June 16, 2006: 2- and 3-month-update
Ivan is almost 3 months old - 12 1/2 weeks at the moment. I had been planning to post right after his two-month-check-up, but, well, sleep was more important. Anyway, at two months he was 13 lbs 1 oz and 24 1/2 inches, so he gained 4 lbs in two months and grew 3 inches. He is a big boy and it seems all this milk does him pretty good - he smiles and coos and poops and is growing new hair and eyelashes. Bottom line, he is doing great.
Personalitywise he is still a very sweet and calm baby. He does get cranky but screams very rarely. He's also a good napper and surprisingly not as in love with the breast as Veronika was. I mean, obviously he eats well but he'll accept other things for comfort, like a pacifier or cuddling etc. The 5-am-wakeup is unfortunately still happening which leaves me very very sleepy. It takes about half an hour to get him back to sleep - all this in addition to two other nightly wake-ups at around 1 am and 3 am. So even though he is overall a good sleeper, I seem to be more sleep-deprived than I was with Veronika at this time, who was rather fussy when it came to napping. I guess you can't have it all in one kid.
As the pictures show, Ivan is a very smiley kid. Sometimes he smiles at me before I even look at him - as if he was waiting until I finally do and then he stretches the smile even wider. Like I said, sweetness is his thing. He loves Veronika although he has a hard time keeping up with her pace and his eyes wander all over the place trying to follow her movements. When I put Veronika down for her nap, he usually lies down with me in her bed and I read them a book, holding it up above everyone's heads. That's probably his favorite time with the two of us. He is completely taken by the pictures and hearing my voice narrating and usually starts to "talk" along, sometimes so loud that I have to interrupt the reading. It's pretty funny. When it's time to leave Veronika she usually asks me if Ivan can sleep with her in her bed - which of course he can't, but I can totally understand her sentiment.
When we eat we put him in the highchair, which reclines for infants, who can't sit up yet, so he is still at our level and can "participate". That chair seems to have digestional powers and he will poop everytime we place him there. It is a common sound at every meal these days... which I can see seems kind of gross, but surprisingly isn't. That's what parenthood will do to you.
Overall he also seems more interested in moving his body than Veronika was. He likes to be held on his feet and bounce a little as well as push himself upward in bed by digging his heels into the mattress. He is trying to grab things but it's not working yet. When I nurse him, he loves to put his hand on my breast or hold my finger. It's the sweetest thing. Like I said...
I recently went back to work and he and Veronika stay with their sitter Karen. He is doing well with her overall but when I first left he got really upset when she held him... I am always amazed how babies this small know exactly who their parents are. I know it's natural, but it is still amazing to watch. He occasionally takes the bottle from Lincoln so even in that department we don't have a whole lot of trouble.
I am looking forward to the next three months as I know the first 3 are usually the hardest. Hopefully sleeping improves and we get to enjoy more of his personality...
Posted by mama at 03:34 PM