Two Months

It seems pretty incredible that we have a two year old and a two month old.  March 6th crept up on me and it took me until lunchtime to remember that Caleb is already two months old!

Stats:
Height/Weight TBA on March 15th--at his 1 month appointment he was 12 lbs. 2 oz. so I expect his weight to be in the 13-14 lb. range.

Clothing:  3-6 months with a couple 0-3 mixed in if he is wearing disposable diapers

Hair: reddish brown

Skills:  The skills department is still rather limited, unless you count being incredibly cute.  Caleb can roll onto his side but has made it from tummy to back or back to tummy.  He doesn't love his tummy time yet although he can hold his head right up and push up onto his elbows.  He started to smile and is becoming more and more interested in things around him.  He loves to watch his big brother.

Loves/Hates:  Like most newborns, Caleb enjoys being snuggled.  He is a pro at sleeping on someone's chest during the day.  He likes to be swaddled to fall asleep although I often find him with at least one arm free when he wakes up in the night.  I don't swaddle him for nap which he takes in various places in the house.  I want him to associate swaddling with nighttime sleep.  He enjoys his swing, bouncy seat, sling and Moby wrap. He tolerates taking a bath pretty well. He still does not enjoy his car seat but will fall asleep in it if we go for a long enough drive.  He does not like to have a dirty diaper at all.

Sleeping:  During the day Caleb wakes up around 7:30 and will stay awake for about 2 hours.  He takes a short morning nap of about 45 minutes and will stay awake for about an hour.  After that he it out for a long time.  Most days he naps from around 12-4:30.  I know that this seems incredibly long but I have stopped trying to get him to stay awake during this time.  I typically wake him halfway through to eat and he sacks out after his snack.  After his long nap he is awake again for another 2sih hours, takes a 30 minute siesta and then goes to bed between 8:30-9:30.  At night he has given me 5 hours in a row to start off his evening on numerous occasions but he still has nights where he is up every 3 hours.  He is all business in the middle of the night however, which is really nice because I am rarely awake for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Eating:  Caleb, like Ben is an enthusiastic nurser.  He noisily gobbles his milk and is often finished eating in less than 10 minutes.  At first I was worried he wasn't getting enough but as his rolls have multiplied I became convinced that he is just a fast eater.  Ben liked to spend at least 45 minutes nursing so this change is one that has taken some adjustment.  He still gulps fast when he is hungry which at times leads to a lot of air in his stomach and some enormous burps but he is getting better at slowing down.  He greedy gulping is part of the reason I wake him during his long day nap because when he goes for too long his stomach seems a bit upset.

What we are learning:    While both of our boys are incredibly happy babies, Caleb seems to be a little more independent than Ben was at this age.  Ben LOVED to nurse to sleep and snuggle all day long.  Caleb loves to snuggle but he also has moments where he simply wants to be left alone to sleep.  At night he goes to sleep with a plastic pacifier instead of a mommy pacifier.  He follows a eat, wake, sleep pattern a lot better than his brother did which I find funny since we haven't done anything differently with the two of them.  If I am going anywhere it takes me twice as long--at least-- to get out of the house.  I am learning how to manipulate the grocery cart with one kid in a wrap and the other int he cart and I am figuring out that I need  to plan out trips well in advance if I hope to get anywhere.

What we've been up to:  This month was pretty quiet as we continued to adjust to our new normal.  We went to Mom's group a couple of times, made it to church every Sunday and went for a couple of walks.  The weather is still pretty gross outside so our walks have been short.  I am hoping that Spring will come quickly so we can get out a lot more.  Highlights from the month included a visit from Joanna and a visit from Hilary and Lauren this month.  Caleb has enjoyed snuggles from his grandparents who live up the road as well as other friends who have stopped in to meet him.  All in all, Caleb's second month was pretty uneventful.  We love his chubby little face  and are excited to see how he grows and changes in the month to come.

Getting Older...(25 months)

Last month Ben turned two and we all enjoyed looking at his icy blue eyes as they looked happily at his train birthday cake.  He is getting so big and grown up.  As he continues in the journey through his second year of life, Ben's blog posts will focus more on the fun things he is doing each month.

Health:  Ben had his two year check up on February 15th.  At that check-up his growth stats are as follows:  weight--26 pounds and height 35.5 inches.  He is tall, skinny and very healthy.  He made it through two years of life without ever being on an antibiotic or going to the doctor for anything but well checks.  Hopefully he won't visit the doctor again until he turns 3.  

The Not-so-fun:  The last month or so Ben has started to test his boundaries.  It is true that our angelic little boy will do things that he is told not to do--shocking, I know.  It is probably a combination of him getting older along with the arrival of his little brother.  Two prime examples of this are mealtimes when he spits food out on the floor or when he dumps water out of the tub during his bath.  Andrew and I are both learning how to navigate this stage and a friend of ours with a toddler told us it, "is about time," that Ben is displaying some less than perfect behavior.  

The FUN!  Ben fills our days with laughter.  He talks all of the time and is using sentences with more than three words.  He uses adjectives to describe things and is trying to figure out how to use pronouns.  When we walk down stairs he will often say, "Carry you Ben?"  His language explosion is so much fun to witness and it reinforces our decision to keep TV watching limited to the occasional Youtube viewing of a garbage truck or train.  He loves books and picks up so many words/ideas from what he is reading.    Every few days I do send a few books on vacation (under the couch) because 200 pages of Curious George or 100 Nursery Rhymes get a little exhausting.  Yesterday we were looking for a toy and we found a few vacationing books and Ben exclaimed, "Books vacation all done!"  (as you can imagine the curious little monkey was back in the rotation).

Hanging out with Ben everyday is a joy as his laughter fills our house and his actions make his parents laugh.  One of my favorite Ben things is whenever he walks backwards it is accompanied by a, "beep, beep, beep," like a truck.  He loves to get dizzy to Bodypump music while I am learning new releases, he likes to crawl under things such as the dogs or our legs and calls them dog tunnels and leg tunnels.  He hangs out in the swing or bouncy seat occasionally which makes everyone laugh.  

With Caleb as a part of our lives and gross winter weather hanging on, we have been stuck in the house more than usual.  The result of this is a love of running errands or going on mommy or daddy dates.  He discovered the car carts at the grocery store and he happily makes car noises while we shop and if we bump the cart he appropriately accompanies the crash with a "BANG!"  He loves special treats from local bakeries.  He is anxious for the weather to clear up so he can go for runs with either Andrew and I and will climb in and out of the "hingle Bob" (single Bob stroller) in anticipation.  We are both waiting for Caleb to get bigger so we can try out the double.  

He is adjusting to having Caleb in the house and tries to be a big helper.  He says hi to Caleb when he sees him and is accepting the fact that Caleb gets to hang out in my lap--the minute my lap is free however, it is quickly filled with a toddler and a book.  We have tried hard to keep his routine as consistent as possible which has helped with the transition.  I treasure the quiet moments I have with him before bed or nap where he and I hang out, read books and sing songs.  He loves to be sung to and often makes requests such as, "Jesus loves Me,"  "Noah boat," "Splish Splash" and "Jesus Go."  (A few of those are Deerfoot songs that I've had to learn.)

 

We are loving life as a family of four and it is exciting to see Ben take on his role of the big brother. 

One month!

I thought time flew by when we had Ben but now with two little ones filling our lives it is ridiculous how quickly things pass.  Caleb turned one month yesterday.  In the last month we have learned our new normal.  Ben is adjusting, the dogs are adjusting and we are squeezing in sleep whenever we can!

Some stats...
Height:  TBA on February 15th.
Weight

Clothing size:  0-3 months with some 3-6 months.  Newborn clothes never even touched his chubby body.

Diapers:  size 1 disposables and cloth--although I will admit we aren't in cloth full-time as I am still adjusting to all of the laundry

Eyes:  Blue

Hair: dirty blond fuzz all over his head

Chub: rolls all over, including the back of his head

Sleeping:  Caleb likes to sleep...a lot!  He has settled into a schedule of waking up around 7 until about 9, taking a 45 minute nap, waking up and settling into a 4 hour marathon nap around 11.  I wake him us halfway through the marathon  nap and feed him.  He takes another evening nap and settles down for the night around 9.  Night time is still a bit of an adjustment but he "typically" gives us 4 hours straight before needing a snack.  He falls asleep on his own with a pacifier and is starting to enjoy swaddling.  Having a little one who is a good sleeper is pretty awesome!  He will fall asleep while being snuggled but there are times when he just wants to be put down with his pacifier to sleep.

Skills:  He can hold his head up and roll onto his side.  He likes to hang out in his bouncy seat and his swing.  (which I consider skills at this stage in our lives.) He tolerates time on his tummy.  He is starting to be more awake during the day.

Nursing:  He is a champion eater and guzzles his food quickly...so quickly that he sometimes chugs a bit of air which give him Brautigam hiccups.  I let him nurse on-demand which is about every 2 1/2 hours--except for in the early evening where he likes to cluster feed.

Likes/dislikes:  His big  brother discovered he likes his pacifier which is wonderful.  He likes to be snuggled up in his sling and moby wrap.  He tolerates a bath but it isn't a highlight.  He hates his carseat.  We haven't tried out the stroller yet because it has been so cold. He loves to look at the animals over his changing table and seems to enjoy listening to us read to Ben.

Overall we've had a great first month with our new family of four.  Andrew and I wonder what we did before we had children but we are learning to enjoy our evenings of books, baths, and babies. 

TWO Years!

Two years ago Andrew and I were sitting in the hospital with our new little chunk.  Weighing in at 9 pounds our cone headed little guy captured our hearts and changed our lives.  Thinking back over the two years, I can't imagine our lives without Ben.  We've watched him grow from a wiggly newborn to a charming toddler.

Stats:

Height/Weight:  Toddler chubby and perfectly tall (we go to the doctor next week for his two year check up and will get official measurements.)

Teeth:  16 big chompers

Hair:  enough to make a mohawk post bath but not enough for a hair cut...yet

Clothes:  24 months/2t, shoes size 5

Ben's development:  Ben continues to amuse us with his rapidly expanding vocabulary.  He told me the other day he was using his "muscles" when he was working on something hard.  He is responsible and asks us to hang up his coat, turns off Andrew's amp if it is left on, and likes to help clean up and set the table.  He continues to love books and I think we read about a hundred a day.  He loves to play with play dough, take baths, build with blocks, play with his trucks and trains, and play with the dogs.  He loves to sing and is continuing to learn his letters and numbers.  He has started to test some boundaries and is trying to figure out what "no" actually means which has led to a few tears here and there.  He likes to look at the snow outside and stomp around in his boots but he isn't sure how much he likes to play in it as it is so cold!  He enjoys going to his grandparent's house and watching his favorite hockey team.

We've slowly been adjusting to life as a family of four.  Unfortunately for Ben it has been incredibly COLD outside which has limited our time walking around Fredonia.  We took a few trips to the hardware store to look at the trains and have visited the library but haven't had much of an opportunity to ramble around town.  We've found things to keep us busy in the house like reading, playing with water in Ben's learning tower, building elaborate train tracks with tunnels and dancing to silly music.

Fun things from Ben's last month as a child with an age measure in months...

Christmas!  Ben's second Christmas was so much more fun and interactive than his first.  We had to wake him up on Christmas morning for the fun to begin.  He enjoyed opening presents and we quickly learned that if he opened a book he backed into the nearest lap to hear it immediately.  He enthusiastically embraced our Christmas tree and loved hanging out with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even his cousin Lauren.

Big Brother Time:  On January 6th, Ben met his baby brother for the first time.  He came to the hospital twice to visit us and his immediate reaction was, "uh-oh."  The transition has gone fairly smoothly and Ben goes from wanting to hold his little brother to telling him to go away.  He is learning his new normal and we are all adjusting.  We have tried to make sure he still gets "mommy time" at night and before nap.  He likes to point out Caleb's body parts and makes fun of Caleb when he poops. He was the first to introduce a pacifier to his little brother and if Caleb is crying he likes to tell me that Caleb needs mommy milk.

Party!  We had Ben's second birthday party a few days after his second birthday.  We celebrated with a train cake, pepperoni rolls (to remember his WV birthplace), punch and of course presents!  He enjoyed celebrating with his family and friends.  His grandparents came up from Georgia to join in the fun and he had a blast playing with his Grandma and Grandpa Dooley.

Look Who's Here!

Caleb James Brautigam

9lbs. 4oz. 20.5 inches long

23 Months!

The next time I post Ben's update he will be TWO and we will have another little guy filling our lives with joy.  It doesn't seem real that nearly two years have gone by since I held my first little treasure in my arms.  Parenthood is such a blessing to Andrew and I and having Ben in our lives is one of the greatest joys.

Stats:
Teeth:  I am excited to say that Ben's tooth count is up from 12 to 16!  In the past week he cut his four incisors and the drool that is streaming out of his mouth is beginning to slow.  They aren't all the way through yet but the little tops have poked up through his gums.

Height/Weight:  We go to the doctor next month but he continues to grow a little taller and is starting to add a bit more meat to his bones.

Clothing:  24 months, shoe size 5

Hair:  When he wears something red it looks strawberry blond but in other colors it just looks blond.  I did trim up a little in the back because there were a few random long strands, but we haven't had an official haircut yet.  Maybe in another month or so we will get a real cut

Communication:  The word explosion from last month continues as our little mimic picks up new words/phrases every day.  I think his first real sentence was "Tessa Marie, go away!"  (Our dogs have middle names when they are in trouble.)  If you have ever met Tessa, you know that this sentence is probably repeated at least once if not 10 times per day and is most often used around meal times.  He has started saying "please" instead of just signing it and will ask specifically for different things such as his "orange jacket" or "rain jacket."  It is so much fun having him communicate with us and he picks things up quickly.  He very cutely knows the name of my doctor and calls him Dr. Oula (for Dr. Osula) and grandmom and granddad are actually sounding more and more like real words rather than just the "g" sound.

Skills:  He can spell and pick out the letters of his name, although he refers to himself as "Bum."  He is starting to learn his colors and is pretty consistent with blue, yellow and red.  He is also learning how to count.  Puzzles with individual sections are a breeze and he sorts shapes and identifies them with confidence.  When reading favorite books he can fill in words when I pause while reading.  He is getting more and more proficient at singing his "ABC's."  He can kind of jump but still doesn't fully trust his feet.  He is learning opposites such as up and down, light and dark, heavy and light, hot and cold.  When he thinks something is heavy he uses a deep voice and occasionally grunts as he tries to lift it.  He is learning the difference between day and night and is aware when it is dark in a room.  He loves to point out the moon and stars in the sky at night.

Loves:  This month brought new loves into Ben's life.  With the Christmas season upon us, he has embraced the decorations, cookies, and excitement with much enthusiasm.  When we brought our Christmas tree home after cutting it, he gave it a hug in the kitchen before we set it up.  Every morning his face lights up when he comes downstairs and sees the tree and if it is not plugged in already, it is our first task.  He loves looking at the ornaments and taking off and putting on the ones he is allowed.  He loves the decorations around Fredonia such as the snowflakes on Main Street and the wreaths on Water Street.  At his grandmom's house he enjoys the candles in her windows.

One of the highlights of the Christmas season for Ben is the train set that is on display at the local hardware store.  I love it when we stop in and he finds Dave or Bob and says, "Choo-choo please," so that they will turn it on.  We have spent a lot of time staring at the moving train in recent weeks.  He is learning how to say "Merry Christmas" and if he sees a Santa will say, "ho, ho, ho."  He loves putting together a manger scene puzzle my parents sent him and likes putting in the baby Jesus piece.  He is very excited about the presents stored Caleb's crib and one day he climbed into the crib and I caught him lightly touching them.

He had a blast making cookies with his grandmom, great grandmom and Aunt Joanna on his final day as a 22 month old and very seriously put frosting and sprinkles on a few.  Eating the dough and final product were the highlights.

He loves the learning tower Andrew made him and we have spent many hours hanging out in the kitchen playing with water, play-dough and helping to cook.  If anyone is in the kitchen he wants to be in his tower.

He often takes a bath in the morning now while I am getting ready for the day/doing laundry and he loves playing with his backhoe in the tub.  Bubble baths area fun part of his day but a real highlight is when he gets to take a bath at grandmom's house.

At night time he loves to read a few books, sing a couple of songs and get "snuggles" from both his mommy and daddy.  We don't think that there is anything much cuter than hearing his little voice sing himself to sleep in his room.

What We've Been Up To:
 Our stroller runs have decreased due to the size of my belly but we still try get out for a walk every day that the weather allows.  He is very excited about the double stroller in our living room and we tried it out one day with his friend Isaac.  Our weeks are filled with errands, going to the doctor, playing at home, going to "Mommy Group" (where he gets a name-tag--pure toddler excitement), hanging out with his friend Isaac and spending time with his family.  His transition to the big boy room continues to go well, even though he occasionally falls out in the middle of the night.  He sleeps for a solid 11 hours most nights and takes a 2 1/2/ hour nap every day.

Our little family of three has enjoyed this past month getting ready for both Christmas and Caleb.  Watching Ben embrace and absorb the world around him is amazing.  He fills our life with laughter and love.

The Benefits of Pregnant Exercise (for me)

A couple of days ago I blogged about pregnant running and my experience this time around.  As I approach my due date and am still trying to waddle through a few miles three or four times a week, people look at me in disbelief as my humpty dumpty belly leads the way.

This morning I am going to teach my last bodypump class.  I taught three times a week for most of my pregnancy but for the last 6 weeks have taught twice.  I am a little relieved and a little sad that I am finished after today.  I will miss my classes (and the workout) but do know it is time to let my body rest a bit before labor.  I am still going to try to run until the day I deliver because I am quite the addict.

This pregnancy has been different from my first and I think a lot of that is due to the amount of exercise I have gotten throughout the duration.  For me the following are some benefits I've found from keeping up a fairly normal exercise routine:

1.  Less weight gain.  With three weeks to go until baby day I am on track to gain 15 pounds less than I did with Ben.

2.  Low blood pressure--yesterday at my checkup I had the highest blood pressure I've had this pregnancy a whopping 110/60.  Keeping active has allowed my blood pressure to stay low and has kept swelling at bay.

3.  Low blood sugar--I ate a lot of donuts and bread during my first trimester, they were the only things I could keep down most of the time.  With all of the sugar I was eating I wondered what would happen with my gestational diabetes test.  Instead of having high glucose levels however, mine were on the very low end of normal which my doctor attributes to my activity level.

4.  Better sleep at night--until recently where my belly has hindered my sleeping, the days that I exercise I sleep so much better at night.  My body is able to relax because it is actually tired rather than just feeling tired from the baby growing.

5.  Better mood--I am incredibly grumpy when I don't exercise.  I need exercise like Andrew needs coffee.  Even not pregnant, days off from running/exercising leave me feeling like a grouch.  Keeping up with exercise this pregnancy has made me so much happier most days.

6.  Better self image--going along with the less weight gain I feel like I am really only gaining what is necessary for Caleb to grow and be healthy without a lot of excess which makes me feel happier about myself.

7.  Keeps my bodily functions functioning (if you need more explanation, send me an email.)

8.  A healthy baby--healthy babies are born with or without exercise but studies have shown that women who do exercise have babies born at a healthy birth weight, have more efficient hearts, and may have better memories than babies of women who don't exercise.

9.  A shorter labor (hopefully)-- My sister in law recently told me she read that on average fit women only push for 27 minutes.  We'll see if that is right soon but the hope of pushing less is enough to spur me on to continue exercising until Caleb arrives!