Noah at 2 months

I'm a bit behind on posting this, but I want to document some of the exciting things Noah is doing during his second month. At his 2 month checkup he was 10 lb, 15.5 oz.

He is a very strong little guy and is completely holding his head up on his own.  I am SO glad to no longer be in the baby "blob" phase when the baby literally cannot do anything on his own.  It is much easier to carry a baby (and deal with a toddler at the same time) if the baby can hold his head up! 

Starting at 8 weeks old, he began sleeping 7-8 hours/night which is TERRIFIC! This makes for a very happy mama and a happy boy. Unfortunately the 7-8 hours/night don't always coincide with the the time I plan to sleep.  When he sleeps from 830pm - 430am, that's not so helpful!  But we're working on trying to get him into a 10pm-6am routine which is working out pretty decently.

We are very fortunate that he is a pretty easy baby.  8-9pm tends to be his bewitching hour and he just fusses during that hour for no real reason.  But other than that hour, he is a VERY happy little guy and love to smile at everyone.

He love to snuggle and cuddle.  One of the best ways to calm him when he's upset for no obvious reason is to walk around with him in the ergo (baby carrier).  Here's a pic of me carrying him in the ergo at the beach:

He has such terrific head and upper body control that we began using the fabulous bumbo chair which he LOVES.  Yes it is pink - and the same one that Sam used - from our best buddy London who kindly shares her pink bumbo with the Geller-Cheney boys.

Tummy time is not his favorite activity, but we work hard to make sure he has tummy time every day.  He has reflux which is not fun and makes it challenging to do tummy time and prevent him from spitting up everything he ate.  This gorgeous Noah blanket seems to make tummy time more bearable for him.

We have also introduced Noah to one of Sam's favorite tummy time toys - the rolling monkey (see below).  My dad gave this to Sam and he loved it.  If the baby hits the monkey, it rolls and plays an incredibly annoying song.  This toy drives me bonkers, but the boys seem to love it.  I'm not posting a video of it, I will save you the annoyance.

Noah recently visited Brad in his office while I had a dentist appointment down the street.  He was a big hit and everyone loved meeting him!  Brad's boss said that Noah should come visit more often!  Noah was very helpful in lobbying Congress.

 

 Sam continues to adore his brother and wants to include him in everything.  Sam loves to cook at the kitchen island and is ecstatic that Noah can now sit on the bumbo on the counter and "help" him cook! 

Noah is warming up to Sam. Sometimes I can feel his body tense when he hears Sam charging in the room.  I can't blame him for feeling nervous when Sam approaches.  We closely monitor Sam's interactions with Noah because he likes to harass Noah and smothers him in hugs and kisses.  Sam is very sweet with him but sometimes a "gentle" hug turns into more of a squeeze and we do our best to encourage Sam's love for his brother while protecting Noah.

Here's a picture of Sam playing with Noah on his playmat.

Noah loves to talk and coo.  Just like Sam (and us), he is very social and communicative.  When I'm nursing him, I cannot even look at his face because once he makes eye contact with me he stops eating and starts smiling and cooing.  It is very sweet and melts my heart, but I have to continually remind him that it is time to EAT and not TALK.  Here is a very sweet video of him talking and cooing away. He loves to say ooooh, gaaah, yaaaa, and aaaah.  If I stick out my tongue at him, he can stick his tongue out in response to me.  He has started laughing, most frequently when he hears Sam laughing (which is pretty much all the time). 

I try hard not to compare Sam and Noah's infancies - but they are so similar and yet so different. Neither one really cares much about a pacifier or being swaddled. Both have reflux and sleep in a swing for the first few months. However, Noah is doing things so much earlier than Sam - because Sam was a premie so we had to correct for his age. But both boys are pretty easygoing babies which is such a blessing. I don't have to pump with Noah, he is a terrific breastfeeder - in fact he loves to eat and could eat for an hour/feeding - but he doesn't self regulate very well and often over-eats which then leads to spitting up and then he is hungry again and it becomes a downward spiral. 

The biggest difference is the pooping.  Sam pooped about 5-10 times/day for the first 18 months of his life.  He still goes at least 3-4x/day!  Noah poops 1-2x PER WEEK!  It is completely freaking me out!  The first time he went 4 days without pooping, I brought him to the pediatrician because I was really worried.  The doctor assured me that he was fine and some breastfed babies only poop 1x/week.  Even still by day 5 of "no pooping" each week I begin to worry and check his diaper constantly.  I'm still not adjusting to this "no pooping" thing very well - although it does make for very easy diaper changes!

Anyway, enough about pooping - back to the more important things - like how incredible sweet he is. My new nickname for Noah is "sweet boy." He has started to play with rattles and enjoys batting at things on his playmat. He loves the bath and splashing in the water.  He recently went into the pool for the first time!

Noah and Mimi

 But his favorite activity is smiling and cooing! 

 After he spits up on me or pees on me, he always has a big goofy grin on his face and seems very pleased with his talents and accomplishment!

Although some days are certainly challenging, I try hard to cherish every day with my sweet boy - because I know that the baby stage goes by so quickly.  He is beginning to outgrow many of the newborn clothes and is mostly in 0-3 or 3 month clothes now and as I pack away the newborn outfits, I feel a wave of sadness at the passage of time and prepare myself for the next chapter in the exciting book of Life with Noah!