8 Weeks – Update

Aedan:

Almost 2 months old and as adorable as ever.  I’ll post about our vacation last weekend separately, but he did great on his first weekend away.  Babies at this age are just so adaptable.  He’s great at sleeping anywhere, anytime, so it’s easy to take him along places.

He is still growing and I love his chubby legs and belly.  He will have his 2 month appointment next Monday, so we’ll know for sure how much weight he’s gained.  I believe he’s still on pace to be bigger than his brother was at this age.  He wears 3-6 month clothes as well and 0-3 month clothes.  We’re wondering how much longer he’ll be in size 1 diapers.  I love that he’s keeping more of his hair than Brody did, and it hasn’t started to lighten up yet.  Could he be keeping my hair-color?  Let’s hope!

Oh and my favorite part right now?  He’s right on track with Brody and sleeping 8-9 hours at night.  We’re on a streak of wonderful full nights of sleep.  Now, I just have to try to move up his bedtime so he goes to bed earlier and wakes up at the same time as his brother.  That would make my life so much easier!  But beggars can’t be choosers.

Brody:

Brody is a great big-brother.  He loves Aedan and constantly gives him hugs and kisses.  He can be a little rough at times, but not on purpose, and rarely.  At least we’re to the point that I can leave them alone in another room and not worry about it.

Last week, I ran upstairs to get dressed while Brody was watching TV and Aedan was sleeping in his swing.  A few minutes later I heard Aedan fussing and started to head downstairs.  Brody was on his way upstairs to get me and tell me that Aedan was crying.  Such a sweet brother.

He still strives for attention, so we’re working on some behavior problems.  We started a behavior sticker chart about 3-4 weeks ago.  He gets a sticker for good behavior.  It’s working pretty well for some items (staying in his room during bedtime/naptime) and not as well for others (going #2 on the potty).

He’s no longer at daycare during the day, so I am loving some of the fun things he says and that we’re doing together.  I am constantly trying to make sure we have enough to do so he’s not bored, but it allows us to do different things.  Right now, he’s doing a lot of Thanksgiving crafts.  As much as it makes sense for him to be home and as much as he loves us, he actually loves daycare.  After the first week, he started asking when he gets to see his “Sunday School” friends.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t been to Sunday school in awhile because of Aedan’s baptism, vacation and a trip to Madison.  And he won’t be going this week because of his cousin’s baptism.  Then, he started talking more about his daycare friends.  He thought he was going back to “school” this week (by accident), so when he woke up and I told him he was staying home, he was very sad.  Then he started telling me how he wants his school friends to come over to his house.  We’ve had a few playdates, but his school friends he’s used to seeing every day.  I think we may look into sending him a couple times before I return to work, just to see his friends again.

Me:

I’m adjusting to life at home with two boys, but I know it’s a time I may never get with them again.  With only 4 more weeks to go, it’s bittersweet.  I can’t wait to get back to my job, to feel useful, to talk to someone other than a 2 year old all day and to make decisions other than what’s for lunch each day.  However, I know after a week or two, I’ll be dying to stay home with my boys…just not every single day.

Officially dairy-free for 10 weeks now…except for those couple days I enjoyed some cheese.  It’s helping Aedan, though I suspect he may still have a sensitivity to more hidden dairy items.  I’ve been trying to eliminate all of those as well, hoping it gets better.  Next step may be eliminating soy, but we’ll talk to the pediatrician next week.  I’m happy though that Aedan has only had breastmilk for 8 weeks, much longer than Brody.  However, unless I can start pumping more milk, in 4 weeks, Aedan will have to start some formula.

New Home

Welcome to my new home!  I was feeling a bit limited with blogger, so I am trying out wordpress.  Bear with me as I figure out the best features of my new site, but I am hoping it will be better.  And it was super easy to transfer over all my old posts.

But don’t worry, there will still be lots of cuteness here!

Why I Breastfeed

6 1/2 weeks into Aedan’s life and I still have to remind myself on a daily basis why breastfeeding him is the right thing for us.  So I thought I would blog about it to help me with my goal of doing it as long as I can.  Every week or so I set a new goal.  My current short-term goal is 2 months.  My long-term goal is to do it until I go back to work.

Why I breastfeed:
1.  We already know Aedan has a sensitive stomach, breastmilk is formulated to be the best thing for him, as long as I avoid dairy.  I worry that even hypoallergenic formula will be tough on his stomach.

2. It’s free!  (sort-of)  Formula, especially hypoallergenic, is expensive.  I’m cheap.  I say it’s only sort-of free because I’ve invested in nursing bras, tank-tops, remedies for soreness early on…and a pump.  But at least the pump was an investment I made 3 years ago.

3. Attempt to keep Aedan healthier.  Theoretically since my breastmilk has my immunities, it should give Aedan a stronger immune system.  Brody was constantly sick (as are most daycare kids) the first couple years, so I am trying to give Aedan the best shot possible.  Do I really think that formula-fed kids can’t be just as healthy?  No.  But it’s worth a shot!

4. It is easier, when we’re at home.  No bottles, no powder to mix, and it’s always in stock!  Especially in the middle of the night when I’m too sleep deprived to make bottles.

Why I struggle with breastfeeding:
1.  It’s not easy, when I’m not at home.  I can walk through Target feeding Aedan a bottle, I can’t however walk and breastfeed.  I know some moms can (by using a sling), but I’m not that coordinated (ha!).  I’ve gotten over my fear of nursing in public and I just use a cover to keep everything hidden.  If I didn’t do this, I’d never get out of the house and then I’d really go crazy.  But it still requires me to sit down for anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on how slow Aedan wants to eat that day.

2.  The pump.  I hate the pump.  At the end of the day, I’m going back to work and ideally I would pump to keep up his breastmilk.  So I started pumping to get him used to the bottle and to start building extra.  Unfortunately, I’m learning that I can only pump about half of what he eats.  So, while I’m still building an extra stash, when I give him a bottle, I lose out.  He eats 3-4oz, I pump 1.5-2oz.  So as much as giving him a bottle is great and gives me a break, I lose out.  Which means less time away from the baby, which means less time with Brody and less alone time with the hubs.

3. DAIRY!  Have I ever mentioned how much I love milk, and cheese, and milk chocolate and ice cream?  Yum…

Above all, I LOVE those cute squishy cheeks!

Aedan is 6 Weeks

On our way to 2 months!  Aedan is more alert, has better neck control and is smiling! 

He’s eating and growing like crazy.  I don’t know how much he weighs, but he’s wearing some 3-6 month sleepers and looks pretty chunky in a lot of his 3 month clothes.  I can’t believe how big he’s getting!  He’s growing so much faster than Brody, just another one of the differences we’re going to see with these two. 

He’s an amazing sleeper.  We are so lucky, as he averages 5-8 hours each night.  After the 8 hours nights, I feel great!  It’s so nice.  Then a 5 hour night sneaks up on us…but I really can’t complain. 

We haven’t introduced any formula at this point but he’s getting about 1 bottle of pumped milk each night to get him used to the bottle.  He’s doing it pretty well with it, but still doesn’t love his pacifier.

The past two weeks, Aedan had his first Halloween, met a few of my friends he hasn’t seen yet, and spent his first few hours away from his parents.

Here’s a photo recap since his 1 month checkup: