2 Month Check-Up

Where have the last two months gone? Oh, I know...into about 600 diapers, 392 feedings, 280 hours of lost sleep for mom, 25 baths, all for one tiny little creature! Lucky for him he is super cute otherwise I'd have to ship him. Ha ha ha! Henry had a clean bill of health at his 2 month check up this week. Here's the stats:
- 11 pounds, 8 ounces (4 more pounds since birth) 50th percentile
- 23.75 inches (3.75 inches since birth) 65th percentile
- Sleeps about 5 hours on average at night with several small naps throughout the day
- Now is sleeping in his crib at night
- We are attempting to end the swinging nap (this is a challenge!)
- Smiles frequently and coos
- Can raise head and look all around when on his tummy for about 10 minute stretches
- Likes to kick his legs while lying on his back
- Favorite thing to look (besides mom) is a collage of baby announcements above the changing table

So sleep is still of course the issue for me these days. We had one night where Henry slept 7 straight hours, but unfortunately, that was an isolated experience. I continue to be very sleep deprived and haven't felt at all energetic this week. Hopefully we can get this sleep thing worked out better in the next 4 weeks before I return to work. I looked at my blog post from James at this age and he was sleeping 9 hours through the night. Not sure what that was all about. James has always been a very good sleeper. He rarely wakes at night and usually sleeps about 11 hours straight and still takes a 2 hour (nap or "rest") during the day. My pediatrician said that if your first is a good sleeper, then your second should be too. Keeping my fingers crossed that she's right!

Never a Dull Moment

Henry is so strong. James loves spending time with him. He's going to be such a great big brother!
Captured a few of Henry's little smiles today! He is smiling and cooing all the time now.
Henry is the sweetest, most content little baby in the world. He rarely cries. Sources say that this is exactly how Brian was as a baby. His grandma used to beg him to cry just so she could know what it sounded like.
I see so much of my late grandma Doris in Henry's little mouth.
We had such a blast with Sandy and Bill here. James has been asking where Noni and Papa went for a week now.
Noni and the boys.
I was even able to get out and get a much needed haircut and highlight while the Riches were here.
Henry is already getting big. Poor little James better start beefing up!

Our little man, Henry, will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. I really can't remember what life was like before him. Things are definitely still crazy, but we all seem to be getting the hang of things a little better now. Henry is now sleeping about 5-6 hours through the night, waking just once to eat and then going right back down. He still sleeps a lot. I would say at least 18 hours a day. When he is awake he is a great little eater, burper and just loves being help upright so he can take it all in. He is remarkably strong and is growing so fast. He is wearing 3 month clothing at this point. You can feel the little fat roles hanging over his diaper. James was always so little so this is fun having a chunky baby. I go back to work on May 9--only a little over 4 weeks left of maternity leave. I can't complain much though because I go back with 2 weeks of school remaining and then a whole summer vacation. I made the painful decision to go back to work full time next year. Even though it is full time, I'm very very excited about my new position. I will be working 1/2 time as a reading specialist, and 1/2 time as a reading assistant. Both jobs I have held in the past and both jobs are in my specialty area of reading. I'm so relieved to not be going back to the classroom...too much extra work for me at this point in my life! My job next year will be challenging, but it is much more low key. I don't have grades, parents to deal with, discipline issues, homework, or nearly the amount of planning that a classroom position would require. This is a great job for a working mom. James and Henry will go back next year to the awesome babysitter I am so blessed to have, and two days a week my mom and dad will watch the boys. I'm so lucky! James will go to preschool at St. Lucas on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days my parents have him) so he will have a very exciting year.

James is extremely smart. His knowledge and memory amaze me. His vocabulary is exploding. Not only does he speak in complete sentences, he is able to use pronouns and proper tenses when speaking. I rarely have to correct him. He still is in love with trains. Every night we read a few books but then he just wants to hear stories of trains taking him and Henry on adventures. We tell him the stories and he lights up. Then we kiss him goodnight and he goes to bed with his favorite trains all tucked in a row under his blankets. Even though I'm bone tired most days, I wouldn't trade this precious time. It is all such an amazing blessing!