Newborn Photoshoot

Brittany Meng took Tate's newborn pictures when he was about two weeks old.  It was so nice to have the pictures taken in our home.  Kensie, who is normally impossible to get pictures of was totally hamming it up for the photographer.  Tate wasn't quite as cooperative and was awake the whole time!  I was hoping to get some sleepy newborn pictures but he had other plans.  I'm still happy with how they turned out.  I especially love this first one.      

I can't believe how tiny he was and how quickly he grew, it makes me a little sad.  I love a tiny, cuddly, little newborn.

Life with Two Kids

(This post was written when Tate was two months old)

Well I survived the first two months.  I figured I better write about it before my sleep-deprived mind forgets everything.

Having two kids hasn't been as bad as I thought it'd be.  But, it's still been a hard adjustment.  To be honest, I was somewhat terrified to have another baby because Kensie was such a hard, colicky baby.  It was hard for me to imagine having a baby AND a toddler.  I was hoping for an easier baby the second time around.

Luckily, Tate has overall been a pretty good baby (knock on wood!).  And thank heavens because my little miss Kensie is still a handful.  She has always been full of energy, curiosity, and requires lots of patience.  She is smarter than a whip and knows how to test my patience.

I'm one who doesn't like being in the house all day.  Since having Tate though, we have been at home almost every day.  Especially since it is so hot outside.  After two horrendous outings with both kids alone I realized that staying home was much easier and would keep me sane!

Exhibit A:  First time taking both kids out alone was to a car seat inspection appointment when Tate was almost three weeks old.  It started out good.  But somehow I forgot to bring Kensie a snack.  And if you know anything about Kensie it's that she turns into a beast when her blood sugar is low.  She was adamant about not wanting the lady to touch her car seat.  Things got ugly really fast when she started adjusting Kensie's car seat.  Kensie started kicking, screaming, and hitting the lady.  I could not get her to calm down for the life of me.  It was the worst tantrum I remember her having.  The staff was trying to help me get her calmed down by bringing out treats and stuffed animals but she was completely out of sorts.  I almost cried.

Exhibit B:  I decided to walk to the park with both kids.  Shortly after we arrived, Tate got hungry so I nursed him at the park. Then Kensie had a huge meltdown when it was time to leave.  It took about 20-30 minutes to walk home and she cried the whole way.  Needless to say, I haven't been back to the park by myself with both kids.

Two Months

He weighed 12 pounds at his two month appointment.  I love his chubby cheeks, arms, and legs!

He started cooing and smiling.  It's adorable.  He gives the biggest smiles to his mommy and sometimes raises one eyebrow when he does it.  The dimple on his right cheek is especially adorable when he smiles.

He is a total momma's boy.

On a good night he will wake up once.  But lately he has been waking up 2-3 times at night.  The longest sleeping stretch he has ever done is about five hours.  Maybe six hours once?

He still gets fussy around 6 or 7 p.m. but it's not as bad as it used to be.  We are putting him to bed earlier around 8 or 8:30 p.m. and it has helped a lot with nighttime fussiness.  I then feed him around 10:00 p.m. before I go to bed.  Some mornings he is wide awake at 6:00 a.m. and other mornings I have to wake him up at 8:00 or 8:30 a.m.

He will get fussy and tired after about an hour of wake time during the day.  I then swaddle and put him in his crib or swing for a nap.  He will take his first, second, and sometimes third nap in the crib and fusses for about 2-10 minutes before falling asleep.  Sometimes he will fall asleep without even fussing.  It's the late afternoon/early evening cat nap that I almost always put him in the swing (while we are eating or I'm cooking dinner).  At night he usually needs to be held or put in the swing before he falls asleep.

He doesn't like tummy time.

Still doesn't like the pacifier.  He will only take it sometimes if I hold it in his mouth.

He LOVES taking baths and likes getting his diaper changed.

I moved him into his own room after his two month appointment.  He had been sleeping in our room next to the bed in his rock n' play sleeper up until then.  I'm trying to get him down to one feeding every night between 3:30-5:30 a.m.

Tate is a sweet, sweet baby.  He has me completely wrapped around his finger.  He is pretty laid back during the day and does an eat/wake/sleep cycle every 2.5-3 hours.  I love that he doesn't have to be held all day long and doesn't require me to rock him to sleep every time.  He will even lay on the play mat and be content!  He seems about ten times easier than Kensie was as a baby (no offense Kensie!).