Mr. Finch is 2 months old! He likes to nurse, be held or worn in a carrier, hear Rooney's voice, take baths, listen to me blow dry my hair, pull my and Rooney's hair, and lay and kick on the floor. He does not like car rides, napping in his crib or pacifiers. Oh, how I wish he would take a paci!

Growth

Weight: 13 pounds, 10.5 ounces (!)
Length: 23.75"
Head: 14.75"
Clothing size: 3-6 months
Diaper size: 2

Firsts

Family vacation to Okoboji (a four-hour drive from home)
Smiles and coos
Daycare - four days a week

Routine

Things are still changing every day. There are patterns emerging, but he doesn't eat or wake at the same exact time every day. We try to do an eat/wake/sleep schedule, but he is not a great napper (yet...there's still hope, right?) so sometimes he falls asleep while he eats.

Nursing, trying to eat supper, and reading to Rooney all at the same time

Eating

He nurses every 2-3 hours during the day and every 2-5 hours at night (but usually 3-4 at night). I can't believe I've been nursing for almost 10 weeks! That's like one-fifth of a year! :-) I am back to work now and since we have an on-site daycare, I am able to nurse him during the day, which is a huge blessing. If I feel my milk come in, I will go check on him and feed him if he's awake/fussy, or if he's sleeping they just call me when he wakes up. Cluster feedings in the evenings seem to be fading away, thank goodness!

I have to be honest...breastfeeding is still a love/hate thing for me. I love that I can make milk for him and that he loves it (it's seriously his favorite thing) and can calm him down any time, even when I don't know what's wrong. I don't like that I'm the only one who can feed him (especially in the middle of the night or when Rooney wants to play with me). My boobs also don't feel normal and I can't just wear whatever I want. It amazes me how simple breastfeeding can be at times, but also how complex it seems at other times and how much troubleshooting is involved. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm terrified of getting an infection! i haven't pumped at all yet and prefer to nurse without a cover...so I wish it was more socially acceptable to nurse in public. I know it's legal but it still feels strange since it's not something you see every day. Would love to hear what has worked for everyone else so we can get out of the house a bit more!

Sleep

Sleep is not his strong-suit. :-) He can handle about 1.5 hours of wake time after eating during the day and then he is ready for a nap, but he fights it. He doesn't take a pacifier so he gets fussy and wants to be rocked or nursed to sleep, and then will wake up as soon as we set him down. At night we have done a mix of bed-sharing and co-sleeping. I never thought we would bed-share, but oftentimes it's the only way I can get some sleep, so we're just going with it for now. I'm too tired to try other options! He is getting better at sleeping on his back though instead of being held at night.

HEALTH

Finch is a very gassy baby :-( My milk letdown comes quickly, which causes him to gasp and take in a lot of air. As a result, he is gassy and has reflux-like symptoms, which affects his sleeping patterns. So I'm working toward/waiting for that to level out. It seems to be getting a little better (he is still gassy but it doesn't seem to bother him quite as much...meaning he screams less than he used to, but usually still fusses when he has gas). I've cut back on my dairy intake in case that's the cause. We tried gripe water and we thought it was working but then he threw up a ton so I haven't used it much since. I took him to the doctor just to make sure everything is OK and it seems normal so we're hoping he will grow out of it. I'm very lucky to have a pediatrician who understands and supports breastfeeding.
I give him vitamin D when I remember (I was really good about it on maternity leave but forget most days now that I'm back at work)
He goes to the chiropractor every other week
He currently has cradle cap
We try to bathe him once a week but sometimes we miss...poor second child!
He had three shots and a drink yesterday, which made him a little extra fussy

RECENT Google searches

Just for fun, I thought I'd keep track of these :-)

newborn green poop
infant acid reflux
clusterfeeding
can breastfed babies overeat?
how to get a baby to take a pacifier
messy breastfeeder

Parenting

It's been tough for me to balance the needs of two kids in very different life stages. Finch wants me to sit on the couch and feed him, and Rooney wants me to play hide and seek. I wish I could give them both what they need from me at the same time, but many times it's impossible.

I had forgotten how long it takes to feel like yourself again...to feel like you have things just a little bit under control. And I've spent more time than I'd like to admit comparing Finch to Rooney. I'm sure it's normal, but I got caught up in thinking he should/would/could be more like her, since she was a pretty easy baby! I've just finally started to accept and get excited about the fact that they are very different individuals who will challenge me in their own ways. He may not sleep as well as she did, but he smiles more to make up for it! Reading (and re-reading every couple days) what to expect during the fourth trimester has helped me a lot.

It's been hard, BUT we love being a family of four!

And huge thanks to Laura Palmer for creating this adorable illustration of Finch at 2 months!

Finch, 2 months