2 months old!

I tried to have this post ready ahead of time so that it could be up early this morning; however I baked a cake, hooked a ton of cars for Jay and had some really good cuddle time with Charlie while Jay was napping so I don’t feel that bad about this posting so late ;)  Also, I don’t have his statistics yet since we haven’t gone to his doctor appointment yet but I will post those when I get them.

Things of note-

Sleeping- Charlie is sleeping anywhere from 3.5-5 hours a night for about the last week (the 5hours is new).  However, we didn’t start his nighttime routine until just recently and I think that has really helped his sleeping patterns.  His nighttime routine consists of a bath, nursing and cuddling with Mommy, being wrapped (like a swaddle but with his arms out), Good Night Moon and then being tucked in with Jenny playing (his sound machine giraffe). During the day he takes a few naps; his best nap is usually in the morning and he really likes to sleep on his tummy (shh, don’t tell the doctor).

*He snores and snores loudly!

*As far as eating is concerned- things are going fabulously!  He eats really well, usually every 2.5-3 hours during the day.  He is very quick and efficient and usually doesn’t dawdle when he nurses- this little one means business when he eats!  I am anxious to see how much he weighs when we take him to the doctor since he seems to really be packing on the pounds and chins :)

*He has been smiling and cooing frequently lately.  It’s enough to make your heart puddle right then and there- I swear.  He is usually happiest right after he has eaten and we are playing but he also smiles frequently during other times of the day.  Usually I can rub my finger on his cheek when we are playing and he will give me a huge grin.  He also smiles when I kiss his cheeks- I love it!

Likes:

*Facing out. Unless he is sleepy and wants to nap he likes to be held out so that he can see what is going on.  He has really started to be aware of his surroundings and has taken notice of things a lot more lately.  He prefers to be sitting up instead of reclining and if you will walk while holding him that is a plus too.

*Holding hands-  Frequently, if he is upset you can calm him down by holding his hand.  I don’t know if it makes him feel more secure or what but whether we are walking, riding in the car or just sitting holding him, grabbing and holding on to his hand calms him down when he us upset.

*The morning.  The morning after his first feeding is usually his happiest time.  He is the most alert at this point and will play with me for quite awhile.

*The fan-  Charlie loves looking at the fan and lights just like Jay did- the fan is his buddy, his pal.

*Books-  The colors book is one that we frequently “read” during play time and he loves the black and white zebra page or the monkey page in another black and white line drawing book that we have.  He will smile and kick when we turn to those pages.

*Being outside.  Just like with Jay you can walk outside while Charlie is fussy and he usually calms down pretty quickly.  He just loves to be out there enjoying the sun.  He also likes to sit in the sun coming in through the window in his bouncy chair- it’s almost as good as being outside.

Dislikes:

*Turning off the lights or walking into a dark room.  I honestly can’t think of many things that he dislikes (he’s a pretty easy baby and we are really lucky) but the one thing he really doesn’t like is to walk into a dark room or when you turn the lights off in a room.  Almost immediately he will start fussing but as soon as you go into a room with lights he is all better.

I think that pretty much sums up Charlie at this point. We are still adjusting to our new family of four and Jay has gotten much better about him being around- guess he figured out that he was going to stick around.  We are still working on being gentle, which is really tough for his two year old self, but we are making progress.  He really likes to hug and kiss Charlie which translates to slobber and squish Charlie but again we are making progress and at this point I am really just happy that he isn’t ignoring him anymore.  Jay also really likes to help with Charlie.  He will carry my nursing pillow around the house when my hands are full, he notifies us when Charlie is crying (as if we can’t hear it ourselves), usually tells him it’s okay when he is crying and if Charlie is within reach he will put his or Charlie’s paci (whichever is closer) in his mouth when he is crying.  It’s really sweet to watch them together and I can’t wait to see where their relationship will take them.

Here’s some more photos from our “shoot”.  As you can tell he is really a very happy little boy :)