Time for the dual updates!

JAREN

Jaren is already 1-month old!  In this one month he’s up 3 pounds from his birth weight of 7 lbs 14 ounces, and weighed in at 10 lbs 14 ounces at his 1-month well-check.  He grew out of his newborn diapers and sleepers at 3 weeks, and we just retired his newborn onesies at 4 weeks.

I can’t believe how much faster the newborn stage is passing us by this second time around.  It’s true what most say, the second time around does feel a lot easier and I’m able to enjoy the newborn stage a lot more.  I will say this though – even though I am more relaxed as a parent, I’ve forgotten so much about how to raise a newborn… And boy diapers are much harder to change than girl diapers – I’ve already lost count how many times we’ve been pooped and peed on already.

Weight: 10 lbs 14 oz (75th percentile) – he gained exactly 3 pounds!
Height: 23 inches (95th percentile) – he grew 3 inches!
Head: 39.5 cm (95th percentile) – big head, big brain?? 

Temperament

Jaren is a chill, easygoing baby.  He doesn’t cry or fuss unless it’s one of two things: 1) He’s hungry 2) He has trapped gas (either he needs to burp or he’s trying to squeeze out a bunch of poop).  He’s also pretty content anywhere – he doesn’t mind the carseat, he doesn’t mind the stroller, I can plop him down almost anywhere and he’ll be fine staring into space, he enjoys tummy time and even rolled over one-way a couple times on his own already.  He loves being swaddled, doesn’t care either way whether or not there’s white noise, likes to sleep on his side but doesn’t mind being on his back, and doesn’t care for the pacifier.

Sometimes people aren’t sure whether it’s easier the 2nd time around because you’re just more self-assured as a parent or if your baby is just easier.  I can confidently say that for us, it’s both.  Noelle hated the stroller, hated the carseat, hated the swing/bouncer/anything besides my arms, and had inconsolable witching hours every night.  However, Noelle was better at nursing and had a stronger latch from Day 1 than Jaren.

Eating

The most challenging part of my days with Jaren are our times spent breastfeeding.  I have to stop multiple times to burp him, and sometimes he’ll fuss and cry inconsolably and I’ll sit there in frustration, trying to figure out what’s wrong.  Although Jaren doesn’t spit up a lot, our pediatrician said he might have silent reflux.  I’m not fully convinced though because he doesn’t exhibit most of the listed symptoms and is gaining weight like a boss!  I’m hoping whatever it is, that it’s just a newborn thing and it’ll go away as he develops.  Right now he’s better at taking a bottle without fussing so it seems easier to just pump and give him milk that way.  He was taking 2.5 ounces at 2 weeks, and 4-4.5 ounces at 4-weeks.

Sleeping

I’m reminded again why sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture – waking up every 1.5-2 hours is ROUGH… and it’s “only” been 4 weeks.  Ahh… this mama is TIRED.  That being said, he is a good sleeper, and wakes up like clockwork every 2 hours even though I haven’t intentionally tried to put him on a schedule yet.  He seems to have his days and nights straightened out and is much more alert during the day. I’m waking up 3x a night right now, usually around 1:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m., and 5:30 a.m.  The good thing is that he is willing to be set down and doesn’t need to be held a lot so I still get some quality sleep in between feedings.

Jaundice

At the hospital, Jaren didn’t test high enough for jaundice to need blue-light therapy, and when we went in for our well-check when he was 5 days old, his jaundice levels were still considered safe.  However, after being at home a couple weeks it seemed he was yellower than ever.  At his one-month check, the pediatrician noticed it too and said he probably has breastmilk jaundice.  This is something I’d never heard of before, but basically…

Breastmilk Jaundice is jaundice that persists after physiologic jaundice subsides and is seen in the otherwise healthy, full term breastfed baby. There is no known cause for this type of jaundice although speculation is that it may be linked to something in the breast milk that is blocking the breakdown of bilirubin. (Breastmilk jaundice tends to be genetic and run in families.) Breastmilk jaundice does not mean that something is wrong with the mother’s milk and that breastfeeding should be stopped. Most babies who present with true breastmilk jaundice (only 0.5% to 2.4% of all newborns), may see another rise in bilirubin levels at about 14 days, but they will level out and eventually decrease. Breastmilk jaundice can last for 3-12 weeks after birth, but as long as baby is feeding well and bilirubin levels are monitored, it rarely leads to serious complications.  {source}

Noelle was pretty yellow for the first couple months too, so we’re not too worried yet.

Overall, we’re enjoying him so much despite the sleep deprivation!  We’re so much more confident in ourselves as parents,  worry a lot less, and go with the flow a lot more.  When I was a first time mom, I wanted to do everything by the book and thought I would “mess up my baby” if I deviated in any way.

NOELLE

I haven’t done an update on her in awhile, but so much has happened since she turned two!  She’s not due for another well-check until she’s 2 1/2 years old, but I do know she weighs 28 pounds right now.

Being the Big Sister

So far she has shown zero signs of resentment or jealousy.  She is a very doting, loving, kind, and gentle big sister!  She loves to be mama’s little helper and always offers to “carry Jaren”.  Also, when I’m patting his back trying to get a burp out, she comes over and starts patting his back too – so funny.  It’s so sweet when she hears Jaren crying and scrunches her face up with this look of concern.  I can’t wait til the two of them start interacting with each other more.

Eating

Somehow a switch turned on shortly after she turned 2, and she decided she wanted to try everything I eat!  For the longest time, she was a very picky eater, but these days she’s been willing to eat chicken and beef (she never ever ate any protein except eggs, tofu, and fish for as long as I can remember), eggplant, carrots, sauteed onions, foods with spices.  I’m just so happy she’s eating her vegetables again and asking for more!  To mama’s of picky toddlers, there is hope for them yet!

Sleeping

She continues to be a great sleeper – she wakes up at 7 a.m. and takes one nap a day, usually from 1-3 p.m.  We also pushed her bedtime out a little – from 7 p.m. to 7:30-8 p.m.  We love that extra time we get together as a family, and it’s been so nice having the sun set later these days due to daylight savings.  She is a ball of fire and so funny and full of personality that the few hours we get to spend with her feel like they fly by.  I feel a lot of guilt about not getting as much time with her these days because I’m constantly tied to the glider, having to nurse Jaren.  However, she doesn’t seem to mind at all… she’ll come over to us and lay her head against his and stroke his hair gently.  She is such a sweet sweet older sister.

Activities

She had another language explosion after she turned 2 too.  Her sentences are a lot more complete and she can say 7-8 syllable sentences now.  She loves to imitate everything we say these days, and repeats it back to us in the form of a question.  All ages have their fun moments, but I have to say that this might be my favorite age so far!  I can’t believe I’m saying that about the “terrible two’s” – the age I thought I’d dread the most.  I hear her little feet pitter pattering down the hallway to our room every morning and she shouts at the top of her lungs, “GOOD MORNING MOMMY!!!  GOOD MORNING DADDY!!!”.  When she sneezes, she’ll tell herself, “bless you!”.  One time, she was in the middle of a tantrum and crying her eyes out, yet she stopped mid-cry to say “bless you” when she heard Jaren sneeze… then resumed crying after that.  I had the hardest time keeping a straight face.

She lives up to her name and loves to sing.  She knows most of the words to these songs: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “BaaBaa Black Sheep”, “The Wheels on the Bus”, “ABC’s”, “10 Little Monkeys”, “Twinkle Twinkle”, “Jesus Loves Me”, and “Ring Around the Rosie”.  She’ll do the accompanying hand motions to some of the songs too.  She knows these shapes – oval, circle, square, rectangle,triangle, octagon, and pentagon, and can count up to 25 (she often skips over 14 though).

She loves to cook us oatmeal and make us sandwiches in her play kitchen.  Her favorite thing to do at the park is go on the swing – she always says “I want fly, mommy” (this is when we push the swing really high and she lets the wind blow through her hair).  She’s also a crazy little monkey and loves to climb.  She is an expert at riding down the bigger, steeper slide now.  Her daddy has also become her new plaything – she loves chasing him and being chased.  He’s also her horsie!

It’s a battle trying to dress her now.  She insists on pulling up her own pants, choosing and putting on her own socks and shoes, and needs to give her input on clothing too.  She loves to “accessorize” by putting rubberbands on her arms as if they were bracelets (where did she learn that?  I don’t even wear jewelry!!).   She’ll take my purse and sling it on her arm and say, “see ya later mommy!”.  Is it any surprise that her favorite color is pink?

She’s always up to something and the chatter is nonstop – it makes life interesting and fun!  I’m enjoying this stage so so much.  We have our share of tantrums, screams, and whines, but it’s within reason.  We usually ignore her and she stops after a little while knowing that attention-seeking behavior doesn’t work with us.  When I use my stern voice with her, she immediately pauses and her eyes get all huge and puppy-like… then she’ll quickly wrap her arms around me and say, “I’m sorry Mommy”.  It’s impossible to stay mad for very long.

That’s our life in a nutshell these days!  Life with two is exhausting, but a lot of fun too!

A wonderful reminder to all the beautiful, tired, sacrificial mama’s out there.

Noelle still searches for my guiding hand even as she learns to find her own little place in the world

Here’s what she’s been up to:

• Everytime we leave an activity, she will say “bye bye” to it.  For example, if we’re done at the park she’ll say, “bye bye sand!!” and wave profusely at it.
• She likes to say “bye bye” and blow a kiss at the same time.
• She initiates pray-time before bed!  It’s the last thing we do before we put her down.  She will close her eyes and clasp her hands tightly until a prayer is over.
• She knows the words to certain songs, like “Old MacDonald” (mostly the E-I-E-I-O part), “Row Row Row your Boat”, and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
• She knows how to “chill” – when we say, “let’s chill” she’ll plop down on the bed or couch and let herself lounge.  It’s so funny!  Kids pick up on everything.
• She can count to eight.
• She knows all her primary and secondary colors now.  She can’t always pronounce the names of certain colors, but if we ask her to “give me the yellow ball” or “give me the red ball” among a bunch of other colored balls she will get it to us with 99% accuracy.
• She likes to pick out her own outfits when we let her.  She likes to put on her own pants, shirt, and shoes now.  She’s usually putting it on wrong, but she makes a good effort.
• She is better at handling a fork and spoon, and she is getting the hang of drinking from a regular cup though there are still dribbles here and there.
• She loves to help me throw away bits and pieces of trash.  Now to teach her how to clean up after she’s done playing with toys…
• She’s always laughing and smiling now (at least with family)!  She is a super silly and playful girl, and her personality is really starting to develop more and more.

I have no idea if these milestones are “on track” for a girl her age, but either way, I’m still a proud mama!  People often talk about “pride” in such a negative way, but the pride I’m experiencing as a parent feels so different.  I don’t know how else to explain it but to say that it’s like a light that permeates through your whole body and deep into your soul.  This isn’t about comparing her to anyone else – I’m proud simply because she’s mine.  I love watching her grow and learn.

She’ll be entering preschool in less than a month!  Her first day will be September 5th, the Wednesday after Labor Day.  She’ll start a day before she turns 20-months.  The way she learns makes me feel like she’ll be just fine there.  I’m mostly nervous that she will have a breakdown when I leave her with a bunch of strangers because she’s so used to being around family.  We’ve never put her in daycare or had anyone babysit that wasn’t someone in the immediate family, but I guess we all have to begin somewhere!

We talk a lot about how our children learn, but parenting is one learning experience after another too.  One thing I’ve been learning came from my boss.  She is this amazing woman with 6 kids, including one with special needs.  I confided to her that sometimes I worry I will spoil my girl by giving into all her needs, and that I struggle to find the right balance sometimes.  She encouraged me by saying that our kids will follow us more by what we do, than by what we say.  That gave me so much comfort and peace.  And as vague as it sounds, these days I am just trying to follow my maternal instincts, not overthink it, and let the rest fall into place as it should.