things go that 'should' be done.  JJ's not going to care about most of that stuff.  But he will know that his Mommy loves him because she takes the time to play with, feed and take care of him.

Add a few minutes to tummy time.  Close the computer.  Carry him more, clean less.  Enjoy all those little moments when he's smiling at the lamp, craning his neck to see the TV or just sitting on the couch with Mommy and Daddy.  He's only this little once!