Miles...
likes being outside. It's a big ol' bright world out there with ever changing scenery, warm breezes, chirping birds and barking doggies! And Miles loves the Baby Jogger stroller! He's perfectly happy and content as long as he's moving!
lost most of his hair - but it's growing back now!
transitioned to size 2 diapers beginning this week! He is not quite 12lbs yet (he's approximately 11lb 10oz on our scale) and I know size 1 diapers can fit up to 14lbs but I didn't want to chance it and buy a big box he might not be able to finish.
is able to hold teething toys and put them in his mouth. Great substitution for the paci!! I don't know why I didn't think to try these things earlier. I just the other day picked up a pack at the dollar store and he loves them!
ditched the paci. Actually, we ditched it for him. We had a rough couple days and some slight fussing for about a week thereafter but after that he kind of phased out of his desperate-must-have-the-paci-at-all-times-or-I-shall-scream temperament. We are not anti-pacifier parents. If Miles were able to keep it in his mouth for more than 30 seconds we would have had no problem with letting him get attached to it. However, now that he is broken of the addiction we do give it back to him on occasions such as when I have to pump and he's fussy and needy, in the grocery store check out line when things are taking longer than anticipated, or at church if he didn't nap well at home and needs to settle down. Otherwise, we find other ways to soothe him, such as giving him a burp cloth or our finger to suck for a couple minutes. He can't keep something that is attached to us so this seems to work when he really needs something to help soothe.
doesn't sleep (or really eat well) when we're out and about. Total and complete bummer. I guess there are just too many distractions. The hardest part about getting Miles on a schedule has been the distance between our home and town. We are a half hour from everything so you have to take into consideration an hour of driving. Even if we left right after his nap we would never get home in time for his next one. Because we prefer to conserve gas and trips we rarely hit just one store when I take him to town. It's kind of an all-afternoon affair. But when we take our once-a-week trip it messes up any sort of schedule we had worked towards up until then. It's almost not worth it to try. I have been spoiled living a suburban life up until now, and I did not even anticipate what it would be like to live in the country with an infant!
has been cooing and giggling for a few weeks now. He especially loves to look in the mirror and laugh at himself and stomp his foot hard. It's so funny and entertaining! His expression is like a kid at a theme park! We wonder what he thinks of the "baby on the other side". Does he know it is him? Does he just think this other little person mimics his every move? Though I imagine he is still too developmentally immature to even perceive what his movements look like. But it's loads of fun, nonetheless. He could stand in front of the mirror all day if we let him.
indeed loves to stand! He is at the point now (12 weeks) where he will fuss unless you're holding him in an upright position. He just likes to be upright in general and looking all around the room. Sometimes it's hard to get him to look at you because he's so busy staring at a wall or some light fixture! He doesn't enjoy the swing or bouncy seat near as much as he used to, and I think it's because they are too reclining for his preferences right now. This should make him a perfect candidate for an exersaucer. We will be borrowing one in August from our friends whose baby has outgrown theirs, but we may need to scour Craigslist for one sooner than that because I have a feeling that little piece of baby equipment will save our sanity!!!
for some reason, keeps his right index finger always bent. A couple weeks ago I accidentally clipped the tip of that finger while attempting to cut his nails. Poor kid. I don't know if it's a coincidence that he keeps that one down but we're going to bring it up to his doctor because it cracks when you put it up for him. Could it be that he's been babying that finger since I clipped it and developed arthritis?? And that's not all, the other day Jeromy clipped his thumb on the same hand! He didn't cry for his 2-month shots but was pretty distraught when Mommy and Daddy mutilated him at home! (You feel so helpless when you do something like that - we are supposed to protect him!) We're biting them off from now on....
has many nichnames already: Monkey, Monkey Muck (?? It's Jeromy's), Little Monk, Bugaboo, Baby Boo, Buddy, Bubba, Bubby, Puppy, Little, Wiggly/Squirmy Worm, Mills (I know, tacky!), Otis (sometimes he acts drunk!), Sneezy (the kid sneezes at least 5-10 times a day!), and I'm sure there are many more to come!
goes through a periods of not eating very well, maybe 2-3oz at a time and we'd have to really work to get it in him. Other times he's downing 5-7oz at each feeding and I can hardly keep up! Lately though he's been fussing in our arms and wanting to lie down to eat (of course which is great for digestion!). He also prefers to eat the bulk of his meal before a nap instead of after, which irks me to no end, especially if we have to go somewhere and I know he's going to end up hungry and tired at the same time and will surely melt down. I don't know how to train him to eat his whole bottle at wake-up time without starving him until he learns.
...which brings me to pumping. Not sure how long I will be able to continue nourishing him but I am taking Fenugreek to hopefully keep my supply up. I'm pumping 4 times during the day and 1 to 2 times during the night. It can be a hassle for sure, especially because it kills a lot of spontaneity and keeps outings to town short, but I truly don't mind it all that much. Yet if it starts to create stress in our family I may have to stop. I have no plans to stop but the way I see it, we've made it this far and seeing how nursing didn't work out, this is an accomplishment!
*Edited to add: I wrote the above at 10 weeks, and things have changed now at 12 weeks. I have decided to wean myself off the pump. Ever so slowly, of course, and I just might keep one or two sessions so he still gets some breast milk. However, the middle of the night pump has got to go. If we do half formula, half milk we will waste so much formula since you have to use it or discard by 30 days. So I think we will just transition to formula and then I can freeze whatever milk I pump until I have a month or so supply and then he can finish out the year with that stash. I would so totally continue to pump but it's starting to interfere with our family, travel, errands, etc. It's easy on days I'm home, but I've had to pump while driving a few times and I think that's a sign it's time to try something else!
rolled over at 10 weeks 5 days - in his crib, swaddled, in the middle of the night. Scary Mama Moment! Though he hasn't rolled over since, which makes me think he didn't try to roll that night.
still seems to sleep the best if he is swaddled. We have put him in a Carters sleep sack a few times and noticed he tends to wake up sooner and/or can't put himself back to sleep while unswaddled. Which is fine, though sometimes he really fights getting into the swaddle in the middle of the night and it can be a pain to get him all wrapped up! I don't have the best patience in the middle of the night - especially since I need to go pump after that feeding!
*Edited to add: I also wrote the above at 10 weeks. However, the last couple days I've kept him unswaddled and let him sleep in a Carter's sleep sack. Naps have been fine, he seems to like the freedom. Nights have not been as good. He'd been waking up once per night for a brisk feed but unswaddled it's twice, and I think it's just because he's not used to it yet. Hopefully we'll start sleeping through the night sometime this century!
