It is hard to believe it has been over a month since Canyon made his debut, but at the same time it seems like it has to have been longer than that. Time is going quickly but there has been so much more packed into these weeks than with Little Lady. Number two is certainly different. You need to be right back in the game to take care of your first child (well, at least I did), but you're still figuring out how to handle everything with your second. Not to mention your body still isn't "in the game" and figuring out what to wear to take your child to story time at the Library turns into a production. Is it big enough, but not so big it is going to be falling off the whole time (anyone who has worn maternity jeans after having a baby knows what I'm talking about)? Is it loose enough to not show all of the "leftovers" from just having a baby? Is it nursing friendly - meaning does it cover "the girls" and can they be easily accessed? So ready to squeeze into my yoga pants and wear them every single day for the next year - yes, that is my Mother uniform. Easy to clean and you can move all around in them. Perfect, even if your figure isn't.
Canyon is prooving to be a bit more of a handful than his sister was. He is a fuss pot. He doesn't like his swing, he doesn't like his bouncy seat, he doesn't like to be on the floor, he doesn't like to be in the bjorn if you've stopped moving, he doesn't like to be in his car seat, he doesn't like you to hold him in the same position for too long. He will basically put up with any of the above for maybe five or ten minutes, then it is screaming time. It is certainly a challenge while still having to take care of another child. He gave me two four hour stretches of sleep earlier this week, but is now back to 2.5-3 hr stretches. He is a very gassy little man and incredibly hard to burp. I'm sure some of the fussiness and waking so often is from his gas. I've cut my caffeine to one cup of coffee in the am (Mama has to function some how) and eliminated dairy from my diet (except that one serving of half and half in my coffee, seiously - Mama needs perks somewhere) AND I try burping him about four different ways for ridiculously long periods of time after each feeding. He seems a bit happier, but who knows what, if any, of the alterations I made had an affect. It could just simply be that he is getting older and getting over it. We'll never know, but less caffeine is healthier for me (and him) and eliminating milk keeps me from munching on cheese and will aid loosing the baby weight - so I'll stick with those changes. I've got to honest, I've noticed that I'm also less gassy since cutting the milk out. Many adults do become sensitive to lactose as they get older.....
I love this newborn stage, but I honestly do want him to outgrow some of this gassiness, fussiness - sooner rather than later. It makes for some very long days. Chris has class twice a week, so I'm on kid duty by myself from the time they are up to the time they are in bed. Then he has to study, so pretty much all the housework falls on me. Then he also has those nights (like tonight) where his last case doesn't start 'till 5:30 (when he would be coming home) and it will last for about two hours - so another night where I'll be handling everything solo. It'll be a challenging next couple years for all of us, but we'll work hard now for the benefits it should bring us later. And this is just a stage for Little Man, he wants his Mama. Even now I am sitting next to him as he naps on my bed. Little Lady THANKFULLY is napping right now (after a week and a half of refusing - but I kept at it) but every time I try to leave him sleeping here and do something crazy - like unload the dishwasher - he starts screaming. He stops when I sit near him - so I figured I would update this and admire a sleeping baby at the same time. Someday he won't want me around him all the time and I'll think of these days - and nights. ;-)
Kathleen came out and visited. She was supposed to do a post about it, but I don't think that is going to happen at this point. Perhaps I'll try to do one at some point and post some pictures of it, but I've got a lot on my plate right now.
Thankfully Little Lady is still very happy to have Canyon here with us! The biggest issue is just reminding her to be gentle with him and making sure she doesn't crush him. She is thankfully getting past wanting/trying to shove a pacifier in his mouth all the time. Each time he wakes up from a nap she yells "He big now!" - indicating that he has grown during his nap. She told me the other day she wants him to get big so he can do 'nastics around the floor with her. So freaking cute!
She is so happy to have him here.
Such a precious gift for them both - and I hope their love for each other only grows.
I've been keeping Little Lady busy with our usual activites - although I've cut out one day of outings to give me a bit of a break. Lugging around two is tiring. Even just going to the grocery store - I need to put him in a bjorn and her in the cart - you can't fit the car seat AND a child sitting on the seat section - right? I'm not missing something, am I? I'm still learning, so let me know if I've got that wrong. He starts screaming in his seat anyways, so I guess it is probably better that I have him in the carrier.
At church, the blessing of the animals. What, you don't have goats show up at your church for the blessing? Colette thought it was awesome, heck - so did I.
I was trying to get her to lay down straight next to him to capture the size difference - but this still ended up being cute.
We've been working on tummy time. With his genetics I need to make sure his head isn't too flat on the back.
This was two weeks old.
Sometimes Chris will help out on the weekend and get breakfast started. This is his new fave for Little Lady. Mickey Mouse pancake. She has no idea who that is, so she'll probably just think it is a name for pancakes now, but whatever. Yes, that is honey TOPPED with Nutella on there. I think Papa sometimes feels the way to a child's heart is through treats - or maybe it is just an excuse for him to get to eat that stuff too.
The group I'm in, Boise Babies and Tots, also set up a meal registry for me where people could sign up to bring dinner to us over the next two months after his birth. It has been a very nice treat. We get a nice meal and I don't have to worry about making it or cleaning up from cooking it. We also get fun stuff I wouldn't feel up to making, like this awesome Coq au Vin. Soooooooo good.
Chris has gotten to feed him his first bottle (pumped) and I know he liked having that opportunity to bond with him. Little Man took it no problem.
We also need to get ready for Halloween. I was going to make her a Thumbelina costume, but I just don't see how I'll get it done in time. Instead I pulled out a dress up costume (Dorothy) I got at Target the other year, after Halloween. She tried it on and - as you can see - loved it. She said she was a princess like Thumbelina. Of course, she'll have to wear a turtleneck and pants and who knows what else with it since the evening temps are in the 30's. She already has the shoes to go with it. I was also explaining that we will go trick or treating and she was very excited to go to a house and get a piece of candy. Yes, she thinks she will get one piece of candy. Unfortunately Chris has class on Halloween night, so I'll be taking them out by myself and probably leaving a bowl of candy by the door, but I'll take lots of pictures and some videos. Then I can share them with you too!
Here was the 4 week picture. He is wearing a onesie that Colette painted for him while I was pregnant.
We've also moved him to his room now, hoping all our sleep might improve. He has fun pictures on the wall - I used mod podge to put the prints onto canvas.
The Mattoons gave us this GREAT crib sheet that goes perfectly with the room.
I made this over the summer. Just stained some wood letters and attached it to some drift wood we found. I need to adjust some of the letters, but you get the idea.
Little Lady also got to feed him a bottle. I'm pumping a bunch to try to get a stockpile in the freezer. He doesn't look thrilled, but he was drinking it.
He has lots of different expressions.
It makes looking at him that much more fun.
He is also doing lots of smiles. It is great when they start getting to the point where they are interacting and responding to you.
See the many faces I was talking about? He is also in 3 month clothing now - although he is apparently too big for the french sized 3 month stuff. It is bursting at the seams - not sure you can tell by the picture. He is in the 6 month French stuff. I apparently don't make French sized babies.
For all those fussy moments he does have some very cute happy ones!
This is his "does this shirt make me look French?" look. Also, on a side note, we are all set for onesies for him 'till he is at least one.
I've got my hands full - literally!
The weather has also changed considerably. Our "hills" have gotten their first dusting of snow! We've promissed Little Lady that we will go find some snow this weekend, so we'll be getting back to some exploring!
One big happy Boise family!
