July 2015 – Grey & Fynn

I hate to sound like a cliché, but TIME…SLOW DOWN! The Beans are two months old. And they are just the most amazing babies that ever lived.

While weeks 6 and 7 were rough (so. many. tears…theirs and mine), weeks 8 and 9 have been delightful!

Our salty little Fynnlee has turned the corner from a crankapotomus to a smiley, cooing, joyful little girl. Before, I would put her down and there would be intense bouts of screaming. Girlfriend would yell for as long as you would let her and even when you picked her up, the yelling would often continue. Didn’t matter what contraption we stuck her in, she was miserable. I’m chalking it up to growing pains (and the six week sleep regression I read about). Currently, she will entertain herself for 15-20 minutes before asking for some attention. She loves looking out the window at clouds and is obsessed with mobiles. She is content a lot of the time and I’m happy to report that my anxiety level has come down to manageable proportions.

She may be a diva but when she gives me this smile, all is forgiven.

staring at clouds

happy princess

Greyson has always been a lovely baby. For the most part he’s calm and quiet and is super happy to chill. Weeks 6 and 7 brought a slight disruption to that demeanor but it was never miserable. What the past 2 weeks brought us was tons of smiles and coos. He definitely knows us know and will stare in your eyes forever. He laughs and grunts and wiggles all the time. He has started to prefer to be held but it’s nothing that is unmanageable and he will still chill out in the bouncer at times. I bought this sling and it’s been one of my favorite baby things. Greyson will nap in it and I love that I can keep him close and still have my hands free. As we haven’t done much nursing, I like the extra bonding I get with my favorite little guy.

Seriously, those cheeks.

snuggle bug

Fist bump

2 month doctor’s appointment – 6/22/15

“This is gonna suck, Fynnlee”

Greyson
Weight: 1 month: 6lbs 12oz (0%) 2 months: 9 lbs 10 oz (6 %)
Height: 1 month: 19.5 inches (0 %) 2 months: 21 inches (1 %)
Head circumference: 40 cm (87 %)
Wearing: 0-3 month clothes, Size 1 diapers

My little guy gained almost 3 pounds in a month! I’m so proud of him. He’s gonna catch up to his sister before we know it. He no longer feels like a feather when you hold him.

Fynnlee

Weight: 1 month: 8lbs 12oz (38%) 2 months: 11lbs 6oz (66%)
Height: 1 month: 20.25 inches (14 %) 2 months 22.25 inches (58%)
Head circumference: 39 cm (83% percentile)
Wearing: 0-3 month clothes, Size 1 diapers

Baby girl is solid! She’s officially a baby now, not a newborn. Ugh, kills me.

The doctor’s appointment was uneventful with one exception. Our little G man has a tendency to turn his head to he left (his left). I noticed this the first week he came home and hoped that as he grew, he would flip from one side to the other. No such luck. Long story short…we’re looking at what is called Torticollis. Essentially Torticollis is a condition in which the neck muscles cause the head to turn or rotate to the side. And treating torticollis that is present at birth involves stretching the shortened neck muscle. Passive stretching and positioning are used in infants and small children. In passive stretching, something is used to hold the body part in a certain position. This could be a device such as a strap, a person, or something else. These treatments are often successful, especially if they are started within 3 months of birth. ~ source

We had a spinal x-ray to rule out spine issues and it came back normal. Fortunately, Allegheny County has a wonderful service through the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers, which offers early intervention and will assist us with physical therapy. Greyson may have to wear a neck brace for a bit or a helmet (as the constant left side head turn is causing a flat head situation). But the bottom line is that this is not life threatening and he’ll eventually be just fine.

Eat

Well I made it 8 weeks. And now, I’m officially finished with breastfeeding. I took a week to wean myself to spare the intense pain of going cold turkey. I stopped pumping for a week and just gradually cut down on my nursing sessions with Fynn. We had our last nursing session on her 2 month birthday.

I shed a couple of tears and then gave myself a pep talk on making it as long as we did. I’m proud I was able to provide breastmilk to my babies in their early days…and I know they will continue to thrive on formula.

Greyson has been an eating machine, sometimes drinking 8 oz in a sitting. I don’t know where he puts it! He very rarely spits up afterwards so it’s all being digested. Most meals are 4-5 oz though. Fynnlee was nursing for 15 minutes or will take 4-5 oz from a bottle. And they’re eating 6-7 times a day. Both babies tolerate Emfamil Newborn formula very well and our pediatrician had the formula Rep send us 2 cases of Newborn and Infant formula. Score!

Bottles for days!

Sleep

Sleep is getting better. Fynnlee is sleeping 6, 7 or even 8 hour stretches over night and Greyson will give us a good 5 to 6 hours at a clip. I know as he gains weight, he’ll catch up to her and I am hoping we’re down to one nightly wakeup by the time I return to work. They take 30-45 minute morning and afternoon naps during the day with one long 2-3 hour nap mid day. For their long stretch, I put them in the rock and play in our room just like they sleep at night and I’ve noticed they sleep much, much better than if they are chilling in the living room.

Bedtime is between 7-8 and our routine is becoming very effective. Bath, swaddle, shush and white noise. They are still sleeping in our room but we’ll be moving them to the nursery within the next two weeks (Lord, give me strength).

Poop

We’re using up the Huggies we stockpiled and then we’re never buying them again. The Kirkland brand diapers have been pretty decent and I’m still a fan of Pampers and Up & Up.

We are down to 3-4 major poops a day. This is pretty nice! Lots and lots of wet diapers and we’ve found the Huggies absorb liquid just fine. Both Jerry and I got pooped on this past month. A couple of diaper explosions and one situation of pooping mid-diaper change. Gross.

Road Trip!

Babies took their first trip just before their two month birthday. We flew on a direct flight from Pittsburgh to Florida and I’m happy to report that they were rockstars! The flight down to FLA wasn’t full so they could sleep in their carseats next to us. But we had to hold them on the way home. They slept for 85% of the time.

And we’re off!

White noise on the plane is a godsend!

Filler ‘er up before takeoff!

I’ll do a separate post on our flying experience.

Aunt Steph and the Grandparents were very excited to see the Beans so they dressed accordingly.

Chilling Poolside

Jerry’s parents kept the babies in their room overnight so we could get some much needed sleep. It was amazing!! The trip was way too short but it was so great to spend some QT with family.

2 Month Photo Dump

Naptime