Carson {2 months}

Carson, you are 2 months old today!

Weight/Height/Head Circumference:

You haven't been to the doctor since you were 6 weeks old, but then, you weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces & were 23.5 inches long! Your head circumference was in the 90th percentile!  

Clothing Size:

You are wearing 0-3 months in everything!

Diapers:

You are wearing a size 1 diaper. We still love Pampers, but you developed a little bit of a diaper rash from your new formula, & we switched to Target brand, & that helped clear it right up! We also love seventh generation & The Honest Co. wipes, especially when you have diaper rash!

Feeding:

You are now eating 5 ounces of formula every 3 hours. We switched you to formula when you were 6 weeks old because you started having feeding issues. You would take a bottle of my milk just fine, but your spit-up got much, much worse, you weren't napping during the day for any length of time, & you pretty much cried all day long...if you weren't eating or sleeping, you were crying, and you never slept except for at night, so we had a good time for 30 minutes about 6-7 times a day, when you were eating & and that was it! On 12/27, we started you on the concentrated Enfamil Nutramigen, after a couple of friends had suggested it...their kiddos had the very same symptoms as you, so we thought we would give it a try. We ended up only being on it a couple of days because you spit it up & choked on it so bad. It was so sad! During this time, I ended up taking you in to see the dr. on a Saturday to beg for Zantac because I just knew you had reflux. You would arch your back at just about every feeding, and you would always spit-up & cry after every single feeding. We started it on 12/28, and you are still on it now. It has definitely helped a ton!! We then tried Enfamil Prosobee, and you did amazing on it for like two weeks, but you then relapsed back into the constant crying, etc...& it constipated you so bad! We tried Similac Alimentum after that, but it was just like the liquid Nutramigen...lots of spit-up & chocking. Then, we tried Enfamil Gentlease...you didn't spit it up, but it gave you constant diarrhea! whew...we sure have had a time! Finally, we went back to the dr. to check for a milk protein allergy. You didn't have the allergy, but he diagnosed you with colic, and they gave us 6 sample cans of Enfamil Nutramigen powder (the powder has probiotics, which are supposed to be great for colic) & a prescription for Levsin drops to try to manage the colic. It has taken a week, & there is still lots of spit-up due to the reflux, but you are a completely different baby! On the same day we went to the dr., we started giving you Gerber probiotic drops in one of your bottles each day, too, and all of it combined has truly helped! I am just so grateful...I may be writing a completely different post a month from now, but today, 1/22, has been your best day since you have been born. I was beginning to think you would never be a happy baby, and it made me so sad. Since the day you were born, you never have been a calm or "easy" baby. You've always been on the go, never wanting to stay in one place, and you have ALWAYS wanted to be in motion. I have longed for the day that you would just sit with me on the couch & not wiggle around or cry. It has been hard, too, because colic is such a confusing condition. I know some drs. say you just have to get through it, but I want to do everything I can to help & ease you. These last 2 months have been hard, really hard. The days have been long, but the months have flown. I truly hope & pray that we have found the best "recipe" for you, and I pray that each day continues to get better & better! Your mommy & daddy love you MORE THAN ANYTHING!


Hair/Eyes:

Your hair is still a dirty blonde color & you haven't seemed to lose much since you were born. Your eyes are definitely blue now, too!

Sleeping:

Up until a couple of days ago, (since you turned a month old) you would never nap during the day, unless you were in my arms or in your carseat (we have taken road trips during the day, just to get you to nap). You have continuously done great at night though. Last night, you slept from 9:00pm-6:05am! I couldn't believe it! I went in around 5:30, just to make sure you were still breathing! ;o)
We learned on Monday that you will finally take naps during the day in the swing. Today, you took 4 naps, each about 1.5 hours each, and a catnap around 6:45 for about 20-30 minutes. You're not much of a fan anymore of rocking during the day, you would rather be walked & sang to (loudly!), but once we get you asleep, you are out, unless you sneeze, and then we usually have to get you back to sleep again. ;o) & we still swaddle you for all naps & at night. We still LOVE the Summer SwaddleMe wraps! They are awesome! We moved you from your Rock 'N Play to your crib when you were about 7 weeks old, and you do great in it for sleeping at night, you just will not sleep in it for any length of time during the day! I still rock you at night while I'm giving you your bedtime bottle, and you drift right off to sleep. It's one of my favorite parts of the day besides bath time!

Other Stuff:

You still LOVE bath time! You hate afterwards though, until you get your bedtime bottle, and then you're fine!
You rolled over from your belly to your back when you were 6 weeks, 2 days old!
You will roll over from you back to you belly, but only when you're in your crib & swaddled. It is hilarious because you look like a little burrito rolling around!
And just because I want to remember it...here was our schedule today:

6:05-awake for the day, eat
6:30-play
7:00-nap
9:05-eat
9:30-play
10:30-nap
12:00-eat
12:30-play
1:30-nap
3:00-eat
3:30-play
4:15-nap
5:45-eat (suppertime bottle)
6:30-catnap
8:00-bath
8:30-eat (bedtime bottle)
8:50-bedtime!

*I'm anxious to see how well you sleep tonight, since last night was so great. I never know what you've got up your sleeve! :o)

I have had you on the eat, play, sleep schedule since you were about 3 weeks old, and I think that is the only thing that has helped you sleep so well at night & keep mommy & daddy sane during the day!

Pictures from your 2nd month:

Products we love @ 2 months:

Dr. Brown's Bottles

I have literally tried just about every bottle on the market, hoping to ease your colic & spit-up (FYI, almost every bottle out there promises to reduce colic, I have learned...I have also learned that none do!). These bottles have been your favorite. We used these in the very beginning, but then after all of your issues, I thought maybe trying a different one would help you (we have tried Tommee Tippee, Playtex Nursers with the drop-in liners, Gerber Essentials, & Avent<

Nursery Water

We just picked up a jug of this yesterday from Babies "R" Us, and we love it! We were using bottled water to mix with his formula, and it was working just fine, I just like the convenience of this better. and...we don't have to buy packs of water bottles all the time because this should last a good while!

Enfamil Nutramigen Formula

Hopefully, I won't be eating my words next month, but so far, this formula has changed our lives! It's the most expensive formula Enfamil has, but it is totally worth it for your happiness! I honestly believe the Enflora LGG probiotic has helped you tremendously! 

Target Diapers

Thanks to Mica for the suggestion to use these when you had diaper rash! 

The Honest Co. & seventh generation Wipes

These are thick, soft & gentle on your booty! I pretty much love every product I have received from The Honest Co., too!

The Honest Co. Healing Balm

You have eczema, and this has worked the best for you. I tried baby Aquaphor, too, but this just seems to work better.

Gerber Essentials & Dr. Brown's Pacis

These Gerber pacis are the ugliest ones, in my opinion, but it truly is your favorite paci. You really like the Dr. Brown's ones, too. We still love the MAMs & Wubbanubs, too! 

Burp Cloths

These Gerber burp cloths, along with all of the personalized cloth diaper burp cloths we have are mommy's favorites! We go through LOTS & LOTS of burp cloths every day!

Gerber Colic Drops

We give you 5 drops of these in one bottle every day. I really feel like they help you! 

& last but not least Gas Drops...any brand! 

*I feel like I could be a spokesperson for Gerber, Dr. Brown's & The Honest Co. I love all of their products!

Carson {1 month}

Carson! you are one month old today!

Weight/Height/Head Circumference:

You haven't been to the doctor since your 2 week check-up on December 6, but then you weighed 8 pounds (40th percentile), 21 1/4 inches long (80th percentile), and your head was 37 1/4 cm (80th percentile). We go back to the doctor on January 3, and I can't wait to see what your stats are then!  

Clothing Size:

All of your pants are still newborn, but you wear 0-3 months in pretty much everything else.

Diapers:

You are wearing a size 1 diaper...we ran out of newborn diapers on Friday, so we decided to just go ahead & put you in the size 1s. Pampers are definitely are favorite diapers! Huggies were good the first couple of weeks, though, when your umbilical cord was still attached. We love Huggies & Pampers wipes, too! 

Feeding:

You're eating 3.5-4 ounces of mama's milk in a bottle at every feeding. You eat every 1.5-3 hours during the day (just depending on how long you nap), and most nights, you will go 4 hours before your first nighttime feeding. You LOVE eating. When you wake up from your nap (if it's been a long one), I better have a bottle ready! You can go from bloody murder screaming to calm as a cucumber when you get that bottle! Eating is one thing we have never had an issue with, except for the fact that you eat so fast & spit up after every daytime feeding (notice the spit up on your arm in your picture!). You rarely spit up at night though because you eat slowly because you are sleepy.

Hair/Eyes:

Your hair is still a dirty blonde color & you haven't seemed to lose much since you were born. Your eyes are turing from a greenish blue to a blue color.

Sleeping:

Your sleep habits during the day are always a surprise. :o) I never know if I am going to have time to eat, take a shower, pump, etc., I just have to do everything fast! You love to be rocked to sleep, and I honestly don't know if you would ever sleep during the day if I didn't make you. When you do take a good nap, you usually sleep about 2.5 hours. Other times, you will wake up after about 20-30 minutes because you have trouble pooping! Dr. James warned us about this at your last appointment, but I didn't think much of it then. This all just started last Wednesday, and it has been rough! You will wake up & fuss until it's time to eat again. We go from place to place in the house trying to console you. From the dishwasher, to the swing, to vacuuming, we have tried it all. Sometimes one thing works one day & the next it doesn't! I called Dr. James to see if we could do anything else about it (meds, etc), and his nurse just said we kind of had to wait it out, and that it shouldn't last too long. I sure hope it doesn't! Once you poop, you're fine, it's just getting to that point! So... you pretty much take either a long nap or short nap, no in between! I am learning that you NEED your sleep, too, or you are very, very cranky! We swaddle you for every nap & at bedtime, and you seem to like it. You tend to wake yourself up because you always moving your hands around, so the swaddle helps! 

You have always done great sleeping at night. Most nights, your bedtime is around 9-9:30 after you have had a bath & bottle. You will go to sleep & wake up between 12:30-2 to eat & then again around 5:30-6:30, sometimes earlier, it just depends. Last night, we had two Christmas parties, and you were not so happy about getting out of the house! You threw a massive fit at Altruda's at my work party and cried the whole way home in your carseat, which you have never done! Usually the carseat soothes you more than anything. Granny Deb finally got you to sleep by holding you in front of the running dishwasher. You konked out at 11:00 & woke up at 3:00 to eat...by the point, it had been 5 hours since you last ate, and you have never gone that long! You were exhausted, and I was, too!

*just a side note, so I will remember these crazy times... It has literally taken me all day to write this post because of your craziness today! You took one good 2.5 hour nap early this morning (I napped, too) & the rest of the day, you have cat napped & fussed. It's 10:30pm, and you have been snoozing now for an hour and a half. yahoo! :o)

Other Stuff:

You've just started really smiling in the past few days, & it melts my heart! I LOVE to see you smile!

You are definitely the happiest after you eat. I soak up every moment of that time, which is usually about 30 minutes, then you let me know that you are sleepy with lots of cries! ;o)
You love bath time! It is your favorite part of the day (along with eating!).

You have found the TV and love staring at it. I will lay you on your ladybug playmat in under the TV & you seem to really like it.

You make a whistling face like I did when I was a baby, and it is so funny. I can't catch it with my camera though because you are too fast! 

You love moving your arms & legs...you are constantly moving unless you are in a deep sleep. 

The baby acne has hit over the past week. I'm hoping it goes away as fast as it came!

Pictures from your first month:

Products We Love @ 1 month:

Triple Paste

When you were just a few days old, you pooped A LOT! We were always changing your diaper, and this diaper rash paste worked the best for us. We tried lots of others, too, but this did the trick instantly!

Fisher Price Rock 'N Play Sleeper

This, by far, is a miracle item. You have slept in this since the day we brought you home. We tried to put you in your crib last week for your naps, and you were not having it! We put this beside your crib in your room & (when you sleep), you sleep like a champ in it! :)

Wubbanubs

You LOVE your Wubbanubs, especially when we are riding in the car. You have the elephant, giraffe, lion & dinosaur, and we got you the monkey & blue bear for Christmas. You can never have too many Wubbanubs! I love matching them with your outfits, too! ;o)

MAM Pacifiers

We use this paci when you go to sleep. It is easier for you to hold in your mouth for a longer period of time!

Summer Infant Swaddleme Wraps

We tried swaddling with plain swaddle blankets, but they just didn't work for us. These wraps are much easier to use! We really like the ones that zip, too, but you have outgrown them.

Boogie Wipes

These are great, not only for boogies, but I like using them for your peeling skin & eye matter & just to clean your little face!

Motorola Digital 2.8" Video Baby Monitor (@ Target)

Love this baby monitor! The sound & picture are perfect!

oh, & chocolate for mama! lots & lots of chocolate! ;o)