Two Month Check-Up

Yesterday, I visited Dr. Brunner for my two month check up. I now weigh 8 lbs. 11 oz. The doctor said that I am all stomach. I guess that means that I carry most of my weight in my tummy. In addition to my big tummy, the doctor noticed that my head seems to be growing quite big, too. I hope that means that I have a giant brain. I was also supposed to start my immunizations yesterday. Mommy said that she wanted to wait to talk to Daddy about whether she wanted me to get all four of the suggested shots. Four shots! Thank goodness Mommy wants to talk to Daddy... I can't even imagine the pain that comes with four shots. Hopefully, she and Daddy will decide against all of them. My next appointment will be when I am four months old.

Godmother Anita

I finally got to meet my Godmother Anita on Tuesday. She and Mommy met for lunch at Red Robin in Bellevue. And believe it or not, Mommy even remembered to bring her camera and take some pictures of us together. I can't wait to see her again next week!

Mother's Milk

I almost forgot to share the craziest thing I have ever heard from my last appointment at the birth center. A couple weekends ago, Mommy noticed that I had a pussy eye. Every hour she would have to wipe away the ooze and crusties that kept forming around my eyelid. Luckily, this only lasted a day and I didn't have to go see the doctor. At our birth center appointment, she told Midwife Val about it. Midwife Val told us that the best way to cure things like pussy eyes is to squirt the infected area with mother's milk. Can you believe it? I'm not letting Mommy squirt me in the eye with mother's milk! Don't expect me to have an eye infection again anytime soon... Mommy's going to have to try this crazy healing method out on Daddy or Trev-dog instead.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I think that I left off my last entry halfway through Gran and Grandaddy's visit. The rest of the week, I split my time between Gran, Grandaddy, and Daddy, and Mommy. Daddy would keep me in the morning and Mommy would get me in the afternoon. It was fun being able to see and do so many different things. I helped Daddy in the garden, went grocery shopping, saw field day at Mommy's school, watched the students make homemade ice cream, went out to sushi, and helped Gran and Grandaddy put together a puzzle. I also went to Canada, my first foreign country. I liked Canada a lot because it was just like home. The cousins were really nice, too. They gave me a lot of attention. Saturday night I even slept through the entire night without a wake up! Too bad Mommy and Daddy weren't so lucky (there was a party going on upstairs until 3 a.m.- Mommy and Daddy couldn't sleep because of all of the noise). On the second day, Mommy and Daddy thought I should try out the swimming pool. That was NOT a pleasant experience. All it took was my little foot touching the freezing cold water to know that swimming is not for me! Gran and Grandaddy just left yesterday. I am really going to miss them, but I am excited to know that it won't be long until our next visit. We are going to North Carolina in August to help them celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I am not even sure how long 50 years is. It must be really long since they are having such a big celebration. Wow, I have been one busy baby lately... it is nice to know that things might be slowing down a bit.

P.S. I hope to be getting some of the pictures the cousins took in Canada soon. They are much better than Mommy and Daddy at taking pictures!

Midwives

Yesterday was the last time Mommy and I got to visit the midwives- now I will be taken care of by Dr. Brunner. Like always, I got weighed. I am now 8 lbs. 3oz. This is the exact weight of Baby Lola (Mommy's friend Shea's baby) when she was born. I can't believe that some babies are born weighing just as much as I weigh after 7 weeks! I heard Mommy ask if I was on the right track for weight gain and Midwife Val said yes since both she and Daddy are smaller people. It seems like being smaller makes me cuter so I definitely like that I am a small baby. Despite all this, I am starting to grow out of some of my newborn clothes. I remember when everything was much too big for me and now I am getting too big for them. Lucky for me, I have a whole closest full of bigger sizes to wear with my new bigger body.

Crazy Life

My life has been super crazy this last week. First, I met my Godfather but Mommy didn't take any pictures of us together so I am not sure how I am going to remember him. She did however snag a really cool pair of sunglasses from him. Don't I just look CRAZY in these? Then, I met Gran and Grandaddy. Mommy has not been so good with the pictures with them either. I think I might have to get Dad involved in this picture taking business. We also had a great Father's Day. I got Daddy a digital picture frame which is awesome. Now he can have a bunch of pictures of me and Mommy scrolling on his desk. What better way to reduce stress than to have my face smiling back at him? Next, I went to a music concert at Mommy' school. Boy, those 4th graders did a great job! Their music was so beautiful it put me into a very peaceful sleep. On top of all of this, my parents took me to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. I got to see a lot of really neat glass sculptures as well as how they are made in the "Hot Shop." I had to try my hardest to avoid looking at the glowing red melting ovens. It was fascinating. Hopefully, I will have time to update again before going to Canada this weekend.

Bigger Stomach

I am happy to say that my stomach is getting bigger everyday. This means that I can last longer between feedings, especially at night. I thought that the reason I was only waking up once a night was because I wasn't getting a good nap between 7 and 10 p.m. - but the last few nights, I got a good nap and still only woke up once. I now think that this is because of my bigger stomach. Yippee- I am one step closer to sleeping through the entire night! Good sleep for everyone!

Major Blow Out

So I didn't really know what was happening until after it happened. First, I just felt a little gassy (that is definitely not unusual for me). Next, I realized that I needed to go poop, which I did. What I didn't realize is that when I pushed it out, I did so with such incredible force that it shot right out of the top of my diaper and all over my back. I didn't really mind the feeling. It wasn't until Mommy started sniffing around (apparently it was a lot stinkier than I thought) that she discovered what I had done. Of course she totally panicked. She raced me upstairs being careful not to hold me against her body- what was she afraid of? I had poop on me and I didn't care. Once she got me onto the changing table, she couldn't figure out how to take the poopy clothes and diaper off while still holding my mostly poopy body without getting poop all over everything. She finally managed to do all of that but when she got to the bathroom, it was the changing table all over again. She needed to fill up the sink with just the right temperature of water therefore she had to keep me out of the water until she knew it was safe while trying to keep my poopy body from touching anything of importance, especially her. What kind of mom do I have? Finally, the sink was full but my washcloth was on the other side of the bathroom. After a crazy maneuver with the hand towel and rug, she managed to get to my washcloth and was able to successfully clean me up. I thought that I was on my way to a clean diaper and a new outfit until I noticed that my towel was also across the room and Mommy had run out of options. Luckily, she came up with the idea to drain the water out of the sink and then grab the towel. What a crazy 15 minutes. I can't wait for it to happen again. It is fun watching Mommy panic!

Hearing Exam and a Shot

Yesterday, Mommy took me to get my hearing checked. Luckily, I was sleeping during the exam so I don't really remember much of what they did. What I do remember is something going into each ear. Then, I heard a bunch of little sounds. Mommy says that my left ear is super strong and my right ear is good for hearing most sounds but may be a little weak with lower tones. I will go back in 6 months so that they can do the 2nd part of the test. The doctor says the 2nd part of the test is more accurate than the 1st part so then we will know for sure about my right ear. After my hearing test, Mommy noticed that there was a doctor's office next door. It just happened to be the same type of doctor's office I go to in Sammamish (apparently they have several locations). Mommy thought that this would be the perfect time to get me the shot I needed. What was she thinking? Hadn't I been through enough? Talk about pain- there was NO sleeping through that. At least I got a super cool Snoopy Band-Aid.

Nighttime Schedule

I keep wondering when my mom and dad are finally going to figure out my nighttime schedule. I have given then a ton of clues as to what works best for me, but they still seem to think they know better. Don't they see the pattern? If I only take a short nap between 7 and 10 p.m. then I can sleep until 2:40 a.m. or later. Isn't that what they want- more sleep and less waking up? They can continue doing to their way but they are not going to be getting as much sleep as they could be- I thought they liked sleeping, especially my mom. These are the pitfalls of living by what is written in a book instead of looking at me as a unique individual. I guess that is a lesson they will just have to learn on their own.

Why?

Why? Why do I always get the hiccups? It doesn't matter how many times my mom and dad burp me or thump me on the back... the hiccups just seem to come anyway. I get them after almost all of my meals and I can take it for the first few minutes but after awhile, they just get annoying and uncomfortable. I also can't seem to figure out how the hiccups help me. I mean, things like sneezing actually give me a good feeling- why don't the hiccups give me the same feeling? I used to get them a lot when I was in Mom's tummy but I always thought that was because of something Mom was doing. I figured they would stop once I became my own independent baby. They haven't! Life can be so tough sometimes!

A Guide to Napping

Most grown-ups and many children have probably forgotten (or maybe never knew) that there are many different types of naps. I have created a guide to help everyone remember the art of napping.

Full Swaddle in the Dark- this nap is especially good for night time because it helps me feel safe and secure in my crib while keeping me warm. By keeping my arms and legs tight against my body, I am less likely to accidentally wake myself up. I also like this nap in the middle of the day- the darkness helps me sleep better.

Half-Swaddle in the Dark- the darkness reminds me of night time so I want to go to sleep. Only swaddling my legs keeps me warm and secure but gives me the freedom to play with my arms- sometimes, I suck on my hand during this type of nap and that is soothing.

Full Swaddle in Daylight- this nap happens when Mommy or Daddy want to go out but they don't want my nap disrupted. I can still ride in my car seat in a swaddle making it easy for all of us to stay right on schedule.

All Natural- this type of nap of happens when I fall asleep where ever I am- it could be in Mommy or Daddy's lap, in my car seat, or on the couch. This nap is especially nice because it happens naturally instead of Mommy and Daddy trying to force me to sleep. This most often happens in the daylight.

Cuddle- sometimes, I have a hard time sleeping by myself so Mommy or Daddy lets me sleep with him or her in the big bed. I especially like it when they put me on my tummy, on their chest- it is so warm and safe feeling.

Eyes Wide Open- if I am super tired, I fall asleep with my eyes open. You will know that I am napping because I will not be blinking and my body will be limp.

Surprises

I must be the luckiest baby on earth. It seems like everyday my mommy and daddy have a new surprise for me. Sometimes it is something for me to play with or wear or help me to sleep. Today, Mommy put me in a really fun and very relaxing swing. It has fish all over it (just like my birth theme), plays gentle, soothing music, and has a light show. I like it to help me sleep, but it is fun to kick around in, too. My next surprise came from my Grandpa Bob. He bought me a onesie that says "Instructions not included." I am not sure what this means, but I am guessing that my grandpa wouldn't have bought it if it didn't apply to me. Finally, Mommy told me today that my Godfather Justin (not to be confused with my daddy Justin) is coming later this week and my Godmother Anita is coming at the end of the month. I can't wait to meet them! I wonder what other surprises Mommy and Daddy have for me.

Spit-Up and Arm Pit Goo

Last night, I woke up to feed at about 2:00 a.m. After what I thought was a great 20 minutes of milk, I was trying to fall back to sleep when all of a sudden, I felt the milk creeping back up my throat. It was only in my mouth seconds before I just couldn't hold it any longer. I spit up all over my bed, swaddle, and self. Luckily, my mommy was still awake and heard me. She rushed in and helped me get cleaned up and resettled for the rest of the night. Thank goodness! Sleeping in your own spit up is disgusting! This morning, Mommy woke me up to have breakfast. While I was enjoying my meal, Mommy was checking my armpits (don't ask me why). It turns out it was a good thing she did because I had some stinky build up in the creases. I am not surprised that she didn't find it sooner since it only seemed to smell when she pulled my skin apart. Daddy was there with a wipe to help clean me up. Mommy is going to have to do a better job of giving me a bath... otherwise, she is going to have a stinky baby in more ways than one.

Saturday

Yesterday was super fun! First, Mom and Dad set-up my new Pack-N-Play. It has a music player, a giant caterpillar, and two hanging animals to keep me entertained. Mom and Dad even added a few other things they thought I would like. The best part is that it has wheels so that I can be where ever Mom and Dad are. There is one bad thing- it STINKS! I understand that all new things have a "new thing" smell (and sometimes the "new thing" smell actually smells kind of good), but this is NOT, I repeat, NOT an enjoyable smell. Mom and Dad are working on making it smell better so hopefully I won't have to worry about it after a couple of days. Then, last night, Mom and Dad had some friends over for dinner. Their little girl- her name is Maya- helped Mom give me a bath. It was really fun to have someone else playing with me during bath time. She even picked out my bedtime outfit. I hope that she will help Mom more often! After all that excitement, I was really tired! It felt so good to go to bed.