Trying So Hard to Laugh

Happy Valentine's Day!

Morning Conversations with Beckett

Two Months Old

Somehow our newborn is now two months old!

I'm sure I'll say this a million times over the coming years, but if I could freeze time, I'd do it right now.  Beckett is so sweet and so much fun these days I can barely stand it!

I feel like at one month old he wasn't all that different from when he was born, just a little bigger.  But at two months old he is completely different!  He plays with us and interacts with us and has a much longer attention span.  He can hold eye contact, turn his head to find the source of a new voice, and can track objects easily. He can identify Kolby and me, even when he's surrounded by several other people admiring him.  He kicks and coos and squirms and "talks".  And best of all, he smiles.

I mean really smiles.  Never for the camera though :(

There are a couple of comments that we get over and over.  One is about his big beautiful blue eyes.  Pictures seriously don't do those babies justice at all.  They have my heart.  The other common comment is about his alertness.  He is awake A LOT, with big bright eyes, and the way he interacts makes him seem older than he is.  It even came up at his two month check up-- the doctor was really impressed!  His report card says "Very attentive."

It's funny how many people ask about how he's sleeping.  I think it's just the most natural question that comes to mind with an infant.  The answer?  Not great, but we're totally fine with it :).  These days he sleeps from about 10pm-2am and on a good night he'll go back to sleep for a couple of hours after I feed him.  In the morning he takes about an hour nap and then takes a few cat naps throughout the rest of the day.  In total he logs about 8-10 hours of sleep per 24 hours.  Babies his age average 16 hours, so he's quite an anomaly.  When I mentioned it to the doctor he was a little baffled but didn't have any concerns about it since Beckett is growing and developing very well and is such a happy baby.  And to be honest, I don't mind the lack of sleep.  He'll only be this little for such a short while and I love having all the extra time with him.

We spend our days eating, playing, and napping, then repeating several times over.  We've gotten into a great routine that works for us, and Beckett is such a happy baby these days.  Really no fussing at all, which is quite different from those first few weeks when we were all trying to figure each other out.  He is still a pretty high-needs baby so we are a far cry away from all the parents we see out at restaurants with a baby content in his car seat, but I'm fine with that.  He loves to be with us and be held and take in the word around him.  When he's in play mode, Kolby and I are helpless to do anything but sit and enjoy him.

Here's a rundown of all things Beckett this month.

What we did together:

-Went out to eat as a family twice; one was a disaster and the other went alright 

-Discovered play time

-Made it to church every Sunday

-Spent our first evening apart (thanks CeeCee and Poppa for babysitting!)

-Went to the mall

-Had our first play date (with cousin Liam)

-Went on a lot of walks

-Fell in love with the Baby Bjorn

-Enjoyed some sunny weather days

-Introduced Beckett to our co-workers

-Took naps in bed together

-Had dance parties with Dad

Some of Beckett's favorite things in his second month:

-His playmat (oh my word he LOVES that thing!)

-Walking or dancing or sleeping in the Baby Bjorn

-Laying on his changing pad

-Baths

-Being swaddled and given a pacifier when he gets tired

-Sucking on his fists

-Getting his diaper changed (weird but awesome)

-Napping in our arms or on our chests

-Interacting with us

-Being awake

-Cooing

-Smiling (at us, at the wall, at anything)
-When I blow raspberries at him

Some of my favorite things about Beckett:

-His hair, although I'm finally ready to accept that he's starting to lose it

-His smiles

-When he recognizes me or my voice

-The increasing number of creases on his arms and thighs

-His long eyelashes (they weren't long when he was younger somehow)

-His happy demeanor

-The way he holds his arms up under his chin when I burp him over my shoulder

-His playful moods

-How he needs me (or Kolby) to put him to sleep

-The way he kicks his legs and flails his arms and coos like crazy when playing on his playmat
-His multiple squishy chins

-How when I'm nursing him he hides his face with his arm when he's getting full

-His soft skin, especially his back

Kolby and I are seriously in awe of this boy.  We are both hopeless to put it into words, but man do we love and cherish him.  Here's to another wonderful month!

One Month Old

Second Month in Pictures

Here are some snapshots from Beckett's second month of life!

Over the Moon

This little boy is over the moon for his dad.

 And this dad is over the moon for his little boy.

These Days

What's going on around here these days?  Not much outside of watching this little guy grow and change.

A few weeks ago I started retiring his newborn size footed pj's (so sad!) and then a week later his 0-3 month ones started seeming too snug as well.  He is growing like a weed.  I don't want him to ever grow up, but he doesn't seem to be listening.

Although I have to say that I am loving the stage he has evolved into lately.  He gets really playful sometimes and if we lay him on his back he kicks and punches and coos and smiles like crazy.  It melts my heart every time.  He is really fun to interact with.  And that smile is so stinking cute I could die.  Right now he doesn't find us any more smile worthy than the fan or the Ian Kinsler baseball card on the wall above his changing table, but we are working on it.

His favorite thing is still to be held and snuggled and I can't possibly think of a better use of my time.

Speaking of time, I'm two-thirds of the way through my maternity leave and when I think about the day I have to go back to work it sucks the wind out of me.  But I'll be home with Beckett all but a couple days a week and that makes me so happy.  Plus I'm already looking forward to the summer when Kolby is off and we'll have so much time as a whole family.  We really rocked it that first month.

Beckett and I are getting into a pretty good routine that involves very little sleep, hilarious baths, precious play time, very audible diaper fills, lots of snuggling, and a whole lot less fussing than before.  I'm breastfeeding him and it is the most wonderful thing ever.  Sure it takes up about 9 hours of each day, but it's time with him that I really cherish.

When Kolby gets home I always think that'll be my chance to "do things"---namely cleaning up the huge mess I've made throughout the day---but inevitably Kolby lays Beckett on his lap and Beckett goes nuts for him and all I can do is join them on the couch and take in all of it.  It's just so sweet.  Our house may look like a bomb went off and I literally get nothing done ever, but all I can think about is the last line of that cliche poem:  babies don't keep.

We spend hours a day just staring at him and continuously saying to each other, "he's just so cute." I mean seriously:

We also spend more time than we should blowing through The West Wing on Netflix.  We're both declaring it the best show ever made.  When the weather warms up we'll go on evening walks and probably have more productive things to do, but right now, the three of us camping out in the living room watching tv together is just about perfect.

Our little guy has decided he just doesn't need much sleep.  For quite awhile he was sleeping really well at night but was pretty fussy, or at least high maintenance, during the day.  Now we have gotten into a good rhythm during the day but he only sleeps for a couple of 2-2.5 hour stretches at night.  Including a few power naps during the day, the two of us are functioning on about six hours of sleep a day.  Spirits are surprisingly high on both accounts, but when I read that infants typically average 16 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period I can't help but wonder how on earth he can be 10 hours short.  He's just so bright eyed and alert all the time, I guess he just doesn't want to miss anything!  I can't tell you how many times a day I figure he has to be so tired, so I swaddle him and rock/pat him only to be met with this face:

 Sleep is overrated.

Well that's about all that's going on around here these days.  Beckett turns two months old a week from today, if you can believe it.  I sure can't!