Dear Asa,
I have big-time mom guilt. You turned seven months old at the end of September, and I never posted your monthly photo and update. So now I’m combining it with your eight month old photo and update . . . which also happens to be significantly late… READ MORE!
Dear Asa,
Happy half birthday! August was a particularly hectic month as we prepared for our big move, but it was also a month of major milestones for you… READ MORE!
Dear Asa,
You are adorable. Seriously adorable. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother and all mothers think their children are adorable. You possess facial features like big, expressive blue eyes and a wide, happy grin that are objectively adorable.
And thank goodness. Because if you weren’t as adorable as you are, you’d have a much harder time worming your way into our affections night after sleepless night. You don’t sleep through the night yet — not even close — and your father and I are miserably tired.
When your big brother was five months old, he went to bed at 7:30pm and woke up to eat at 3am. Part of your problem, I’m sure, is that we haven’t established a strict bedtime. It’s a classic case of second child syndrome: we’ve expected you to be on our schedule and Levi’s since day one. The times we’ve tried putting you in your crib to sleep before 8pm, you’ve stayed awake screaming until moved into your swing.
We put you back in your crib after your 10:30pm feeding, and you usually give us one three-hour chunk of sleep. Then you’re up about once an hour. Since we want to keep you on your three-hour (at minimum) feeding schedule, daddy does most of the nighttime soothing; I don’t want you to mistakenly think the milk bar is open when I’m simply trying to rock you to sleep.
He and I thought maybe you just wanted out of your swaddle (you seem interested in sleeping on your side), but using a sleep sack instead hasn’t helped. We also thought that putting you in your crib for naps might help, but you’ll only stay asleep for about 30 minutes in there.
However, we were happy to learn that you’re now content to be carried in the Ergobaby
When we were in Cleveland, you sat in a Bumbo for the first time. It was an exciting milestone! However, your deliciously chubby legs barely fit in the chair, so we’ve been using this baby seat
Everything goes in your mouth. As a result, you’re a slobbering mess. Thankfully, you’re not drooling on your clothing, so you don’t need to wear a bib all day like Levi did. When you don’t have a toy or your fingers (or my fingers) in your mouth, you’re blowing raspberries and bubbles. By the way, your little fingernails, which grow maddeningly quickly, are always so sharp that they leave tiny red scratches all over my chest when I’m nursing you .
Sometimes I wonder if you’ll grow up to be a soccer player or a swimmer, since you’re constantly kicking your legs, even when you’re on your tummy. You aren’t really interested in rolling over from either your back or your front (you’ve done it just a handful of times), but you’ve mastered tummy time and have advanced to cobra pose. (Future yogi?)
Diaper blowouts are still an issue even though you’re now wearing size 3 diapers. You’re in size 3-6 month clothing but could probably fit into some size 6-9 pieces. You’re such a big baby, and it’s starting to get harder to remember what you were like as a newborn despite you only being five months old. I don’t take as many photos of you with my DSLR as I did with Levi (second child syndrome!), but your infancy has been well documented on Instagram. It’s just so much easier to take pictures with my iPhone since I always have it with me.
Your feeding schedule is nearly identical to last month’s — you nurse every three to four hours. You also nap at approximately the same times as last month, too: 10:30am, 2pm, 6pm, and, briefly, 9pm. Our goals this month are to start feeding you cereal and to get you on stricter sleeping schedule.
I love you, my sweet peanut. But please, Go the F**k to Sleep
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned five months old on July 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.
PS – All of Levi’s and Asa’s monthly baby photos.
Dear Asa,
Shortly after you turned three months old, Daddy and I tried putting you to bed in a Sleep Sack instead of a swaddle. Your big brother, Levi, was 11 weeks old when he transitioned out of his swaddle, so we thought you might be ready around the same age. We were also hoping that you might sleep for longer stretches overnight if your arms were free; you’re becoming quite the finger- and thumb-sucker.
Silly us. While you were sleeping, you rotated a quarter turn clockwise, flipped over from your back to your tummy, and woke up hysterical. It was the first time you rolled over, and just like Levi, it happened overnight! You’ve only rolled over one other time since, which is surprising considering how much you rock side to side during tummy time.
You’re now reaching for the toys attached to your BabyBjorn bouncer and swinging at the toys dangling above your play mat and mamaRoo. You can loosely hold soft toys like your Whoozit and knit rattle, too, although you’d much rather grab my hair. You’ve also started grabbing your feet, a new discovery this month.
Cuddling with a blanket while swinging is still your preferred way to nap, and you’re getting slightly better at keeping your pacifier in your mouth. Once you even tried putting it back into your mouth after it fell out!
I’ve heard that second-born children are more easy-going than their older siblings, and so far that seems to be true for you. Your daily schedule sort of depends on Levi’s needs that day. For example, sometimes I have to move you from your swing to your car seat while you’re napping, and you generally don’t make too much of a fuss. You’re also content to sit in your car seat for an extended period of time, like if we go out to dinner. I vaguely remember Levi being more of a pain in that regard.
Your Mr. Serious-persona is quickly transforming into Mr. Adorable. You’re generous with your smiles and laugh much more frequently, including when we tickle you! You’re also very chatty (in a high-pitched, squeaky kind of way), and I sometimes catch you just cooing to yourself.
This month you had your first taste of formula when I had to go out of town for four days. I expressed breast milk for you to drink but wasn’t able to pump enough for all of your feedings. I felt incredibly guilty about giving you formula, especially since Levi was exclusively breastfed, but it’s not like you could go without milk. So I picked a carton of formula labeled “For Supplementation”
And you did. Mimi stayed over to help Daddy while I was away, and both reported that you didn’t seem to care whether you were drinking formula or milk. Perhaps that was a sign that, unlike Levi, you won’t be a picky eater once you start eating solids.
Similar to last month, you still nurse every three to four hours during the day. Your feeding schedule is roughly 7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, and 10 pm. Unfortunately for Daddy and me, you’re also waking up two times (or more!) at night to eat. You just can’t quit that 1 am-2 am feeding. We will look back at these weeks as the most tired we’ve ever been. Or can ever remember being. (One symptom of sleep deprivation is memory loss.)
Also, you won’t let us put you down in your crib for the night after your 7 pm feeding; we have to wait until after 10 pm. It’s getting really inconvenient to keep going to bed so late.
Metabolically speaking, it’s not like you need the extra milk in the middle of the night. You’re a very healthy 15 lb 11 oz (70th percentile for weight) and 26.25 inches tall (85th percentile). For comparison’s sake, Levi measured 26 inches at four months, but he weighed only 13 lb 7 oz. He could still get away with size 0-3 month clothing when he was your age. You, on the other hand, are a solid size 3-6 months and wear size 2 diapers (that you blow out of way too frequently).
Despite the sleepless nights, I think four months old is my favorite age so far. You are just getting cuter and more expressive by the day!
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned four months old on June 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.
PS – Asa at one month old, two months old, and three months old. Also, Levi when he was Asa’s age.
Dear Asa,
At your two month old appointment, Daddy and I complained to your pediatrician that you cry for hours every single night. That’s colic, he explained, and encouraged us to continue consoling you by any means possible. Since you seemed content to swing during the day, we begrudgingly moved the Fisher-Price
So the Fisher-Price swing is where you hang out most evenings while Daddy and I watch TV. A couple of nights we tried leaving you swaddled in your bassinet when we put Levi to bed but quickly realized the error of our ways. And once or twice this month we tried putting you in your crib for a nap, but you kept waking yourself up crying. You’re just happiest when you’re swinging, staring up at the illuminated sheep mobile overhead.
Since you aren’t swaddled while swinging, you tightly grab your new smaller-sized security blanket
Asa, nighttime is so stressful. We haven’t figured out the best time for your last feeding or what time to put you down to bed. I nurse you every three to four hours during the day, trying to make the last feeding around 10-11pm, but you still wake to eat every three hours (or less!) overnight. There have even been several nights this month when you’ve eaten four times between midnight and 7AM.
YAWN!
Thankfully, when you aren’t fussing in the evening hours, you have a generally easy disposition. You’re starting to smile more frequently, though you’re still a pretty serious baby, and you’re becoming more generous with your little laughs. I’ll also catch you cooing to yourself at times. Your favorite toy is the Whoozit, and you’re starting to reach for the bar of toys attached to the BABYBJORN Babysitter Balance
When you were nine weeks old, you started wearing size 2 diapers, and we moved you into 3-6 month clothing around the same time. Peanut, you’re now a big round-faced baby instead of a wrinkly, old man-looking newborn! Your still-blond hair (love!) is starting to get longer, and unlike Levi’s baby hair, yours is growing in evenly.
You’re still not a fan of the Ergobaby
In Hilton Head, you slept in a pack ‘n play on the opposite side of the room from our bed — and you did great! Seeing you in the pack ‘n play really drove home the fact that you had outgrown your bassinet, so when we returned to Omaha, we moved you into your crib. Unfortunately, you didn’t sleep well for the first couple of nights. You cried more and went shorter in between feedings.
Here’s hoping we figure out this nighttime sleeping stuff pretty quickly. I’m so tired I can’t think clearly anymore!
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned three months old on May 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.
PS – Asa at one month old and two months old. Also, Levi when he was Asa’s age.
Dear Asa,
Your brother was a skinny baby. In fact, we had to help him gain weight by adding butter to his food when he started eating solids. He never developed those adorable baby fat rolls on his thighs and arms that everybody loves to squeeze and bite.
But you, Peanut, are on course to become a deliciously chubby baby. According to your pediatrician, you’re the size of a four month old — and you’re just two months old! You weigh 13 lb. 7 oz. and measure 24.5 in., putting you in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. The doctor remarked that if you’re still wearing 0-3 month clothing (which you are), they must be sized incorrectly!
(It’s probably also time to move into size 2 diapers. Because blowouts.)
It makes sense that you’ve gained 4 lb. 5 oz. in six weeks because you’ve been taking longer and longer to breastfeed. Last month you averaged 15 minutes per session; now you take approximately 20 minutes. However, it could be that you’re just become a lazy eater and aren’t actually consuming that much more milk.
The only upside to such long nursing sessions is that I’m able to get a good amount of reading done on my Kindle app while you’re eating (seven times a day). I just finished The Husband’s Secret
Halfway through the month you smiled for the first time. Honestly, we weren’t sure that your first smiles weren’t really gas, but now we can make you smile by getting close to your face and making silly sounds and gestures. Usually. You’re a pretty serious baby otherwise, and you absolutely refuse to smile in pictures! Instead, you tilt your head down, which produces multiple chins and makes you look like an old man. A serious old man.
You now cry real heartbreaking tears when you’re sad and make the sweetest cooing sounds when you babble to yourself. You once made a noise in response to Daddy laughing that suggested laughter (the intent was definitely there!).
We don’t do tummy time with you as often as we should, but your head and neck control is getting better nevertheless. You enjoy laying on your back and observing the lights, sounds, and toys dangling above your playmat. You’re content to sit in the BABYBJORN BabySitter Balance
And you still aren’t happy to be carried in a wrap. Sigh. So much for me becoming one of those hip babywearing mamas.
Here’s a quick rundown of our ever-evolving schedule: You start eating between 6:30-7am and usually stay awake until about 8:15, when we get in the car to drive Levi to school. You frequently stay asleep in your car seat until it’s time to eat again around 9:30. Then it’s another round of awake for an hour, asleep for two.
I try to feed you again either at 12:30pm while Levi is watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood or at 1pm after he goes down for his nap. We play in the living room together while I eat my lunch on the floor next to you. You take your afternoon nap in the basement swing around 2pm and won’t wake up until I turn off the motion — which I do around 3:30 or 4pm so you can eat again. You usually take a short disco nap before your next feeding at 7pm, and then you are wide awake for the evening.
Wide awake and screaming.
Every night.
That’s right: you have colic!
If we’re lucky, you’ll fall asleep in daddy’s arms around 9:30pm, but we wake you up to feed you one last time between 10-10:30pm. Then one last diaper change before changing you into your pajamas and saying goodnight. (You still sleep in the bassinet next to our bed, although you’re nearly the length of the basket!) It would be amazing if you slept the night, but you wake up around 3:30am to eat. I can’t really complain about getting a four and a half hour chunk of sleep!
I love you and your furry little head.
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned two months old on April 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth during the first year.
PS – Last month’s photo, and Levi at two months old.
Dear Asa,
Before you were born, I wondered how much you’d be like your big brother, Levi. Would you look alike? Share similar personalities?
Well! You set yourself apart from your big brother in the delivery room. Whereas Levi’s birth was relatively calm and pain-free, you entered this world in dramatic fashion. Thankfully, it was a fast delivery — even faster than Levi’s! — and, at 9lb 2oz, you were bigger than your brother. You also had much less hair than Levi did when he was born, and yours was blond! Will you always have blond hair? (I kind of hope that you do.)
The first thing the doctor and nurses noticed were your long eyelashes. That’s a trait you share with your brother, along with beautiful blue eyes. When you were brand new, many people thought you looked like Levi, but your daddy and I only really saw a resemblance when your eyes were closed and you were wearing a hat. One month later, you have similar features as your brother but are definitely not his clone.
However, like Levi, you hate having a dirty diaper and will let out a blood-curdling cry when you need to be changed. Daddy says it sounds like a duck being tortured! We have gone through a lot of diapers this past month! You were wearing newborn-size diapers until just a few days ago, although we could’ve bumped you up to size one sooner.
We probably could’ve started dressing you in size 0-3 month clothing sooner than this week, too. At your two-week doctor’s appointment, you weighed a whopping 9lb 12oz — roughly the size of a 2 month old! The pediatrician called you a champion breastfeeder. (You’re also a very noisy eater!) Daddy and I affectionately call you “Peanut,” which I realize is a common nickname for small babies but somehow seems to suit you anyway.
When we brought you home from the hospital, you had your days and nights very mixed up. You’re a night owl, just like you were in the womb! Barely interested in being awake for longer than an hour during the day, you’re suddenly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after your 8 or 9pm feeding. It’s time for daddy and me to re-read the baby books we bought when Levi was born and remind ourselves about baby sleep schedules.
All in all, you’ve been a very easygoing baby. You do a lot of eating, pooping, and sleeping, and only really cry when you need something (like a new diaper). You like to sleep in an aden + anais
My biggest challenge so far has been giving you my undivided attention. I can only ever do one thing at a time, and, unfortunately, Levi also requires a lot of my time and energy right now. I actually spend a great deal of time reminding Levi to be gentle when he gives you hugs and kisses. He can be aggressively affectionate, but he’s oh-so sweet and caring. When you’re crying, he’ll put your pacifier back in your mouth, and he always wants to cuddle with you and hold you on his lap.
I wish you could stay a small, squishy newborn, but I’m also excited to watch you grow and your personality develop. I love you, my little Peanut.
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned one month old on March 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth during the first year.
PS – Levi’s one month old photo!
I see you scratching your head at the title of this post. Yes, Levi has been two years old for a couple of months now. Today is actually his 26 month birthday! But life was so crazy in July that I missed my opportunity to post Levi’s 24 month old photos and stats.
Instead of my traditional letter to Levi, I’ve decided to simply share some of the highlights from these past two months. To start, Levi’s vocabulary continues to expand tremendously. He speaks in 6-7 word sentences, and we can almost always understand what he’s saying.
Levi made potty for the first time a few days before he turned two, and he’s nearly ready for potty training. Too bad mom and dad aren’t… We’ve actually started putting him to bed in a white short-sleeve onesie so he can’t remove it and his diaper in the morning!
One of Levi’s favorite things to do is look for school buses while we’re driving in the car. He also likes to point out familiar sites. His memory amazes me — for example, he’ll point to Wendy’s and recall that he ate “chicken nuggets and french fries and ice cream” there.
Sadly, Levi and the dog are still not best friends. Although Briscoe is slowly getting more comfortable around Levi, Levi is often reluctant to pet or hug him — although he does love to hold Briscoe’s leash on our walks to the mailbox. My hope is that they’ll become buddy-buddy once there’s a new baby in the house.
And now, some more of Levi’s noteworthy stats and milestones from the last two months…… READ MORE!
Dear Levi,
I must confess: This post is very, very late. So late, in fact, that you will be turning 19 months old next week! But let’s ignore mommy’s tardiness and instead focus on how much you’ve grown up since we last checked in.… READ MORE!
