Two Months

"Yeah, that's right - I'm two months old!"

It feels like it's gone by in the blink of an eye - Elliot is already two months old.  It's crazy that it's already been two months since his speedy arrival. Two months since we went from a little family of three to our little family of four.  Two months since I was afraid I couldn't possibly love another child as much as Andrew to now feeling my heart expand in ways I never knew possible.

All around it's been a pretty good two months.  We're getting through the newborn exhaustion and seeing a light at the end of that tunnel.  I'm learning his cues and it's getting to where I can anticipate some of his needs before he gets too riled up.  Elliot is different from Andrew in that he is not a night owl. By 7:00 every night he is getting cranky and ready for the bedtime routine.  As soon as I notice him start to get cranked up we get him in the tub. He loves his bath and is so content to just sit there in the warm water.  He doesn't make a peep, just wiggles around and stares at me with this cute expression on his face:

We've been giving him a 3 oz bottle of pumped milk before bed, just to make sure he has a pretty full belly. I feed that to him, change his diaper, swaddle him up and then nurse him.  He's down for the night between 8:00 and 8:30 and has been waking up every night around 3:00 AM for his nighttime feeding.  I know that technically that could be considered STTN and to be totally honest I'll take it.  I try to get to bed by 10:00 so if he gets up at 3:00 I'm getting five straight hours. We're normally up for 30-40 mins at that feeding and then he's back down until 6:30 or 7:00.  This is such an improvement over where we were just two weeks ago and I'm very happy with it.

He is still nursing on demand during the day. I'm still working from home so I'm able to feed him whenever he wants.  I'm also trying to pump at least an extra 5 oz a day to go into the freezer to build up a stash for when I go back to work at the office.  It will be nice to have a reserve so I don't have to stress out every day about pumping enough for the next day like I always did with Andrew.  I need to test out some frozen milk with him again (he's had some already) to make sure he will drink it with no issues. So far I have 60 oz in the freezer and would like to have 200+ oz in there by Dec 2nd.

He has started to enjoy his playmat and is content to lay there looking at the hanging toys and kicking the musical pad.  It's nice to have somewhere that I can put him down where he is happy to play for more than 5 minutes. It makes getting dinner ready a little easier.

Andrew likes to play with him on the mat

I've had to pack away all the newborn sized clothes and get out the 0-3 and 3-6 month sized ones.  I'm really sad every time I pack something away because that will be the last time they are worn.  I was super sad when I realized he never even wore the froggy footie pajamas that Andrew came home from the hospital in.  I had wanted to get a picture of him in them and by the time I got around to it it was too late.

His two month well check is this afternoon and I can't wait to see how big he's gotten. He's eating like a champ and has really filled out so I know he's packing on the weight.  I'll come back and update once I have his stats.

Update: Here are his stats:
Weight:  11 lbs 6.2 oz - 27th percentile
Length:  23" - 50th percentile
Head:  15.25" - 37th percentile

All in all it's been a great two months and I look forward to seeing what the coming months bring.

As for me, my two month postpartum body isn't exactly what I was hoping for. I still have 12 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  My stomach is still really doughy and my hips butt and thighs need a lot of work. I have only myself to blame, though, because I feel like I am constantly eating - and not always healthily.  I really have to get my eating under control and I definitely need to make healthier choices. I know my body will hold on to some weight while I am breastfeeding and that's ok. I just want to get back to being toned and not feeling so bad about how I look.  Finding time for the gym is harder now with two, but I'll figure it out.  I need to start doing my ab workout while Elliot is napping and maybe pick up some weights so I can do a little toning then, too.

I shouldn't complain, though. I have an absolutely beautiful son who is happy and healthy and that is the most important thing.  Now I'm going to go eat some grapes instead of grabbing the muffin I'd rather have instead  :)