Sean at Two Months

Dear Sean,

Well, hello, little fella. You’ve officially “come alive” this month. Your eyes are more focused, it’s clear you can see us and the world around you, and you’re interacting—grabbing things, cooing, SMILING. Sometimes you give up smiles so easily, all we have to do is look at you or talk a little bit. Other times, we might work HARD for it and you still don’t give them up (like when I was taking these pictures)! But when you do smile, oh my gosh—my heart! You are so gosh darn cute, I can barely stand it.

And you’re huge. I knew you were, but it’s been confirmed. We took you to your two-month well baby appointment at the doctor’s a few days ago and you weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs., 8 oz. Now, that’s the 66th percentile, which means you’re actually pretty “average,” but considering you started off at only 6 lbs., 15 oz., it’s been a pretty steep period of growth for you. Plus, your sisters were only 9 lbs., 9 oz. (Nora) and 10 lbs., 7 oz. (Vivienne) at this same age, sooo… you’re huge to us. You still love to eat, so there’s no question how you’ve bulked up! :) The truth is that I weighed you when I was writing your 1-month letter last month. It was informal—I weighed myself, then weighed myself again while holding you, and subtracted my weight. Using that method, it looked like you were 10 lbs. already. You had only been 7.5 lbs. at two weeks, so I was honestly in disbelief. Or denial? I figured that method must not be too accurate. It seemed impossible you were growing that quickly. But knowing what I know now, yep… it was probably accurate. It’s just crazy having a 2-month-old baby boy who is roughly the same size now as Nora was at SIX MONTHS. Haha! But I’m loving it. Your plump little cheeks, arms, legs, and belly… I could nibble on them all day long! Even your little fingers are getting a little pudgy.

Needless to say, your newborn clothes no longer fit you. The 0-3 month sizes are good for now, but who knows for how long. Our pediatrician says that she expects your rate of growth to level out now, but only time will tell. We have only a few summer outfits in 3-6 months so I’m hoping the 0-3 month clothes will at least get us through the rest of the season! It’s been a really hot and dry summer so far, so you’ve been wearing a lot of rompers and onesies. You have some really cute shorts/t-shirt outfits as well. There are a few things in 0-3 month size that I don’t know if you’ll ever get a chance to wear unless we get some cooler days—footie pajamas, and outfits with pants. Hopefully we can squeeze in a wear or two before they have to be packed away!

A surprise at the pediatrician was to learn that you might have what’s called a congenital inguinal hernia. It’s apparently an opening in the groin that’s supposed to close up before birth (or shortly thereafter), but we have reason to believe yours didn’t. We are seeing a pediatric urologist next week to get you checked out and see what the deal is. It sounds like “worst case,” you may have to have a minor surgical procedure at some point, just to close the opening—and that likely wouldn’t happen until you’re 9-12 months old. We’re hoping it’ll turn out to be nothing to really worry about, just something to watch until you’re bigger.

Let’s see… sleep update? You are doing pretty well and being kind to me most nights now. You are still late to go to bed for the night—we go upstairs around 9:30, and I’ve usually fed you and you’re passed out by shortly after 10:00. Then I’m passed out shortly after that. On the really good nights, you’ll sleep through until 5-6 a.m. before you wake to eat. On good nights, sometime between 3-4 a.m. On the “ehhh” nights, you’ll sleep until 2 a.m. and then you’ll usually wake again at 5 or 6 a.m. Thankfully, in any of these scenarios, you’re really only waking to eat and then you typically go back down easily for me until your sisters inevitably wake you up between 7:30-8.

With your sisters, I remember it being pretty obvious when we needed to move up their bedtimes earlier. You do get fussy in the later evenings, but the time that happens varies. And it’s relatively mild. Your behavior hasn’t yet reached a point where it’s screaming, “I NEED TO GO TO BED.” The pediatrician says that transition will likely happen in the next several weeks (and at the latest, by four months?), so we’re watching for that.

We did transition you a week or so ago to the pack ‘n’ play for sleep. You’re still in our room (it’s just so much easier for me with the middle-of-the-night or early-morning feedings), but the next step toward getting you in your own room in your crib was to get you sleeping flat (as opposed to on an incline in the rock ‘n’ play), so we’ve done that. Dare I say that you’ve actually been sleeping better in the pack ‘n’ play? I think it’s probably more comfortable for you at this point since you can stretch out. You know, because you’re so big and all. ;)

Napping during the day is hit or miss. There’s no schedule for it. You sleep when you sleep and that’s all there is to it. Some days, it seems like all you do is sleep and eat, and others it seems I can’t get you to sleep for longer than 15 minutes here and there. Thankfully, you’re pretty content to be on the go, whether you’re sleeping or awake. It’s a big blessing for a third baby because, well, our lives require that you be on the go A LOT.

Your sisters love you to the moon and back. They really can’t get enough of you. Telling them to leave you alone because you’re sleeping is like straight-up TORTURE, especially for Vivienne. They’re always sure to give you kisses and hugs before bedtime or before leaving you for whatever reason (daycare, camp, friends’ houses, etc.). Nora loves to make you smile and continues to call you “the cutest brother in the world.” Vivienne excitedly squeals, “He’s looking at me!” anytime you focus on her. They are big helpers with diaper changes, getting you dressed, trying to calm you when you’re crying. I can’t give you a bath without two sisters glued to my sides with extra wash cloths in their hands, rubbing you down. You are a lucky little boy to have so many “mothers”!

When we carry you around, you’re now much more content when we face you outward so you can observe the world. You are starting to enjoy the play mat, and I just clipped a hanging toy to the handle of your car seat to give you something to bat at whenever you’d like.

I just finished your nursery. It’s the first nursery for which we’ve ever adopted a theme—a nautical theme. For your sisters’ rooms, we only ever chose color schemes. All there is left to do in your room is to put photos in the many frames, which I hope to do in the next week. I love the way it’s turned out and I hope you’ll enjoy it through your infancy and toddlerhood.

Earlier this month, you experienced a rite of passage in our family: Your first trip to the Poconos. We went down over 4th of July weekend with our family: Grammy, your uncles and aunt, and your cousins. We visited our life-long family friend, Susan, and it was a great time. It’ll be fun to see you there next year, toddling around with all of the big kids!

Thus far, you have been a really chill, “easy” baby. You really only ever cry when you’re hungry or sleepy. Or, occasionally when you’re bored/uncomfortable and just need a diaper change or a change of scenery. When you have a baby, you never know what “kind” you’re going to get. I always expect things to change at any moment with this whole parenthood thing. I know by now not to get too comfortable with routines, especially with babies. So, if things take a turn? I’ll be prepared. But if you keep on keepin’ on like you have? We’ll continue to know how lucky we are. Thank you for going with the flow! It’s a wonderful quality that perhaps you’ll keep through your life.

New nicknames this month: Bubba and Bubby. Those are probably the ones I use most often now!

You are another light in our lives and we couldn’t be more grateful for you. Sean, you’re so special to our family and you fit right in—into the groove, into the chaos, into the happy.

We love you more than you’ll ever know.

Onward to month #3!

Love you always,
Mommy