Holy baby fat, Batman!
Atticus is officially huge. He and Penelope had their well child appointments with the pediatrician today, and he weighed in at 16 pounds even. He is 2 months and 2 weeks old. I recorded Penelope's 2-month weight as 13 pounds, 9 ounces. She may have been closer to exactly 2 months when that was taken, but still. Sixteen pounds! I haven't posted in my due date community since I joined, but I read everyone's updates, and nobody else's baby is 16 pounds. Off. The. Charts.
So technically, I'm supposed to move him out of his bassinet at 15 pounds, but I think I'll wait a couple more weeks. He's not rolling, so he's not going to knock the thing over, and it's so convenient to have him right there beside me.
Atticus's sleep is becoming more predictable. He has been wanting to go to sleep around 7:30 or 8:30 every night for a while now. I don't remember this happening with Penelope, so the first time he started fussing for apparently no reason around that time, I had no idea what the deal was. Finally I looked at him and said, "Do you, like, want me to swaddle you? Put you in your swing?" So I did both, and he was quite content for a few minutes until he fell asleep. So that's become my evening routine. Swaddle, nurse, swing, and he keeps swinging until I'm ready for bed, usually two or three hours later. Then he may nurse when I take him to the bassinet, but last night he did not and didn't wake again to nurse until almost 4 a.m. After whatever longish stretch of sleep, he'll then wake up after shorter intervals, one or two hours, until morning when he's ready to have some interaction time, and then he takes a morning nap.
With Penelope, I always, always, always had to nurse her to sleep and then carry her to bed, or to the swing when she was napping there. Atticus is a lot more pragmatic about the nursing than she was. He likes the nurse when he's hungry, and if he's not hungry and I have guessed wrong that he was, he won't take the breast. Penelope always took the boob when it was offered. I'm relying on the swing a lot with Atticus, but I may not actually need to. Maybe after I go back to work, I'll try swaddling him and just putting him to bed. It's just that the swing is in the part of the house where we hang out, and the bassinet and crib are back where you can't hear him cry unless you're back there.
Penelope's sleep is becoming more manageable by leaps and bounds. We just... started trying to get her to sleep in her own bed, and it worked! It had worked intermittently at best before. Now she sleeps in her own bed every night. If Lee is home, he usually lies down with her until she falls asleep, but if he is not home, I really am unable to do that (and unwilling). So last night, for example, she got to read a book with our friend Jen who was visiting, and then she tried to stall and whine about getting into bed, but she finally did, and I read another book with her (actually, we looked at her baby photo album, per her request). Then I said goodnight and started to leave. She asked me to sleep with her, and I told her I had to bring Atticus to his bed, and I would probably have to feed him, and I just wouldn't be able to lie down with her. She said, "okay," and I gave her a kiss and hug, turned out the lights, and left. I can't believe how easy this has become. It seems like there has to be a catch.
Granted, she still doesn't have a bedtime, and she's usually going to bed at the same time we are, which can be very late sometimes, but I imagine she'll be much more open to going to bed early in a couple of weeks when she's getting up early to go to day care.
At the doctor's office today, Penelope weighed 33 pounds and was 38.75 inches tall. So she has gained 4.5 pounds and 2 inches this year. She is very healthy. Both kids had a CBC done, and Penelope barely flinched when the nurse pricked her finger to draw some blood. That was good, because she has recently become very concerned about her blood and bones and will sometimes say out of nowhere that we should not take her blood out because she needs it in. I think that started after she saw Atticus have his blood drawn several weeks ago; he cried and cried, and she seemed concerned. He cried and cried this time, too, and Penelope said, "that hurts!" When it was time for shots, Penelope did cry, but only for a little bit. Then she became interested in the Snoopy band-aids and in my promise that she could have a Happy Meal. Atticus was no more happy to have shots than he was to have his blood drawn, but luckily, he was more than ready for his morning nap by the time it was all over, and he went to sleep pretty easily.
So technically, I'm supposed to move him out of his bassinet at 15 pounds, but I think I'll wait a couple more weeks. He's not rolling, so he's not going to knock the thing over, and it's so convenient to have him right there beside me.
Atticus's sleep is becoming more predictable. He has been wanting to go to sleep around 7:30 or 8:30 every night for a while now. I don't remember this happening with Penelope, so the first time he started fussing for apparently no reason around that time, I had no idea what the deal was. Finally I looked at him and said, "Do you, like, want me to swaddle you? Put you in your swing?" So I did both, and he was quite content for a few minutes until he fell asleep. So that's become my evening routine. Swaddle, nurse, swing, and he keeps swinging until I'm ready for bed, usually two or three hours later. Then he may nurse when I take him to the bassinet, but last night he did not and didn't wake again to nurse until almost 4 a.m. After whatever longish stretch of sleep, he'll then wake up after shorter intervals, one or two hours, until morning when he's ready to have some interaction time, and then he takes a morning nap.
With Penelope, I always, always, always had to nurse her to sleep and then carry her to bed, or to the swing when she was napping there. Atticus is a lot more pragmatic about the nursing than she was. He likes the nurse when he's hungry, and if he's not hungry and I have guessed wrong that he was, he won't take the breast. Penelope always took the boob when it was offered. I'm relying on the swing a lot with Atticus, but I may not actually need to. Maybe after I go back to work, I'll try swaddling him and just putting him to bed. It's just that the swing is in the part of the house where we hang out, and the bassinet and crib are back where you can't hear him cry unless you're back there.
Penelope's sleep is becoming more manageable by leaps and bounds. We just... started trying to get her to sleep in her own bed, and it worked! It had worked intermittently at best before. Now she sleeps in her own bed every night. If Lee is home, he usually lies down with her until she falls asleep, but if he is not home, I really am unable to do that (and unwilling). So last night, for example, she got to read a book with our friend Jen who was visiting, and then she tried to stall and whine about getting into bed, but she finally did, and I read another book with her (actually, we looked at her baby photo album, per her request). Then I said goodnight and started to leave. She asked me to sleep with her, and I told her I had to bring Atticus to his bed, and I would probably have to feed him, and I just wouldn't be able to lie down with her. She said, "okay," and I gave her a kiss and hug, turned out the lights, and left. I can't believe how easy this has become. It seems like there has to be a catch.
Granted, she still doesn't have a bedtime, and she's usually going to bed at the same time we are, which can be very late sometimes, but I imagine she'll be much more open to going to bed early in a couple of weeks when she's getting up early to go to day care.
At the doctor's office today, Penelope weighed 33 pounds and was 38.75 inches tall. So she has gained 4.5 pounds and 2 inches this year. She is very healthy. Both kids had a CBC done, and Penelope barely flinched when the nurse pricked her finger to draw some blood. That was good, because she has recently become very concerned about her blood and bones and will sometimes say out of nowhere that we should not take her blood out because she needs it in. I think that started after she saw Atticus have his blood drawn several weeks ago; he cried and cried, and she seemed concerned. He cried and cried this time, too, and Penelope said, "that hurts!" When it was time for shots, Penelope did cry, but only for a little bit. Then she became interested in the Snoopy band-aids and in my promise that she could have a Happy Meal. Atticus was no more happy to have shots than he was to have his blood drawn, but luckily, he was more than ready for his morning nap by the time it was all over, and he went to sleep pretty easily.