Luke's 2nd Month

Firsts: Smile!, prescription (you were prescribed Zantac to help with what they think is reflux), Thanksgiving, celebrating Charlotte’s birthday, trip to the varsity, first time staying without mommy, first time coming to MOPs, and first time seeing Santa.

Mommy and Daddy’s Favorites: We both love your sweet little smile!

Milestones: smiling, making noises other than crying, tracking people. A milestone for mommy is that Charlotte turned 2 so I no longer have 2 UNDER 2!

Measurements: 13 pounds at your check up and 23 ¾ inches long. You are in 0-3 and 3 months clothing and wear mostly size 2 diapers…although we are trying to squish you in to a few more size 1’s that we have!

Like Mommy/Daddy/Aubrey/Charlotte: You look a lot like Charlotte and Daddy, but I think you’ll have brown eyes like mommy and Aubrey.

Memorable moment: The most memorable moment this month is probably not directly related to you, but you had a first because of it. Aubrey fell and ended up getting stitches in her chin. Mommy put you and Charlotte to bed and made sure you had belly full of milk and left you with our friends, the Hamiltons, so that I could go to the hospital with Aubrey.

Challenges: We still deal with the obvious diaper leaks and spit ups and things that require a thousand outfit changes a day. But the biggest challenge this month is probably that you are the third child. The first month we had a lot of help and people bringing us dinners and coming over. This month we’ve had to figure out how to things like go grocery shopping, not only with a newborn, but with a newborn and 2 other kids 4 and under. Especially recently with Christmas shopping! But honestly you’ve been the easy one this month!

How we spend the day: We normally run errands or go places in the morning. You are content to just be along for the ride and normally nap the whole time we are gone. We come back and get your sisters down for a nap around 1 or 2 so that means you’re no longer tired and ready for mommy snuggles. You normally start getting tired around 8 or 9 and start getting fussy. I swaddle you and feed you and you’re normally down for several hours.

Feedings/Eating: During the day you typically feed on demand. At night you really only wake up to eat once and occasionally twice. You are a pretty efficient nurser and eat quickly…which causes some tummy pain unfortunately.

Sleeping: At night you are doing great! When we first put you down you sleep anywhere from 5-7 hours straight! When you wake up you eat and go right back to sleep. You are still swaddled and in the rock n play. During the day you normally have one longer stretch where you sleep, but then take several short catnaps throughout the day. Your daytime sleep is pretty unpredictable.

Personality: You seem pretty laid back. Most of the time you are content to just hang out and look around unless you’re tired, hungry, wet, or your tummy hurts. You have started to smile at whoever first gets you up in the morning like you’re just so happy to see us…it just melts my mommy heart :) Occasionally though if you get really mad, you get a certain cry and will get so worked up! Your tongue curls and your face gets red and you almost kind of zone out and stop breathing…a little scary! But the doctor said its fine…you may just have a little feistiness in you after all!

Likes: Mommy and daddy, but especially your sisters! Eating, riding in the car, getting your diaper changed (so weird! But you get so calm), looking at lights,

Dislikes: when your tummy hurts, really loud noises…it makes your lip poke out and it’s the saddest thing (but your sisters are pretty loud so it takes a lot to scare you haha), taking Zantac

Mobility: You are getting really good at being held upright. Your little neck is so strong and you’re getting very good at holding your head up. You’re also getting good a bringing your hands to your mouth to slurp on.

Favorite toy: Well you’ve finally started shunning the paci almost all of the time now…so I guess your hands are your new favorite toy?

Upcoming Events: your first Christmas!

New Explorations: You seem to be seeing better and watch people a little more. You’ve also started bringing your hands or blanket up to your mouth to slurp on.

Sounds, words, and communication: You’ve started making some sweet baby cooing sounds! They are my favorite!!

Luke's 1st Month

Firsts: Meeting his sisters, Halloween, ride in the car, coming home to his house, outing with Mommy to Target, date night with mommy and daddy

News Headlines: Donald Trump was elected president on November 8, 2016.

Mommy and Daddy’s Favorites: When you’re sleeping and make sweet little sounds and sucking, holding and snuggling you

Milestones: you’re getting better at holding your head up, you like watching people and tracking things

Measurements Weight and length clothes and diapers: mostly 0-3 months clothes but still some newborn, you used up most of the newborn diapers so we decided to move to the size 1’s

Like Mommy/Daddy/Aubrey/Charlotte: everyone says you look more like Charlotte as a baby. You also sleep better like she did. However you seem to have a little more issue with spitting up like Aubrey did.

Funniest Moment: The first time you peed on your face…you didn’t think it was very funny.

Memorable moment: Getting to see your sweet face, hear your cry, and holding you for the first time. Also when you got to meet your sisters for the first time.

Challenges: Spitting up! You barf up your milk after almost every meal…and most of the time it’s a pretty significant amount. Diaper changes have also been a bit of a challenge. First of all, your sisters never sprayed themselves in the face! You seem to need new clothes after a lot of changes. Also we had to deal with the whole stitches from the circumcision that never happened…so that added an extra element.

How we spend the day: You sleep a lot and when you’re not sleeping you’re eating. You’ve started having a little more awake time, but for the most part you are pretty go with the flow!

Feedings/Eating: You are eating on demand. I try the whole eat, play sleep thing, but honestly for now its just on demand. Although you are pretty good at not having to always be nursed to sleep. You are a really good eater already a very efficient nurser. It doesn’t take you long at all.

Sleeping: You sleep a lot! You have several times during the day where you sleep really long stretches and then a few cat naps here and there. At night you are doing really well for now! You go to bed about 9/9:30 and wake up 1 and 4. Or sometimes if it’s a really good night you’ll wake up at 2 or 3 and then sleep until 6:30! You are also really good about sleeping when we lay you down and have done really well with that since we were in the hospital. You’ve also let me put you down drowsy and will fall asleep on your own. The only real issues we’ve had are when you spit up and it wakes you up. It comes out of your nose and then you sound really congested and you don’t sleep well. Or then you’ll get the hiccups.

Personality: You seem pretty laid back for now. You were definitely more calm in the womb than either of your sisters…so maybe you’ll be a more easy going kid! We will see.

Likes: eating, your paci, being held and snuggling naps, you tolerate your sisters hugging and kissing you all day really well! Laying on your back and stretching after a diaper change, looking at lights

Dislikes: spitting up out of your nose, hiccups, when your paci falls out, when you get cold after a bath, being awake in the swing (you’ll sleep in it most of the time)

Mobility: practicing lifting your head, lots of adorable stretches

Favorite toy: you really seem to like your paci and it seems to soothe you. Fingers crossed you keep this up! Aubrey is really good about giving it to you…she pushes it in there pretty hard haha! But she can almost always get you to take it.

Upcoming Events: Your first thanksgiving is coming up in a week! Also you’ll have two doctors appointments this month. We go for your one-year appointment where you’ll get your second hep B shot. Then the week after thanksgiving we have to go see a pediatric urologist. They think you may have a mild hypospadias, which is why they weren’t able to circumcise you at the hospital. We are hoping that isn’t what it is and you wont have to have a surgery at 6 months to fix it.

New Explorations: You’re working on finding your hands. You like to slurp on them when you do.

Sounds, words, and communication: Cute little guinea pig noises while you sleep, grunting, and crying. You rarely cried at all the first few weeks. Now you really only cry when you are tired or when your spitting up seems to hurt.

Teeth: just cute little gums:)

Charlotte's 14th Month

Firsts: Move, fever, trying whole milk, first time living with GG and Big D, finger prick and MMR/Chicken pox vaccine, steps! Going to sleep without mommy.

Mommy and Daddy’s Favorites: watching you begin to walk, dance, and play with Aubrey.

Milestones: You are now officially walking. Although you sometimes still prefer to crawl, you are getting better and fast every day, so I know crawling will soon be something of the past.

Measurements: You are a little over 19lbs and I’ll have to check your length from your checkup. You are in mostly 6-12 months clothes, but can probably start to move up in certain things and brands. You wear a size 3 diaper during the day and size 4 at night.

Funniest Moment: Watching you gain your independence. You love Aubrey and love to play with her…but you do NOT like when she tries to play with something that you want or when she sits in mommy’s lap if you want to. One day you took over where Aubrey was coloring and she came to tell mommy something. When she came back to her picture you yelled at her in your little baby voice. You kept yelling any time she came close and then you’d crack up when she walked away. You also love to dance to music. Its hilarious to watch to stop what you’re doing and stand up and sway your hips and bounce up and down as soon as you hear music you like.

Challenges: We’ve had so many challenges over the past 2 months. The biggest one wasn’t anything to do with you…we moved!! It is a wonderful change, but it was difficult packing everything and getting it where we needed to go with you and Aubrey around. A 3 and 1 year old does make moving interesting! We also lived with GG and Big D for about 3-4 weeks. This was challenging just because it was a transition, but it actually went very smoothly and we enjoyed it so much. The most challenging thing having to do with you was that you had I guess some kind of virus. You had a 100-102 fever for about 6 days. It just took forever to get it out of your little system. It was so sad and pitiful seeing you like that. It finally went away and you were back to your regular wild self! You also don’t love your new class in the church nursery and have been crying when mommy drops you off. Hopefully you’ll warm up soon! Also your iron was low at your 1 year checkup…so we will see what that ends up meaning in the next few months.

How we spend the day: Our days now are very different. They are normally spend out and about in the morning which has been wonderful. We have tried to find a variety of library story times to attend, meet up with GG for lunch, or just running errands. After lunch you and Aubrey take a nap and then daddy comes home for dinner. He gets home a little later now so you are normally helping me with dinner.

Feedings/Eating: You are starting to cut back on nursing although it is still somewhat on demand. You’ve actually learned how to communicate now very clearly that you’d like to nurse. You start grabbing at my shirt and say mum mum, mum mum…so that’s interesting! You do this with other food that you want as well and point and say mum mum. We’d cut back a lot until you got sick, then you kind of picked it back up again. You weren’t eating well then so we just did anything to get fluids and nutrients in you. You have been a little more picky these days and aren’t quite as good of an eater as you were. You still love to eat…you just are more picky about what you actually eat.

Sleeping: Because we’ve been out in the morning you’ll either take a small nap in the car, or skip your morning nap all together. This means that your afternoon nap is much longer now and on average about 2 hours. You go to bed about 8 but you’ve had to be a little flexible lately. You’ve had a few weeks where you were waking up 2 times at night and would be up about 6:30 for the day. Thankfully recently you been waking mostly once (sometimes twice) but will sleep until about 8-8:30.

Likes: mommy, daddy (You LOVE when he first comes home from work), Aubrey, fruit (blueberries are your favorite, but you love most fruit), cookies…, climbing, playing

Dislikes: when mommy leaves or walks into another room, someone telling you no, when anyone is with mommy that isn’t you…like Aubrey or Daddy, when someone takes something you want or are playing with or thought about playing with. Haha

Mobility: You are walking, crawling, and climbing on everything you can. You love to stand up and dance.

Favorite toy: You love your baby Stella! You have starting pointing to her before you go to bed or take a nap. I love that you have found something to love and I’m hoping it sticks! You also love to ride on the little push car. You can push it and walk or ride on it. You’re getting better and going backwards and forwards, but you love when Aubrey pushes you fast.

Upcoming Events: meeting mommy’s friend Emily

New Explorations: Walking! You look so cute and are now exploring so many things as you learn to walk. You look like a little Frankenstein because you hold your hands out straight. You are a huge climber also. You love to turn the water on and off in mommy and daddy’s tub and play in water. You also love taking a bath with Aubrey now. I think you will love the pool this summer!

Sounds, words, and communication: You are talking so much now! There are some words I know you say for sure, and there are other words I think you might be saying but I’m not 100% yet. You definitely say uh oh, hi, bye bye (and wave), dada (you’ve even said daddy recently), mama, mum mum (sounds similar to mama so I’m thinking you use them interchangeable haha). I think you’ve started to say GG (we both thought we heard you say bye bye GG), you bark when you see puppies, you point to things you want, you scream and yell when you don’t want something, you cry when we tell you no, you shake your head yes and no, and so many other things.

Teeth: You cut three teeth at once! Which the doctor said may have contributed to your lingering fever. You’re now working on the final one on the bottom which makes 8 total. That’s a lot of new teeth in a short amount of time!

Exciting Happenings: I feel like we need a whole category to talk about all of the new exciting things that went on the past few months. Since your first birthday we have officially moved into our new house. You love it…especially the stairs. We changed churches which you seem ok with until mommy leaves your side. We celebrated you second Christmas, although it was your first real Christmas where you spent it with actual extended family and didn’t sleep through all of itJ You also have a new pediatrician. We miss Dr. Makamula so much but we have had a great experience with our new doctors so far.