Age
2 Months old
14 pounds 2 ounces, 23 inches long.
Wearing size 2 diapers (switched at 7 weeks) and 3 month clothes.
Feeding Schedule
We are still exclusively breastfeeding on demand. He was nursing pretty consistently every 1.5-2 hours most of the month with cluster feeding every hour or less in the evenings for most of the month. He has only had one bottle which was given by Joe while I was at a hair appointment. He only took a few ounces and wasn't too impressed.
Sleep
We switched to the Love to Dream Swaddle Up around 6 weeks because he seemed to be trying to break free from the Halo swaddle, but he was still startling himself awake if we had his arms out completely. The Swaddle Up has made a huge difference for us as he seems more comfortable with his arms up instead of by his sides. His daycare isn't allowed to swaddle babies with their arms in after 2 months so I'll have to transition out of the swaddle before my maternity leave is over.
He has started sleeping longer stretches in his bouncy seat this month. We started with him swaddled, white noise on, vibration on the seat, and the swing going to get any sort of sleep while not holding him. Gradually I stopped the swinging and the vibration and he has been sleeping still in the seat. His first stretch of sleep is usually 2-4 hours and then every stretch after that is 1.5-2 hours with him ending up in our bed around 4:00 or 5:00am. He did have two nights this month where his first stretch was 5 hours! But he also had a few nights this month where I had to prop myself up on the couch holding him all night. We are hoping to make some improvements in the sleep department before I go back to work. I definitely don't expect him to be sleeping through the night by then by any means. Rocco didn't consistently sleep through the night until almost 20 months and he spent half the night in our bed a good portion of the months leading up to that.
Milestones
He has been interacting more and more with smiles. He has been staying awake for longer periods of time. We aren't really on a schedule yet, but in general he eats and then is awake for about an hour and a half before he is ready for a nap. He started sucking on his hands this month.
Favorite Things
He still likes to be worn in the Solly. He loves being held and eating. He has decided he likes his bouncy seat and swing more than he did last month. He likes his play mat for short periods of time. He prefers to be facing out when held. He loves being held while he sleeps. He also loves being outside.
Least Favorite Things
He isn't a huge fan of his car seat unless he is completely asleep and it's moving. He is sure to wake up as soon as it stops. He's decided he doesn't care for his pacifier anymore. I have bought several different kinds and he completely refuses to suck on any of them.
Favorite Gear/Products
Solly wrap, wonder weeks app, Swaddle Up, bouncy seat, play mat, Little Remedies Gas Drops.
Health
Starting at about 2 weeks old Dominic would scream every evening. It almost always starts at 6:00 or 7:00pm and lasts until 9:00 or 10:00pm. It seems like no matter what we do he still screams. It isn't always completely nonstop...if we find something he likes like rocking, swaying, bouncing, shushing, or a combination of all of the above he sometimes stops screaming while we do those things but immediately starts up again as soon as we stop. Setting him down or sitting down while holding him is completely out of the question during those evening hours. Sometimes taking him outside on the deck or taking him for a walk will calm him down a little. But then other times he screams the entire walk. He isn't a huge fan of his car seat, so car rides don't really help either.
He is also fussy and crabby the majority of the day. It's very rare that I can set him down without him crying. Every now and then he seems to gag without spit up and that seems to bother him. At night he grunts so loud we can hear him clear across the house. He flails around and just seems generally uncomfortable the majority of the night.
At 4 weeks old I took him into the pediatrician to try to figure out what is going on. It seems like it may be a few things. She thinks the hours of predictable crying is likely colic. Colic seems tricky as there's no clear cause and no clear solution. It's mostly just a waiting game until it passes. She recommended trying Gerber Probiotic drops to see if that helps. I did give it to him for about a week but it really didn't seem to make a difference. We also decided to set up an appointment with an OMM doctor to see if there's anything he could do to help. I took Dominic to a few visits with him, but that too didn't really seem to help. I did cut out dairy from my diet which has seemed to help his grunting and flailing at night thankfully. A rash that he had had since about 2 weeks old also cleared up after I cut out dairy. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence, but it seems like it could be related.
His pediatrician thinks that the fussiness during the day and coughing and gagging is probably silent reflux so we started him on Zantac. Since Zantac dosing is based on weight we did have to increase it the next week to try to see more improvement. We weren't seeing a ton of improvement even after that so we switched to Prilosec, but after a few weeks of that he seemed worse. At 8 weeks we switched back to Zantac at a higher dose and that seems to be helping.
Sibling Interaction
The transition to becoming a big brother hasn't been easy on Rocco. He has always been really sweet to Dominic, but he has definitely struggled with getting less one on one attention since he's been home with us. It breaks my heart to see Rocco struggle and I feel terrible that I can't devote all of my time to him like I used to. On the positive side of things, adding Dominic to the family has encouraged Rocco to be a little more independent and I think that's really important for him.
Rocco does love checking on Dominic and he hugs and kisses him all the time. I hear him quite often telling Dominic "I wuv you" completely unprompted and that makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
All in all it's been a tough month trying to balance toddler needs and newborn needs all while dealing with colic and reflux. I don't always feel like I'm being my best self when I'm feeling the most overwhelmed, but I'm trying my best and I try to remember that everything is just a phase. I'm so thankful that Rocco loves Dominic so much and I know things will go more smoothly once we get through this short tricky phase.
Much Love,
B.
He is also fussy and crabby the majority of the day. It's very rare that I can set him down without him crying. Every now and then he seems to gag without spit up and that seems to bother him. At night he grunts so loud we can hear him clear across the house. He flails around and just seems generally uncomfortable the majority of the night.
At 4 weeks old I took him into the pediatrician to try to figure out what is going on. It seems like it may be a few things. She thinks the hours of predictable crying is likely colic. Colic seems tricky as there's no clear cause and no clear solution. It's mostly just a waiting game until it passes. She recommended trying Gerber Probiotic drops to see if that helps. I did give it to him for about a week but it really didn't seem to make a difference. We also decided to set up an appointment with an OMM doctor to see if there's anything he could do to help. I took Dominic to a few visits with him, but that too didn't really seem to help. I did cut out dairy from my diet which has seemed to help his grunting and flailing at night thankfully. A rash that he had had since about 2 weeks old also cleared up after I cut out dairy. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence, but it seems like it could be related.
His pediatrician thinks that the fussiness during the day and coughing and gagging is probably silent reflux so we started him on Zantac. Since Zantac dosing is based on weight we did have to increase it the next week to try to see more improvement. We weren't seeing a ton of improvement even after that so we switched to Prilosec, but after a few weeks of that he seemed worse. At 8 weeks we switched back to Zantac at a higher dose and that seems to be helping.
The transition to becoming a big brother hasn't been easy on Rocco. He has always been really sweet to Dominic, but he has definitely struggled with getting less one on one attention since he's been home with us. It breaks my heart to see Rocco struggle and I feel terrible that I can't devote all of my time to him like I used to. On the positive side of things, adding Dominic to the family has encouraged Rocco to be a little more independent and I think that's really important for him.
Rocco does love checking on Dominic and he hugs and kisses him all the time. I hear him quite often telling Dominic "I wuv you" completely unprompted and that makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
All in all it's been a tough month trying to balance toddler needs and newborn needs all while dealing with colic and reflux. I don't always feel like I'm being my best self when I'm feeling the most overwhelmed, but I'm trying my best and I try to remember that everything is just a phase. I'm so thankful that Rocco loves Dominic so much and I know things will go more smoothly once we get through this short tricky phase.
Much Love,
B.
