2 months old...Titus

Today, Titus is two months old. He is growing like crazy, and this month was full of more wakeful periods and getting into a new rhythm of life.

Weight: 13.4 pounds today (weighed at home)
Height: probably around 24 inches
Diapers: size 2
Clothing: growing out of size 3months (or 0-3)

Titus is a pretty easy baby. We have fallen into a rhythm or schedule that we loosely follow every day. We go through a pattern of sleep, eat and awake. Titus is awake anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or so, and then will nap for an hour to two hours. So on any given day, he will take anywhere from 4 to 7 naps. He wakes up for the day around 7 or 8am (sometimes even later), and will go down to bed in the evening around 9 or 10pm.

Nursing is amazingly easy. He can get a full feed in about 6 minutes, which makes life much easier. He is also very easy to put down for a nap. We worked the 4 or 6 weeks to have him napping in his crib, and our work has paid off. Now when I notice he is tired I can set him down in his crib and leave the room and he falls asleep on his own. I am sure there will come a day when that doesn't work quite as easily, but I am very thankful for how he has learned to sleep.

Titus is becoming more communicative and responsive. He follows people and moving objects with his eyes. He loves cooing and "talking" to people. He smiles and has almost started giggling. Just in the last couple days he has begun swinging his arms trying to reach out and touch or grab objects.

He has bad cradle cap which doesn't bother him, but we get a lot of questions about.  It is slowly getting better after lots of olive oil baths. I am also still following a gluten free/dairy free diet. Titus is a very happy baby now, and I am hesitant to re-introduce those items into my diet.

Comparing Titus & Georgia, 5&6 weeks

So when Titus was first born, I thought he looked identical to Georgia! (Ok, he was the slightly chubbier/boy version). But now, looking at pictures, I think they look vastly different. So, I thought it would be fun to compare the two of them. In this picture, Georgia is about 6 weeks old. Titus is 5 weeks old.

One thing I notice when looking back at pictures is that Georgia was much more smiley. She smiled in almost every picture I have of her!

Some similarities: both kids have the same scalp/hair. They both had/have cradle cap, and loose hair the same way. So far, Titus has lost his hair in the front, keeping long hair in the back. The same thing happened to Georgia, creating some funny hair styles in her early days.

That's about where the similarities end. Titus is much lighter skin tone. He is white and red, while Georgia has always had a nice tan look. Their faces are shaped differently, and Titus just looks like a boy. I will try to get some more pictures to compare in the near future.

3-years old!

Well, this last month we celebrated Georgia's birthday. My little baby is quickly growing up (I know, I make that comment every blog post). Seriously though, it makes me feel old thinking about how old she is getting! It seems like just yesterday we lived in London and had a little baby that was learning to walk and eat. Sigh.

Apple picking in October (no, we did not pick those apples. It just made for a good photo!)

Now our three-year-old is a rambunctious, sometimes-ornery, preschooler who loves to push our buttons and test every boundary. It really isn't as bad as it sounds (most of the time). She is also super affectionate, very creative and imaginative, and is one of the most outgoing people I know. On her birthday morning, she went with Dave to Starbucks and brought a balloon with her - and not just any balloon. This is the most ridiculous, huge princess balloon you've ever seen. It has to be at least two or three feet tall, and is bright pink and has six different princess on it. We gave it to her on her birthday morning and it has traveled with us many places. Dave said she was a mini-celebrity in Starbucks and everyone was telling her happy birthday. For my little extrovert, that was probably the highlight of her day!

One of the books we read has a character who carries grass in his mouth. So she wanted to try it

Weight: 37 lbs
Height: 41 inches
Shoes: size 10
Clothing: size 4T (although we have some 3T that she still wears and I have started adding 5T clothing for this winter)

Georgia loves princesses, books, and drawing pictures. She was Rapunzel for Halloween (without ever seeing the movie - she just likes the princess with the purple dress). She has asked a few times if she can grow up to be a princess when she grows up. She also asks Daddy (and me!) to be her prince.

Picking out a pumpkin

Georgia does NOT like: sitting at the table (a real battle these days to get her to stay still while eating), anything scary. She has entered a phase where she is now easily scared. I was scared of everything as a child, so I expected it to happen. We bought a nightlight for her room which seemed to help. But seriously, she had a couple days where she wouldn't walk to the bathroom by herself unless we came with her. She is scared of noises and is constantly asking, "What's that?!"

Just a normal day at home ;) helping mommy wipe off the table

Georgia is also adjusting to life as an older-sister. She really does love her brother and is great with him. I have noticed that she seems to be attention-seeking and tells me that she is a "baby". She found a pacifier we don't use and keeps it in her bed and likes to suck on it at nighttime. She also crawls on the ground and has a high-pitched "baby" voice that she uses. Its a little over the top, but I expect in a couple more weeks, life will resume as normal for her.

Georgia is hitting the imaginary stage. She plays pretend with her kitchen or her stuffed animals. When she is frustrated about something, she will tell me, "but there was a little girl who's parents let HER do that!" I could see her being a pretty good liar someday soon, but we have not had to deal with that yet.

Titus is 1 month old

This month has just flown by! I know I always say that, but I think having two kids now to keep me busy the time will go even quicker than it used to. Titus is doing well. Really well. He came home a little bit of a grump and has turned into a happier child. I have cut out gluten and dairy from my diet and it seems to make a difference in his world. It is difficult, but very much worth it for a happier child.

Weight: 10lbs, 1 oz at 2 weeks.... probably 11+ pounds now
height: 23 inches or so
clothing size: 0-3 months

Titus is a good eater.  Nursing this time was a lot easier, probably because I know what I'm doing.  He is also a great sleeper. He has already slept a 7 hour stretch. He normally wakes twice to eat at night - sleeping one 5 hour stretch and one 4 hour stretch, then a couple more hours. He seems to be like his sister and has trouble sleeping when out of the house. He will fall asleep in the car, but if he is in the stroller and out and about, he will fight sleep. He doesn't like to fall asleep nursing, which is the opposite of Georgia. He also has trouble sleeping if I am holding him. It makes my life easier because I can set him down - either in the swing or in his bed and just leave. He seems to enjoy laying quietly in his own space and staring off into space before falling asleep.

We have gotten a few smiles the last couple days. He also is starting to respond by looking at people and cooing just a little. He enjoys doing "tummy time" and has fallen asleep doing it a couple times. Dave and I got a cold this last week, so Titus has also gotten it. Thankfully its a very mild cold and doesn't seem to bother him at all.