His Plan, Not Ours: Owen is two months old!

I'm two months old!

At his two-month doctor appointment, Owen was:

Weight: 11 pounds, 7 ounces, 50th percentile

Height: 23.7 inches long, 75th percentile

Head Circumference:15.5 inches, 50th percentile

Dr. Lawrence was very pleased with Owen's growth and development. He said that Owen was showing advanced motor skills for his age and was impressed with his ability to hold his head up, track movement with his eyes, and his alertness.

Also at his two-month appointment, Owen received several vaccinations, including those for Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Pneumococcal, and Haemophilus influenzae. He did really well with the shots. He looked surprised at first when they stuck him, but then burst into tears. We were able to calm him pretty quickly and after I tucked him into the Moby, he fell asleep.

I had shots today. I was a brave boy.

Towards the end of this month I started to get Owen on a schedule. He does everything in three-hour increments during the day, but I’m not super strict about it. It has been really nice though because he seems to be sleeping better at night and is generally happier in the evenings than he has been. I pretty much start his schedule whenever he wakes up naturally in the morning, which is generally around 7 or 8. He eats first and then gets to be awake for a time either playing or having a bath or going for a walk. To round out the three hours, he takes a nap. Then he wakes up or I wake him up to begin the next three-hour shift. In the evenings though, he generally skips that playtime and just eats and falls asleep. I do not schedule his nights of course and just let him sleep for as long as he will. He’s been doing really well with it and seems to be much more alert and happy during his eating and playtime. We made the mistake before of thinking that if he were awake more during the day that he would sleep better at night. Quite the opposite is true. Now that he is getting his naptimes in, he sleeps for about six or seven hours at night, generally waking up at about 3 or 4 in the morning.

Eating:

Owen eats about every three or hour hours now that he is on a schedule. He generally eats four ounces on average each feeding. He is still drinking from a bottle. Breastfeeding has still been a trial and I think Owen has been spoiled by the bottle. Regardless, he is still getting breast milk and is growing great.

Sleeping:

Owen is pretty close to sleeping through the night. For the most part during the past few weeks, he has only woken up once during the night. He generally wakes up at around 3 or 4 in the morning. Every once in a while, he will wake up two times during the night, but we still realize how fortunate we are to have a little baby who does so well at night.

This month has been a little rough because Owen has had some bad evenings where he cries uncontrollably. I have given up dairy products in hopes that it will help with his gassiness and fussiness, but we're not convinced it makes a difference. Sometimes we see a difference and other days he will revert back to his old ways. Eventually once he’s cried himself out and we've used every method imaginable to console him, he will sleep really well.

I love taking afternoon naps with Daddy on the weekend. Sometimes I snore even louder than him.

Mommy takes tons of pictures of me and Daddy sleeping. She must think we're cute or something.

Other Things I Want to Remember:

Owen’s biggest accomplishments this month are smiling and his increased awareness of his surroundings. Owen smiles a lot now, particularly when he first wakes up. (My kid is a morning person. Who would have imagined?) He began the month by smiling when I tickled his cheeks, but now he can do it spontaneously in response to us smiling and talking to him. He also smiles a lot at the ceiling fan. He loves to look around and gets quite frustrated when he’s flat on his back or lying back in my arms. He can hold his head up pretty well now, but is still a bit wobbly.

Owen has also started cooing and “talking” more. It’s fun to have little conversations with him. He is particularly talkative in the mornings.

Owen fusses anytime I try to get him to take a nap, but now that he is on a schedule he is falling asleep much faster and waking up happier.

As you can see, I like to nap in the big bed.

Owen is wearing solely 0-3 month size clothing now and size one diapers. He has some size 1/2s that we got for a deal at Target, but I think they are a little too big.

His eyes are still dark blue, though some days they look like they could become another color. He still has most of his hair. A tiny bit has rubbed off on the back of his head where he lays.

My eyes are pretty blue like my Daddy's.

I love to be held on your shoulders so that I can look around.

Owen is loving his activity mat more now and can spend 10 to 15 minutes on it at a time, wiggling his arms and legs and batting (unintentionally) at the toys hanging from it. He still hates tummy time, but he is getting stronger at holding his head up and is managing to move around on the mat by pushing himself with his legs. A few days ago, he rolled up on his side from his back to look at himself in a mirror, but did not roll all the way to his front.

Sometimes I play so hard that I fall asleep.

Owen still loves bath time, but generally cries and cries during the drying off and redressing process.

I fit much better in my whale tub than I used to.

We have started using the Moby Wrap to soothe Owen when he is sleepy and when we’re out and about running errands. He does really well in it and falls asleep really quickly. I love it because I have both hands free to get things done around the house or to grocery shop, etc., but I still get to have him close.

Owen is much more playful now than he was last month. He loves to coo at us and smile and wiggle around. He enjoys playing with a few of his toys, such as those with rings he can grasp in his fist. His favorite toy to do this with is his daddy’s finger, which he is becoming very adept at grabbing and pulling into his mouth. Owen still loves his musical elephant toy, Ned, and thanks to his Aunt Jenny, he has an almost identical one (named Zed) that we have in our bedroom. Owen’s favorite book is “Peek-a-Who?” by Nina Laden. It’s a short book of just a few rhyming words with brightly colored pictures. It also has a mirror in it so Owen can look at himself after we finish reading it to him. He loves to look at the pages.