Hi there son! You are now 2 months old. You weigh 11 lbs 2 oz and you are 22.5 inches long. Dr. Robbins is so impressed on how fast you are catching up to full term babies. They give babies under 37 weeks gestation up to 2 years to catch up and you are getting close already at 2 months! You still have dark brown hair and your blue eyes seem to have lightened up a bit. We are very curious to see what your eye color will be since Mommy and Daddy both have green eyes. However, there are a lot of blue eyes on daddy's side of the family and lots of brown eyes on mommy's side of the family. You are the light of our lives and we just adore you. Being a mother is the best job in the world and we just savor every moment. You are definitely more active this month and are doing a lot more things on your play mat. You are actually swatting at all the animals above you and you were even able to grab one which is a big developmental milestone. We are so proud of you. You really kick your legs and move your arms as if you have a very serious goal. :) I do catch you smiling at the animals above you. It is a joy to watch you discover and your eyes are open in amazement. You are really gaining strength in your head and neck. You move it back and forth all the time now. You also are able to lift your upper back and your legs too! You are a strong boy and growing so well. You are now giving mommy and daddy about 7 hours of straight nighttime sleep! You are thriving on your routine and you really like the consistency. Your current schedule is feed at 7:30, 11:00, 2:00, 5:00, 7:30, and 9:30 pm. I will never forget the day when I put you to bed at 10 pm and when you woke up at 5:00 am, I looked at the clock expecting it to say 2 am. It was the neatest feeling to know that you are making strides with your sleep. Mommy and Daddy are very serious with your sleep because we know that it is important for brain development. We have gotten into a little routine and all of those sleep books that mommy has been reading have been paying off. The routine is that you eat, play, and then sleep. This way you are learning to self soothe youself instead of always falling asleep after a feeding. You have really adapted well to playing after feeding time and I can put you down for a nap quite easily. I feel very blessed that you can do that already. You are a good napper and your naps are usually 1.5 to 2 hours long. There can be a little variation but mommy likes to keep it within 30 minutes of those increments so you can have a consistent schedule. You are a bit fussy between 7 and 8:30 pm and mommy knows that is because you need an earlier bedtime so that will be the next stride we work on with you. Mommy and Daddy are firm believers on how important sleep is for you and will do our very best to make sure we are educated on what the best next steps will be as we approach your 3rd month.
You are really enjoying your night time baths and we have starting giving you infant massages (there are a lot of benefits of infant massage and that can be a whole other post) after your bath with your lotion. At first you were really enjoying them. However, most recently, you have started crying when we take you out of the bath. I guess you really don't like the cold weather. So, mommy throws the towel in the dryer while daddy is washing you and you now have a warm towel ready for when it is time to dry off. Since you have been upset about the cold weather we have stopped the massages until you seem ready for them. Currently today was 78 degrees so I am not sure we can really use the cold weather as an excuse. :)
It seems like your most favorite time of day is after the 7:30 am feeding and after the 11:00 am feeding. Mommy really enjoys reading to you every day. At first I thought that reading a book would be our night time ritual but it has now become an all day thing. After every feeding we read a book. Mommy really enjoys the mornings with her son. There is something special about this time of day. It is hard to put it into words. Perhaps it is the solitude of just mother and son with no other noise. No TV, bright morning sun, and the conversations we have with each other. We talk about how much daddy loves you and misses you while he is at work. We talk about your diaper and you tell me if it is clean or dirty. We talk about what outfit you are going to wear. We talk about what books we are going to read that day. We talk about how you are feeling after your naps. You talk to me with your eyes and I am really enjoying getting to know you. Daddy and Mommy are really starting to decode all your cries and wants/needs. One of the most precious moments I caught was Daddy telling you that he hopes that you grow up to find someone as loving as your mommy. I actually felt tears coming down my eyes when I overheard him telling you that. I know I am probably embarrassing you Ethan. :)
It is truly amazing the difference I have noticed from week 6 to week 9. When you turned 6 weeks old, it was a very hard week. You seemed much more fussy and gassy and cried a lot. (almost to the point that I thought you were colic) Now, here we are 3 weeks later, and you are a happier baby. I read up on week 6 and it does say the week 6 is the peak of fussiness for babies.
You also got your shots this month and you did extremely well! You cried for about 10 seconds and then that was it. I was ready for a good 5 minute cry. I thought you might be really fussy the next day or even up all night. Nope. You handled it like a good strong boy.
Happy 2 month birthday Ethan! We love you with all our hearts.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
