Roman is 3 months old now, and I am just getting to his 2 month old update. So goes our life these days. Between a toddler and a
I am not a big fan of the first year. There are just so many constant changes and developments that always seem to throw them off and mess up their sleeping or their eating. It seems like after the first year, everything kind of falls into place and things get easier. So, I'll just hang in there for another 9 months... Of course, then they turn 2 and make you want to tear your hair out and run from the house screaming, "Stop saying Mommy!!!!" Ahhh, so much fun these little people are.
Anyway, all that to say, here were some things that were going on with Roman between months 1 and 2 (I kept track of things but just never got around to putting them all together in a post; his 3 month post will hopefully be on time).
- At his 2 month checkup, he was 23 inches long and about 12 and a half pounds. He had to get his first set of shots at that appointment, and I don't know why I didn't remember how miserable they made Brock, but I didn't give him Tylenol immediately afterward and he woke up from his nap screaming inconsolably. He wouldn't eat and barely even wanted to be held, and he kept making the most pitiful face I've ever seen which broke my heart. After about 24 hours or so he seemed to be over the worst, but I have got to remember to pre-medicate him before the pain really sets in.
- His first real smile was at 5 weeks, and he has barely stopped smiling since. He's a really happy baby for the most part.
- His first laugh was at 7 weeks. I didn't write down what it was that made him laugh, so I can't remember, but usually he just gets tickled by some random face or noise we make.
- He slept through the night (10:00-6:00) once at 9 weeks (which is actually in the third month I think), but then he went back to a pattern of waking once in the night to eat around 2:30 or 3:00. He usually would go 4-5 hours at night and 2.5-3 hours during the day between feedings that month.
- At some point during that month (maybe like 6 weeks or so), he stopped taking a bottle. He just wouldn't latch on and would gag on the nipples. I did some searching online and spent $15 on a set of bottles called Breastflow that have some fancy nipple that is supposed to mimic breastfeeding, and Roman basically said, "Sorry, but you just wasted $15, Mom." Then I did more online searching and found some people had success with the Playtex orthodontic latex nurser nipple for Playtex drop-ins (which is the type of bottles we had originally used). Of course, no one sells those nipples anymore... I think maybe because they're not up to the non-BPA standards or something. But being the bad mom that I am and not caring too much about BPA but caring very much about not being the only person able to feed my child, I found some on eBay (they were unused... I'm not that bad of a mom). So for like six bucks, I ordered those and they seem to be working well so far. Except that he won't eat for Blaine... He'll take a bottle from anyone else (even me!) but refuses to eat when Blaine tries to give him one. Odd.
- Naps got kind of crappy this month. The first month was great; he'd take 2 hour naps and sleep perfectly. Then during the second month, he started waking every 30 to 45 minutes crying. Usually it was because of gas or spit up, but once he was awake he wouldn't really go back to sleep in the crib. So I started just moving him to the swing to finish his nap and he would usually get at least another hour or so.
- Because of the gas and spit up, I thought I'd try gripe water. I never used it with Brock. The Mylicon gas drops seemed to be enough for him, but they didn't really do much to help Roman, so after some more online searching (thank goodness for Google), I decided to give the gripe water a try. I spent like $12 on a big bottle from Amazon which only resulted in him projectile vomiting all over the place. He had been having projectile spit up about once a week and the doctor said it was nothing to worry about as long as he didn't do it after every feeding. I tried the gripe water 3 or 4 times and every time, it made him throw up, a lot. So.... that was apparently another $12 wasted. I did, however, find that dipping a pacifier in it and letting him suck it off would instantly cure his hiccups, so maybe it wasn't a complete waste.
- He had some really dry, flaky skin on his face and scalp that month and the baby Aquaphor cleared it up pretty well. I have to use Aveeno baby wash on him because the other kinds dry his skin out pretty bad.
- This is more related to myself than to Roman, but I wanted to make note that pretty much all the pain/discomfort associated with nursing went away during that month (probably by about 6 or 7 weeks). This was sooner than it was the first time I nursed (it took more like 3 months with Brock).
I think that's mostly all that was going on up to the 2nd month mark. I was kind of complaining a lot up there at the beginning of this post, but I should say that I am not suffering from postpartum depression, and we are all doing well. It's just a lot of work, and sometimes I miss being a teenager (when I thought life was hard) and getting to sleep in all the time and not worry about anyone but myself. But I really am grateful for my two boys, and they make me smile more than they make me cry (or scream or say bad words or want to curl up in the fetal position). They bring us a lot of joy and pride, and Blaine and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, not even an all-expense paid, year-long vacation in Hawaii where we could just sleep and eat all day and never do anything and still not gain any weight (although we might deliberate on it for a day or two before we made the decision).
(Confession: His 2 month picture was actually taken closer to 2.5 months, but it's still within the month, so it counts)
He's adorable! I can only imagine the adjustment from 1 child to 2. I have always been told from 2 to three is hardest, but I of course don't know. Thanks for blogging I know you are great mom! How is Brock adusting?
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