2.5 month update

Just when I thought I couldn't fall more in love with my own creation, I am proven wrong. Every day, something new Weston does makes my chest feel as if it's being wrapped in a warm and fuzzy blanket. The highlight of my days is now going to pick him up from daycare. No wait, it's hanging out with him the morning. Or maybe it's cuddling him as he gets sleepy at night.

I love sharing him with others, especially those I know are as smitten with him as I am. Like my family, especially my mom. I am proud to look at him and see the happiness he brings others and know that it is because of Neil and me that he is here. I feel very lucky to have not only scored such an amazing husband...and cat...but now a son.

And it's funny how the trivial things Weston does make everything else seem trivial. I don't care that I miss my favorite TV shows because I'm holding him and he might laugh when I sing a made-up song. I don't care that I have to get out of bed way earlier than ever because on the other end of that exhausted walk down the hallway is a cooing and smiling bundle of amazingness. I don't care that I have to wait until the next day to cross one more unimportant thing off my to-do list because right now, Weston is more important than pretty much anything. As my mom says, nothing is too good for your own children. :)

So what I tend to share here might not be very exciting stuff for anyone other than those who are so closely tied to him. Or maybe it's just exciting for me. ;) But I am a woman of record, so definitely thinking that recording all of this will someday make me glad. 

I am glad to report that Weston's skin has cleared up. We had kinda been worried he was going to explode with baby acne, but the breakouts never seemed to reach the magnitude we were fearing. He would get a few patches of roughness, dry skin or pimples and then they'd be gone the next time I looked at him and so on.


IF YOU ARE READING THIS BECAUSE SOME RILED-UP MOMMY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA SENT YOU HERE TO CHASTISE ME FOR MY DECISIONS, BE SURE TO ALSO READ THE POST I WROTE FOR YOU AND ALL YOUR SELF-RIGHTEOUS FRIENDS: HERE.
We have begun SLEEP TRAINING. Every mom of every Tom, Dick and Harry out there has her own take on what the right tactic is in getting a baby to sleep through the night. The controversial theories are a plenty. I am an advocate of moderation in many realms of the good life....and I'm not exactly sure where our own method falls on the spectrum, but this is what we're doing.

The end goal...someday...is to get lil' Westie-roo to sleep from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. This would allow for us to have a good amount of quality time with him the evening, but give Neil and I some time with one another or ourselves before we hit the hay. So far, we have him to sleep by 9, sometimes 9:30, and he's staying asleep until at least 430, sometimes 530...and sometimes 6 or 6:15 (which is AWESOME!). 

We are following the concept in the book 12 hours of sleep by 12 weeks (which was recommended to us by my friend Leigh, as she swears it worked for her TWINS!). We had previously been feeding him 4.5 oz every 3/3.5 hours...other than when he slept from 11-5 or 6. So he was getting about 6-7 feedings a day, for a total of 26-31 oz in a 24 hour period. The 12x12 plan (though to be honest, we are wanting him to sleep 10 a night, not 12, because we love our child and want to spend SOME time with him...a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. sleep schedule would be sad for us!) essentially gets you to divide the day time into 4 periods. The goal is to have only 4 feedings and omit the night feeding(s) altogether. 

So we have about 14 hours of "day time" ... divided by 3 (for the # of feedings before his LAST feeding) is about 4.5 hours. So we are trying to feed him every 4-4.5 hours. The TOTAL oz in one day is now just divided into 4. (And since he's formula-fed, the formula for feeding is 2.5 x his body weight is approx what he should be getting in a 24-hour period.) As of his 2-month check up a bit more than a week ago, he was 12 lbs even. Which is 30 oz. So 30 oz divided into 4 feedings is 7.5. BUT, we want to load him up with the most for the last feeding so he can go longer. So we put 7 oz of formula in his bottles at his 6:15 a.m., 11 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. feedings. And then we feed him 9-10 oz before we lay him down. (The real concept is to feed him as much as he wants to eat at each feeding....we kinda do that, but limit him a bit so it's not a hassle for daycare to store the extra that was left over from feedings if too much is put into the bottle.) The key though is we HAVE to get him to burp before we lie him down. Otherwise, he'll spit up or be super fussy. 

Now, of course, the day I write this, he has downed 8 oz for his 3 day feedings and then 10 oz at 8 p.m. today. But I'm guessing he's more than 12 lbs now, so we'll probably be feeding him a bit more as the weeks go. (Last night, he slept from 8:30 till 6:15!!!) 

Not every night is as successful, but we've established an ideal....we've established a routine...and it seems to be working way better than the sleep patterns for many other babies we know. So we shall continue full speed ahead until we hit a wall. (But I've read in several places now that sleep patterns achieved now are most likely the same patterns we can expect for him through his childhood...)

We are about to begin our 3rd week of DAYCARE. The first week was a bit rough, though the first day was not. I didn't shed a tear. I think mostly because Neil was with me, and also, I knew that we were easing into it, so the following day, he would be home with me. I highly recommend this for working mothers... weaning yourself off of being there with your baby is a great way to head into such a significant change. Though the other days without him that week, I did find myself hearing him when he wasn't there. Or I'd get up to go check on him and realize I'd have to go a bit too far to peek in on him a few miles away. I cried talking to a friend about it, but once it was out of my system, I was able to shake it off. And most of my angst has retreated. Neil and I decided that it would be best for Weston and for me if I attempt to keep him home with me on Mondays. I tend to not take any days off during wedding season. Last year, Neil MADE me take off Sundays. But now, with a baby, I need more than one day away from the business, so Monday is my day. Granted, some Saturdays, I'll have "off" when I don't have a wedding scheduled, but since I have an average of 2 shoots a week during the evenings when I'd otherwise spend that time with Westie, that Monday with him will ensure that I can make up for lost time. I've never in my life enjoyed Mondays until now. :) And that enjoyment will only surge once THE BACHELORETTE starts in May. hahaha

Alrighty, here is the part that I write for all to read, but it is intended to be a record for Neil and me...and Weston. So it's written to my sweet boy. ;)

MORNINGS w/ MOMMY

You are my charge every morning. I am not a morning person. I hate waking up before 8. But for you, I will and I do. And even when my eyes are still feeling heavy and dry from sleep, I love undoing your swaddle as your little mouth wimpers for food or breaks into a grin at the sight of me. It's like unwrapping a gift, and once the gift is in full view, your strong little arms shoot up and you turn your head to the side, your face scrunched up, your lips protruding like a duck's beak, and neck thrown back, so you can finally adequately stretch in that way that I just want to eat up. You look so mature, so happy, so uninhibited. After you've guzzled down your breakfast, you are all smiles. This is my favorite part of my life right now. I lay you on the changing table most days, and we have our morning chat. 

 

CHATTER & PHYSICAL STUFF

You are saying a lot more nowadays than you just did two weeks ago. I have learned that you LOVE the sound of trilling tongues, and the phrase "R-rrrrrrrruffles have rrrrrridges" makes you go crazy with grins. I am so glad I got a video of one of your episodes. (Though I now wish I could capture your own addition to the show...you can now roll YOUR tongue, and you do it back and forth with me.) And I think you're going to be a ventriloquist, at least on the side, because you've mastered making the same sound with your mouth closed as you do when it is open. 

You also are a big flirt. Pretty girls easily make you smile. Pretty girls, and your mama. :) And when we blow kisses at you, you try your hardest to do it back, but the best that you've got right now is jutting your tongue out between your lips just enough to make your lips look bigger. But true pursing of said lips is a skill you have yet to acquire.

Your neck strength is progressing despite the fact that tummy time is usually short-lived due to your short temper. You can easily go from 0 to 60 with that. But for the moments when you're not too upset, you will wow your daddy and me by making the feat of pushing up look somewhat easy. Here is a video of one of the earlier attempts to do this two weeks ago (two months).

You dad and I are bound determined to get you to wave before all the books say you will. So several times a day, we hold our hand in front of your face and open and close our fingers, saying "hello, buy-bye." You fixate on the gesture, and your jerky movements with your hands and arms calm down a bit as you try to hone in on just one of your hands. We swear we can see you start your own version. OFtentimes, babies will wave with their fingers pointed back at their own faces. But not you, Westie-roo. You seem to be holding your hand with the fingers pointed down, palm in, when you every so slowly and clumsily open and close the fingers. We'll take it. For now. ;)

I love watching your legs and arms move haphazardly about. There seems to be a method to how you do it these days; a tiny bit more organized as if you're conducting an orchestra, or traffic, perhaps....not quite as graceful as a flight attendant, but not as unwieldy as they once were. You're not quite able to fluidly reach out and grab something we hold in front of you, though you definitely know that is what you're supposed to do. You will sometimes make contact, and then depending what it is, cling to it. My favorite is when you cling to the ear on your elephant wubanubb or the foot on your duck one, or the tail on your monkey. It just looks so darn helpless and cute. Like this:

MOODS 

For the most part, you're an agreeable baby. You mostly just get cranky when you are fine and dandy but then we move you. Or when you're hungry. Or needing a change. Or tired. So yeah, like a typical baby. But sometime I recently learned during one of your super-fussy spastic flipouts (you were super tired, but not okay with ANY position I put you in), it seems as if putting something soft on your head or rubbing something fuzzy on your temples soothes you. Sometimes, it's like magic. WAHHHH-WAHHH...blanket/fuzzy bunny is placed, and then SILENCE. Of course we don't want to risk you smothering yourself, so I am always right next to you until the soft object is removed. And right next to me...is usually my phone. So excuse me for having to document the snuggliness that you look after you spaz out. 

When you get really sleepy while you're being held, you burrow into the chest, armpit or elbow pit until you find a place that couches your face just so. I try to communicate with you during this time, but there is no snapping you out of your wormy stupor. You are a baby on a mission, and your mission is to be comfortable, all else be damned.

It isn't hard to get you to smile if you're wide awake. My favorite series of smiles ends in you pulling your little fists together in almost a victory clasp and bringing them to your chin, then you turn your face to the side and look back at me with your playful eyes. I about gag on the resulting mouthful of cuteness and motherly pride that results.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY THINGS

Let's see... since I last posted, you've found your hands, and your feet.

You LOVE baths, and we love giving them to you. How could we not when we get this sort of naked darlingness to look at?

You've squealed, and were able to prove your strength by holding an elephant on your head.

You had your first visit from your daddy's family when Uncle Steve and Grandpa Dino came to play with you.

You had your first peaceful run in with the cat.

You made me cry when I realized I wouldn't be able to hold you like this for long.

You showed us a glimpse of the lil' man you will someday become. Probably all too soon. :) 

You handled your first vaccinations like a champ. You cried, but don't worry, so did I. And on a not so fun note, you've gotten your first cold.

This has been hard for your dad and me. You don't seem to feel too awful, but you have so much congestion, you have to cough really hard and you sneeze a lot. And in the morning, your coughing fits come after I feed you, which ends up in a projectile shower of formula and mucus....on you. And also on me. Two mornings in a row this has happened...and 2 other times the week before. The doctor gave us tips to deal with it, but they're not working. We give you pedialyte before and after feeding so the sodium will help break down the mucus in your throat. We have a humidifier going. We use saline drops and a nasal aspirator. You sleep at an angle again in the ROCK n PLAY.  But so far, it seems to only get worse. :(  And now you have an ear infection, so you're on antibiotics for that. Thankfully, right after you vomit, you erupt in smiles, despite the fact that you are soaked and smell of regurgitated Similac. Such a charmer you are.

Your first family holiday was Easter, which we celebrated with the G family in Omaha--which was your first trip out of town. That went well. You got passed around to everyone several times, and you didn't disappoint in wooing them with your grins and innocence. Your cousin Cailin sure had a good time mothering you. She and you even got to cuddle with grandma and pa G in their bed on Sunday morning. You wore your first girlie accessory thanks to Cailin. And you have a photo of it thanks to Aunt Temple. ;)

I do feel sad when I drop you off at daycare. I am remotely jealous of those who are able to keep their kids home with them and not financially suffer....and still get work done.  ;) But I know that the time we do spend with you is high quality, and that is what matters. You are nearly 3 months old, Weston. And I am so glad to know that you're with us until we kick you out. ;) You make us smile and eager for the little things. You've become what matters most.


And to close... here is your progress in pics. ;)