2 months/ 9 weeks

On Friday, June 14t, Julian had his 2 month checkup and did really well. He had his vaccines and I think being a nurse made it no big deal.  I almost felt guilty for not being upset that my baby was in pain.  Yes, I hated it, but the pain is inevitable, so I guess I could deal with it.

My husband and I decided to not give Tylenol for his vaccines.  I was told by a few moms that their babies did not need it, so I figured I wouldn't use it unless he spiked a fever.  Big mistake.  Julian's thighs swelled and were bright red.  I tried to nurse him and he screamed in pain.  I have never had him not nurse.  He would kick his legs due to the pain which caused him more pain.  We gave the Tylenol, but I wish I would have given it sooner so he wouldn't have had to suffer as he did.  About 35 min after the Tylenol, he calmed down, but we ended up giving him a total of 3 doses, one in the middle of the night and then the next morning.

Julian's stats:
Height: 24.25" (95-97%) but she didn't straighten his leg all the way.  We have a tall one.
Wt: 11lb 15oz (75%)
Head: 39.5cm (50%)

Tricks:

• He can sit in the bumbo (baby chair to help development) pretty well, but still is a bit bobble-headed.  
• He saw his hand once and focused in for about 5 seconds, but only once.  I am trying too hard to get him to focus on his hands.  I've even thought about buying these wrist and feet things.
• He loves tummy time and pushed himself up on his hands with his arms straight.  What a strong man!
• He loves to giggle and smile, especially in the wee morning while mommy and daddy are quite groggy.
• He kicks so violently still.  Remember when I said how much he kicked while I was pregnant?  Well, it hasn't stopped.  His heels got so red from kicking the vibrating box on his bouncer that I try to put padding there.
• He sucks on his hands, but not enough to self soothe to sleep.
• We give a bath, read one of his books, read the bible and pray while I'm nursing him to sleep, and then he goes into his pack n' play.   He sleeps 3.5-5 hours on the first lag after this sleep routine, then 3 hours and then it's varied.  If I miss his morning nap around 8am, it throws off the whole day and he will not nap at all.  It only took me two weeks to figure that out...uggh!

We took him to the famous B-town farmer's market this past weekend and he did really well in the Moby, but it was so hot that I hate to put him in there.  I am now using an older version of the evenflo snugli carrier as I write this.  I put him in it and he fell asleep.  When he's overtired, he will take a pacifier from me which has helped so much with getting him to sleep.  He still is unable to fall asleep on his own by just putting him down.  I'm not at a point where I feel as if I can let him cry, but I do not judge anyone who does do that because I know they're sleeping more than me and probably have a better routine where the baby can self soothe.

It's hot here, so we stay indoors too much!  Last night we went for a walk at 7pm and it was pleasant but muggy.  Julian got overheated; his carseat stroller does not breathe well so his back was HOT.  I carried him the rest of the way home and then he went right to sleep after his bedtime routine and slept 5 hours!  I'm hoping to get outside more, but we're doing ok staying in and learning each other's routine.

I'm liking the new mom's group.  We meet every Thursday and talk about everything that is going on and support one another.  I'm so lucky to have Dan and his support.  Many of them have marriage issues or small problems with their partners that I do not have with Dan and I cannot imagine that while trying to raise a newborn.  Dan is awesome!  He has cooked, cleaned, done dishes and laundry since I had the back pain in November.  I'm finally able to help out more, but he still does the majority of the work.

That brings me to judging others, not that I judged others, but I had this in mind.  I used to think if a mom stayed at home, she would have a clean house.  Of course there would be toys all over, but wouldn't you have the house sparkling because of all the time you have at home.  HA!!!  I'm sorry for thinking this! My house is a wreck!  I cannot put Julian down except for when we're playing together, so I am not getting any cleaning done...but thankfully Dan does a lot!

Prayers:

• That we would have wisdom on how to raise Julian to love and know Jesus.
• That we would fine tune our routines so that we all are getting enough sleep.
• That I'd be prepared to go back to work.
• That we would all glorify God with our actions by showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
• That we'd set an example by not watching too much TV or being on the internet all the time.
• That God would work in Julian's body and make everything work properly and that he'd continue with good latches.