Noah's 2 Month Update

Noah,

As always, time just flies. You are the smiliest baby I’ve ever met and you bring us so much joy. We don’t know what you weigh this month as we have finished all our appointments with the midwives, but your cheeks keep getting bigger and bigger so you’re steadily gaining. I’ll probably take you for a well child visit with our naturopath around six months, just to make sure your growth is still on track.

This month you’ve become so alert. If you have a good feeding and no gas, you’re extremely happy and content during wake time. Your cheeks have really plumped up and you're making more cooing noises. Your hands have found your mouth and you love sucking on them. I’m not positive, but I think you went through the first and second Wonder Weeks Leaps a week ahead of schedule as I noticed you doing new things before the app said the leap was over. Most notably: the TV catches your attention; you turn your head towards things that interest you; and you’re able to hold your neck up by yourself at times. It has been so fun seeing you more alert and interactive. I can’t believe how much you’ve changed in just two short months.

Since you were born we've noticed that Sophia has really grown up. She has been so good about keeping herself busy while we take care of you. She loves being involved when we give you a bottle and when I pump milk. We’ve started potty training her during nap times and prepping her for bedtime. She is doing pretty well, but we aren’t in any major rush.

Days with both kids have been both really easy and really hard. It is challenging for me to decide who I go and help first if you’re both crying. For example, if I’m feeding you and Sophia isn’t listening, determining how I handle her discipline while also caring for you. There have been lots of tears from all of us, but I think we are (slowly) figuring things out. I’m so grateful that daddy is working party remote and for friends that will watch Sophia and make sure we are all staying well fed. We have the best people in our life.

I took my first outing with just you and Sophia to the library and it went fairly well. I'm getting more comfortable taking both of you places by myself, although, I sure do prefer when dad comes with us. You were able to meet Auntie Beth this month and go on lots of playdates with Sophia. Our favorite was the splash pad in Wilsonville.

You are doing so well with going to sleep by yourself. We put you down when you're sleepy and you put yourself to sleep. Rarely do you need us to calm you down, unless you're still hungry. You're still waking up 1-2 times a night for food (more frequently two times a night). At 7 weeks Sophia slept through the night for the first time so i really hope you’ll get there soon. I'm trying to remind myself that you are not Sophia and it's okay if you don't right now, but you’re getting close. At 7.5 weeks you went 6.25 hours and it was amazing!

We are following the Babywise Sleep Training method, which emphasizes a consistent time to wake up in the mornings. For us, I’ve chosen 6:30 - 7:00. It is really hard when you wake up around 5 or 6 for food and then trying to get myself up again at 7 to “start our day.” Fortunately, I know that this won’t always be the case, but in the moment it is tiring.

We definitely noticed the 6 week growth spurt/leap, and it was rough. You were very fussy and one night you woke up four times for food. That’s the most you’ve ever woken up for food. Thankfully it was only that one night. I think we are over the rough patch as of 8 weeks (9/15) as you’re much, much happier. I finally feel like we are getting into a good routine where feedings and nap lengths are fairly predictable (until the next growth spurt / leap / regression).

This month has been a lot more challenging and feeding has been all over the place. I still don't feel like we've got into a consistent routine. Sometimes you eat a lot and other times you don't, which usually means a shorter nap. You've been getting really fussy during feeding time so I've been trying to figure that out (gas? growth spurt? fast let down?) I'm still not positive, but I think my fast let down is too much for you and makes you very uncomfortable. I've started unlatching you periodically during the let down, burping you more frequently, and lightly bouncing you. So far this has seemed to help. You're so much more pleasant during your wake times when your belly isn't hurting. I believe the Lord led me to this specific tip on google as I had tried everything else and couldn’t figure out what to do.

I'm really tired of struggling to breastfeed while out in public. The cover is annoying and extra hot and sweaty and with you being fussy, it’s been really stressful. I decided that I'm not going to stress over how you're eating. We started giving you a bottle of formula almost every day so I can pump and quickly build a stash to use when we are going out. The bottle feeding has so far been going pretty well. I remember when Sophia went on a bottle strike, so I'm praying you don't follow suit.

September 16th, Grandpa Jim came to visit and meet you for the first time. While he was here we celebrated Friendsgiving; went to the Mount Angel Oktoberfest; and worked on house projects (removing our old bathroom vanity and installing can lights in our guest room/office). He also got to tour Sophia’s future preschool (starting October) and was very impressed.

I’ve started doing a few hours of work a week. I’m trying to ease myself in and slowly work up to more hours. I forgot how challenging it is to get work done with a baby. Some days go really smoothly and others, you’re more clingy and need to be held. We are slowly figuring it out though and working on mastering breastfeeding while working simultaneously. ;)

As I conclude this month’s update, I think you’re going through ANOTHER growth spurt; short feedings, short naps, and lots of fussy periods. It might be rough, but I am definitely enjoying the contact naps. It is so wild to compare your 2 month photos with your newborn ones. We don’t see your growth day-to-day, but you’ve gotten so much bigger. Keep up the good work!

Until next month,

Mom & Dad