Will's 1st and 2nd Month

Oh the dreaded blog update... when will I learn?  Obviously never.  But like I said, I'd love to at least keep this up through Will's 1st year so we can print a book and call it day.  The sad thing is I try to keep up but then I think of how far behind I've gotten, get overwhelmed and off to the bottom of my to do list this goes.  But alas, at the risk of ginxing myself, it's Mother's Day and both babies are asleep and here I go in an attempt to recap the impossible.

Will's first month went something like this...

After week 1 and 2 where he was a sleeping angel he turned in a little devil in disguise.  Not really... but poor baby had a colicky spell.  I'd say from about 6-10 pm on any given night the little guy cried a solid 2-3 hours.  It was definitely the witching hour but the rest of the day he was just my sweet sweet little angel baby who made the cutest little faces and he dreamed away.  He mostly slept in his portable bassinet because we were too scared to put him on the floor for big sister Sophia to pounce and sadly unless big sis was napping he didn't get much use out of the swing because she loved to go get in his face and scream in a giggly happy voice "baby."  That was sometimes followed by a head smack and her trying to pull him out of the swing so she could hold him.  Hence... poor baby didn't get much tummy time.

 

keeping watch over her little brother

Which leads me to Big Sister's adjustment to having little baby brother around.  Honestly, Sophia loved having Will around at first.  She always wanted to hold him and love on him and would sit next to me on the couch while I was feeding him and hold her arms out and say "I hold." But... after about 5 weeks that changed.  She didn't dislike Will or hit him or anything but she definitely went through an adjustment and starting doing anything and everything to get attention.  We were really worried for awhile because any time she saw any familiar faces come around or we'd bring her around people she knew/ or didn't know for that matter she'd start to scream and cry and cling to mommy saying, "no mommy, bye bye - to whoever she saw).  Poor thing-it's like she thought we were going to leave her with them and take baby as her replacement.

Library Storytime

shoe shopping with Mommy and just had to have that Minnie hat!

Catch Air fun with Mommy and the cousins

Good thing is by about week 5 I felt really good to get out and about and I've been taking her to her story time at the library and her tumbling class every week and it seems to have made all the difference. I think she realized that Will wasn't going anywhere by week 5 and the novelty of having a little brother wore off.  But now by 2 months, she seems to understand she'll always be my little princess and she doesn't seem as bothered... phew!

Hmm... what else for this stream of conscience post... I suppose it's worth noting that I completely understand what everyone always said about mom guilt.  Gosh, knife through the heart seeing your little girl cry because she thinks you're leaving her behind or you've found a new favorite.  It was heartbreaking to see how upset she'd get.  But at the same time, it's like if I left Will behind with the nanny to take Sophia places I'd feel guilty about not spending quality bonding time with him.  You just can't win :)

At 8 weeks in though I feel like I'm finally getting in my groove.  I typically do one activity alone with Sophia every morning after I feed Will so I can leave him a few hours with the nanny and then when Sophia goes down for her nap around 1, if I have plans I head out with Will so Sophia won't notice and/or get jealous.  It has been so much fun to have 2 of my best girlfriends in the neighborhood on leave at the same time as me.  One of them, Amy had a little girl the day before Will was born and the other, Jaime had a little girl 2 weeks ago.  Amy and I have been going on walks and lunch dates to get out for weeks and Jaime just joined us last week.  It makes the days fly by when we have our dates because we sure do know how to lunch.  We laugh every time because we get there for lunch and we stay long past everyone else.  They pretty much will have to tell us they're closing for us to move :)  It has made all the difference in my sanity and I love having that time to chat with my friends and relax while our little babies usually sleep away.  Makes me sad that in only a few weeks we'll all be back and work and it'll be back to grind but we sure are enjoying it while it lasts.

Ellie and Will (1 day apart)

Ladies who lunch aka Newborn Crew  Amy/Ellie, Jaime/Peyton and us

Another fun thing I've started doing this past week is getting back into shape.  I tried running around 5 weeks post op and I was sure I'd given myself an incisional hernia so my doctor told me to cool it off.  I was so sad to miss the annual RaceTrac 5k but I've already signed up for the Savannah 1/2 marathon in November so at least I have that to motivate me back into shape.  This past week I starting taking morning runs with Sophia on the silver comet trail and it's been so nice... honestly.  I'm completely out of shape but I love how peaceful it is out there and makes me wish I could keep this up after I get back to work.  It's just nice to have some one on one time with my little girl too and we try to hit up the park on our way home so she can have a little fun too.

Other than the hernia scare-  which thank God was nothing, I'd have to say this c-section recovery has gone so much smoother than with Sophia.  For one thing, I didn't have a migraine every day for the first month post op which was so much appreciated and I just felt like I was up and moving about so much quicker this time.  Not saying it was a breeze, but just seemed easier.  I did feel hella stir crazy the first month though not being able to get out and about and having the nanny in my home just feeling like I  couldn't ever relax but at the same time it was nice having an extra hand to help and in retrospect that first month went by like a blur (probably due to lack of sleep and just getting into our new groove).

Will also got to experience his first holiday in month 1- Easter!  He was still too small to go to church but we did head to my parent's house for Easter brunch so he could meet the family- and I'm glad he did, especially my nana who got a chance to hold him since she's sadly now in the hospital and it's not looking too good :(  I'm so grateful both of my grandmothers are around to see my children and even though they might not remember them one day, I'll be able to tell them such wonderful stories of how much they were loved by them and show them pictures.

Sophia loved her first Easter Egg hunt in our neighborhood

Alright- stream of conscience ending with Will's 1st and 2nd month stats.

1 month old:
 Weight - 8 lbs 5 oz... 6th percentile
Height 20.5 in... 5th percentile
Head 36 cm.... 10th percentile

2 months old:
Weight - 9 lbs 12 oz... 4th percentile
Height... 21.5 in... 3rd percentile
Head ... 38 cm... 18th percentile

Will had his 2 month check up Friday and poor thing had one rough day.  Doctor said he has a slight flat head (definitely need to hold him differently and do more tummy time) and since his reflux is still pretty bad (he spits up all the time and fights latching on at times) they have him a stronger reflux medication.  He also has thrush, which could be contributing to his pain when he tries to eat so he now has to take meds for that.  And the kicker... he was a little jaundice so doctor sent him over the Children's Hospital to get blood drawn (he did not like that one bit... esp on the heels of him getting his 2 month shots that day too).  Poor thing!  But good news is we already got back the results and he's ok. Doctor thinks the jaundice will correct itself in no time and there's nothing wrong with his liver.  Thank God! Also while he's a small like dude the doctor said his stats are fine and in proportion with where he started since he was almost premature and a small baby to begin with.  Overall, despite the crazy day (which was escalated because of an awful plane crash on 285 that morning and horrible traffic in the area driving Will all over town) and report from his 2 month check up, doctor said he's a healthy little guy and doing great!  Hopefully once we get his reflux and thrush under control he'll be able to eat more and he'll continue growing just fine.

I love my little man, despite his cry spells and he's becoming so much more alert these days.  He loves giving his mama smiles and coos and really follows us with his eyes and loves falling asleep on my chest - precious moments I'll hold onto because I honestly don't remember Sophia ever doing that.  It's the sweetest thing.  Something tells me he'll be my little cuddler and I love feeling his sweet little head rest on my shoulder.  Wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.

Will at 7 weeks

It's definitely been a period of adjustment for us Spiveys these past 2 months but I'd say we're finally getting into our groove and loving our new normal.  I feel pretty blessed on this Mother's Day (today!) to have my two healthy happy babies and can't wait to see what lies ahead.