Bourbon & Boots: Two Months

He's showing you 2. Baby genius.

Dearest Mr. Man,

You (and we) have made it two months already. Everyone says the first three months are the hardest, so we are well on our way. You are growing and eating well--still about every 2-3 hours during the day, but stretching it out at night.

For a while, you were sleeping a 4-hour stretch at first, and then were up every 2-3 hours after that. I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but you started to stretch that out right around the 8-week mark. The first stretch will be about 6 hours, and then you'll be up again about 2-3 hours after that. That puts us at about 7:15 am, which is totally reasonable. This is a significant improvement in my book, and you seem happy too. The pediatrician says this is right on. Twelve pounds is considered a magic number. I'm supposed to work on weaning the swaddle now, as well as putting you down drowsy so you learn to put yourself to sleep and don't depend on eating to sleep.

The next sleep task is to figure out naps. Sometimes you are in to them, and sometimes not so much. I am trying to figure out your rhythm and intervals (not really a schedule as it's more about the sequence of things than it is what time the clock says) so that I can predict them. I'm told you should be taking about 3 naps a day and my job is to anticipate them and provide a quiet, comfortable place for them. Don't be mad--sometimes that's the car seat. This ends up looking like "the baby putting himself on a schedule" and will hopefully settle out in the next several weeks.

You are chunkin' up and look more like a baby and less like a spankin' new newborn. You also look more like a little old man, as you've lost all the hair off the top of your head. It might be starting to come back in, and looks pretty blond there on top.

I feel like this looks like an old-timey portrait sitting.

Also, the weather has started to get nice, so we have been going on more walks and outings. You most definitely enjoy being outside and even coo at a nice breeze.

Likes:

Music. I'll put on the Pandora "lullaby" station on my computer, phone, or the tv (another yay for technology) and you'll get still and look around for the music. Favorites seem to include piano pieces and songs with male voices (e.g., Raffi; Jeff Buckley's or Rufus Wainwright's version of "Hallelujah"). I try to fight the instinct to keep everything pretty silent when you're sleeping, hoping that this means you'll tolerate background noise while you sleep as you get older. Music seems like a good way to do this.
The swing (My Little Snugabunny). I mean, it's not a miracle worker--if you're hungry or have another need, it won't solve that problem. But if you're happily awake or sleeping soundly, you'll chill in there for a while. We have it in our kitchen, so it allows me to get things done in the downstairs area, which is a huge bonus.

The Moby.
High-contrast visuals: windows, lights, ugly baby toys, the pillow with the birdies on it, the lamp in the living room

Bathtime
The mirror above your changing table
This song. I have no idea why.

Dislikes:

Stoplights. One thing that works fairly well is to turn on an AM station that is just static and turn it up. I suppose it's just white noise, but it makes me feel like I should be wearing an aluminum foil hat.
The hours from 6-9pm
Waking up sometimes

Milestones:

Meeting the upstate grandparents, Uncle Trev, and Miss Victoria!
First St. Patrick's Day
First Easter
You are full-on social smiling! This started intermittently around 4 weeks and was reliable by 6 weeks. You're still happiest in the morning but can be counted on for a great big gummy smile, which makes all the rough nights worth it.
We have caught some little laughs in your sleep
You have rolled front to back several times

Stats:

12 lbs, 7 oz (this is only 53rd percentile...who are you people with the monster babies?)
24" long...TWO FEET TALL! (89th percentile...tall boy)
Head circumference 15" (28th percentile)
Overall, great growth trajectory
SHOTS...oh noes! You got all the standard 2-month vaccines. This was one oral (rotovirus) and 3 injections. You were such a brave little toaster. The nurse was great and so fast--by the time you realized you were upset, it was over. You only cried for about 5 seconds and mommy did not cry at all. Great success, plus two Scooby Doo band-aids.