I keep wanting to write a “Little Prince is two and here’s everything he’s doing” post, but he’s doing so much and keeping us so busy, that I don’t have the time. For the record, at his two year check in, he weighed in at 21.8 lbs and was 31.75″ tall. Both numbers are in the single percentiles, but he’s still growing, following his chart, and blowing the major milestones out of the water.

 Ok, now that that’s out of the way I can write about our last weekend.

On Saturday we got up late. We were going to go out to the splash pad, but we got moving so late that it wouldn’t have been worth it. So we go our grocery shopping done early instead. Then we came home, ate lunch and went down for a nap. I fell asleep with Little Prince for the first hour or so. Then he woke me up to switch sides. He fell back asleep nursing and then popped off still asleep after half an hour and stayed asleep for over an hour more. He slept a good 2½ hours, which is unusual because his normal weekend naps are about an hour and a half (maybe two if we are lucky).

When he got up, we headed out to his friend from daycare’s birthday party. It was at Inflatable Wonderland at the Mall. We’d never been there before but it was basically a big room with tons of bounce houses. Little Prince took to it like he was born to jump (he’s really into jumping on everything these days). He went right into a bounce area that was supposedly for “bigger kids.” All the other parents were like, “my kid is afraid to go in” and we had to say “well, this is his third time around these things so he gets them now.” He had a total blast at the party, he even got some of the older kids to help him climb up the ladders so he could go down the big bouncy slides. The only things he didn’t like was when the music was too loud and the shark head at the beginning of the Finding Nemo bouncescape.

Here he is with his friends B and A. They are not even related, but they look so much alike that after two years of seeing them I still have trouble telling them apart sometimes.

It was really great to chat with the other parents of LPs friends. Most of these kids have been together since they were really little (some since they were all about three months old), so they know each other so well that it’s great to see them play. And it’s nice to talk to their parents too. So I started an online group for us so we can post about playdates and stuff. Yay for connecting. Also I know that LP is very verbally advanced, but after seeing him with his peers, yeah…wow. Even some of the other parents commented on how smart LP is.

After the party was over, we got mall food (cause it was getting late) and headed home.

This morning we got moving somewhat faster and we did make it out to the awesome Splash Pad where we had a great time.

 We remembered a ball and cups this time and Little Prince got right under the water without any hesitation. After about an hour in the water he wanted to go to the swings at the playground that’s right there. So we snacked a bit and headed over.

We grabbed food on our way home, ate, and showered. Then it seemed like LP was about to nap, but he nursed for a bit and then wanted to go downstairs. Then Ms. G and Mr. D showed up for a visit. He was so excited to show off. So guess who, after napping so well yesterday, didn’t nap at all today? But we had some downtime after our guests left by watching Wreck-It Ralph as a family. Then we played for a bit, FaceTime’d with Grandma R, and had dinner.

After dinner we played outside with the neighbors and I got to see our newest neighbor who was only 4 days old! So cute! Then inside for quick bath and after that we had meltdown I-didn’t-nap toddler time, so we skipped teeth brushing, went straight to nursing and LP fell asleep super quickly, which gave Darius and I a little bit of extra hangout time.

I should also mention that LP peed in the potty quite a few times over the weekend and has started asking for diaper changes more often. So we’re moving in the right direction, but nice and slowly, at his own pace.

Originally published at my baby blog. Please leave any comments there.

I have this problem when blogging where I feel like I “ought” to blog something or I’ll want to write about a specific topic or I’ll feel like I need to complete X before I can get to the post. And then the moment passes, but I still feel like I “owe” people/readers/the blog the post I haven’t done yet, so I don’t post because until I can post what I “owe” I shouldn’t post anything else. Well, I’ve decided that that’s dumb and I should just blog what I want when I want. So there.

To that end, here’s a catch-up on a whole bunch of stuff that’s happened since my last post in July.

• Darius and I bought a house in the suburbs. It’s huge and we love it. LP loves it too as do the cats. We’re very happy here (even if we’re still not unpacked)
• I had to take a business trip away from LP and Darius for several days. Everyone survived. I came home with over 70oz of pumped milk.
• To that end, we’ve been working on a slight bit of gentle night weaning, based on Jay Gordon’s method. This really deserves it’s own post, but in case I never get to it, it’s going okay… most nights.

• LP is still on the super tiny side of things (at his 15 month checkup he was 9% for height and 2% for weight)
• He has 6 teeth (4 top and 2 bottom)
• He’s becoming a bit of a picky eater, especially at home

• He has more words than I can count, still signs, and is picking up more every day
• He’s really into any word that has a hard K sound at the end: snack, sock, clock, milk, book, and duck are favorites.

Overall I’m really really enjoying this age. He’s moving much better (almost running), climbing all over everything, loves to giggle and laugh and play. He talks a ton and babbles even more. Sometimes he says the word babble. He also just picks up new things so quickly. The other day I taught him to do the Tarzan beat chest and go “ahhhhh.” It’s hilarious.

And life in the suburbs has fallen into a routine of come home, nurse, make/eat dinner and then go outside and play with the neighbourhood kids, then bath and bed. We even got him his own scooter-bike to play on.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t problems. He still doesn’t eat a ton, especially at home. I think it’s partly because he doesn’t always get the healthiest food at daycare and partly because he always wants to nurse when we get home and dinner isn’t too far after that and then he’d rather nurse than eat most of the time on the weekend. I’m trying to not freak out about it. I know he’s growing and healthy and hitting all of his milestones (surpassing many) and since he doesn’t have molars yet it’s not like it’s super easy for him to eat everything, but I still worry. And of course, like all toddlers he is very fond of the word “no” and will occasionally “have big emotions.”

But overall he’s a total joy and makes his mommy and daddy very happy.

Originally published at my baby blog. Please leave any comments there.

It’s hard to believe it, but my little prince is already four months old. At his doctor’s appointment yesterday he was over 24″ long, weighted in at 13lbs 15oz (which is more than twice his birth weight), and has a head that is 40cm around. This puts him in the 30-something percentiles for height and weight and 6% for head size. Tiny heads run in my family, so I’m so not surprised by this. Also, he’s moving well on the chart curve, so that’s good.

He’s starting to get so big. He’s growing out of many of the onesies and pajamas that we have for him. He can still wear the infant cloth diapers, but he’s now in the size 2 disposables.

Little Prince’s newest tricks are grabbing his feet (and trying to suck on his toes), rolling from back to side, and the stealth pee on the changing table (which apparently he only does for me), all of which make it much harder to change him than it use to.

He also giggles and smiles and talks a lot. He’s also getting really good at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth. He loves to nom on his Elephant Mingo, balls, rattles, the Happy Apple, and our fingers, knees, and even feet.

He also will grab our hands or arms and try to eat them while we are changing his diaper… yet another thing that makes diaper changes take longer.

LP still loves tummy time and still really wants to crawl. He’s also getting better at sitting up (lately he’s been trying to pull himself into sitting from semi-reclining) and will stand if we balance him.

He’s been doing pretty well at daycare also. The teachers say that he is all smiles for them (most of the time). He was doing much better taking a bottle last week, but not as much this week. ~sigh~. Since I’m generally pumping more than he is eating in a day, I was able to donate a bunch of my “stash” to another mom in need and I still have a good deal in my freezer.

LP had a little cold the other week, but we got through it. Now we have a humidifier in the bedroom and saline for his nose. OMG, it’s amazing how a little baby can fight two adults when it comes to using saline solution!

Overall things are going well. Darius and I are still adjusting to being two working parents with a baby and housework and cooking and cleaning and two cats that also need attention. But I think we’re slowly getting there.

Originally published at my baby blog. Please leave any comments there.

Our Little Prince had his 6 weeks check-up on Monday. He weighed in at 10lbs 0.5 oz and almost 20″ long. He’s getting so big. The midwife who delivered him was the one who did our check-up. She commended on just how strong he is and how cute he is. She said that the noise he makes overnight are perfectly normal and healthy noises.

She also gave me a check-up. She said that my breast tissue is very healthy, that my abs only have a touch of separation, and that everything that should be together has come back together well. I had to give her a high-five for the last one since she was the one who stitched me up. I also got my blood drawn and tested. I am officially no longer anemic. Hurray! Which means that all of the exhaustion I’m feeling is normal new baby exhaustion. Hurray?

Last Saturday we had our official Centering reunion. While I’d seen some of the other babies already (either at a meet-up or over the internet), it was nice to see everyone again. I even made a cake while baby-wearing (my mom helped and Darius was on baby duty while we decorated it).

Darius and I got asked to come and talk to the August Centering group this week about our experiences at the Birthing Center with the L&D and about being new parents. I think it went pretty well. Our LP was asleep on Darius’s shoulder for most of it, which was really cute.

Pumping has been going well and Darius has even given the LP a few bottles. He’ll eat about 2oz and then about 30min or so later decide he’s hungry again, will refuse the bottle, and will do a long nursing session with me. But it’s a start, so that’s good.

Our Little Prince really likes to “talk” to us and things. His favorite “word” is “agoo.” When he talks, he talks to everything! He’s also starting to smile a lot. It’s so adorable. The other day he invented a game called “roll off of Daddy’s chest onto the edge of the couch.” He’s also getting amazingly good at holding his head up and kicking his legs like he wants to crawl. I have a feeling we’re going to be in big trouble sooner rather than later.

We’re also getting better at recognizing “I’m about to freak out” sounds from “I’m happy in my playpen” sounds and the “I need to nurse” vs. “I have a wet diaper” sounds. I’ve found out that when he’s overtired he’ll think he wants to nurse, start to scream, try to nurse again, and start to scream. When this happens, the best thing is to just stop trying to nurse him and walk him around until he falls asleep.

We’ve been developing a bedtime routine. Every other or third day it starts with a bath from both of us (which he LOVES). We then put him in a disposable diaper (because he hates being wet, so he sleeps longer in one) and put him in a pair of footie pajamas. I then nurse him and hopefully he falls asleep in my arms so I can transfer him to the bed. Sometimes he needs a bit of a walk and a side nurse to fall asleep. The other night he fell asleep in my arms in the “Magic Baby Hold.” Then we all fall asleep because Darius gets up super early for work and because I’m exhausted. Sometimes LP wakes up in the middle of the night and so one of us will do a diaper change and often take him out of his PJs. A lot of the time, he doesn’t quite wake up but sort of thrashes and if I nurse him he just falls back to sleep for a few hours, which I hear is the first step toward longer sleeping periods at night.

Had started putting LP in onesies every day, but he developed a heat rash (man is it hot in Texas!) so most of the time he’s just in his diaper covers. Sometimes I give him naked time on waterproof pads covered with cloth diapers. He seems to really like that time. We also got him some lightweight and/or sleeveless onesies and rompers (in size 0-3 as he is completely out of the newborn size now) for when we need to go out/because they are so cute.

In other news, my mother has been in town for a week and a half. It’s been fantastic having her here. She’s been a tremendous help, both in terms of housework and helping with the LP. It also means we’ve been getting out of the house more, which is tiring but good. I got to get a haircut and she even babysat LP for a few hours so Darius and I could go on a date to see the last Harry Potter movie (I cried a lot). I’m going to miss her so much when she is gone.

Originally published at my baby blog. Please leave any comments there.