{Andrew: 11 weeks to the day}As I was making the girls their lunch today (due to snow, Aubrey was home as well) I hear Jocelyn's little voice say, "hi Leslie!" I turn and look and she's got the biggest grin across her face. I was in shock and it looked like she was testing limits. To see what my reaction would be. Well, she got it! And she also got my reply: "No, to you my name is Momma!"
A little later in the day as we were getting ready to go to Aubrey's piano practice, which is also one of my good friends that teaches, Jocelyn always has to rehearse her usual lines of where their dog Peanut is. (For those of you that don't know, Peanut passed away a few months back). I've gotten so used to hearing "Peanut is in doggy heaven" every week that it just fluttered right on by my ears. But this time, I heard something new come along after that line. "Momma, I've been to heaven and it's NOT scary!" Aren't two year olds the cutest? (MOST of the time!) :)
As a mother of three now, I'm finding it's getting rather difficult to find the time to take care of me. Granted, I don't need a lot of time. But these sweeties of mine sure don't make it easy finding those few minutes on most days. And we know that when momma's happy, so is everyone else! So...I took a few hours this morning for some "ME" time and went and got my long overdue hair done. Before I knew it, three months had gone by without a hair cut! And since I refused to get my hair colored while pregnant, it had been about a year since I had it colored too. Afterwards, I felt like a new me. :) And a more happier one at that because I had renewed energy. I was grateful to John for giving me this much needed time out. Kids aren't the only ones that need them you know. :)
{these two sweeties have been stricking up quite the sibling friendship!}
{whoa! now hold on to your hats. do you honestly think that i would let her eat all of that cup of goodness in one sitting? no way! ten bites was satisfying enough and then she begged me to put the rest in the freezer to share with daddy. ah. what a sweetheart!}
"I'M A BIG GIRL NOW!"
{Playtime with daddy}
{Andrew taking a snooze on our bed while we were hard at work getting upstairs projects completed.}
{Jocelyn loves to give her brother cuddles}
{Daddy time}
{Building her "tower" as she calls it. The best part is when she knocks it all down.}
{Our oldest to youngest. Andrew looks a bit sleepy here}
{He LOVES the bath}
{This is Jocelyn's way of putting her headband on. Quite interesting!}
{My boy smiling at me}
{KISSES}
Has it really been 2 months already? Wow. It really is hard for me to believe. I have been enjoying my time watching my baby boy grow and smile and just be!
I took him to his 2 month well baby visit today. The call 2 months "the big smiler." I can see why. Andrew has been melting my heart and giving his sisters (and I suppose his daddy too!) so much happiness with his sweet smiles. They started his visit asking me questions about his development. Does he respond to your voice? absolutely! Does he follow you or objects when they move in front of his view? yes. Does he smile? definitely! Has he started to coo (talk)? for sure! Does he get tummy time throughout the day? yes - but not as much as he should so we'll be working on that. He hates tummy time, but that's the way it goes! He's eating 4-5 ounces every 3 to 4 hours with a 5-6 hour stretch at night that he sleeps and doesn't wake to eat. (They say that most babies start sleeping through the night at 3 months old - our two girls did so I hope he continues this tradition). Andrew sleeping more at night has relieved some of my sleep deprivation and I'm beginning to function more efficiently during the day because of this. Let's hope it continues! :) Next was the famous weight check. 13 pounds 3 oz. (75 - 90%). His height is 22 1/2 inches (25 - 50%). So he's doing really well.
The doctor then went over some of my concerns after that, one of which was about his tongue. A month prior when I was up at the hospital with him visiting lactation, they noticed that his tongue is a heart (or 'w') shape and was contributing to him not being able to nurse as well as he should have been - which was the main leading factor in us resulting in not being able to continue nursing. That was a very hard turning point for me as I had high hopes to nurse him for his first 6 -12 months. But our plans don't always work as we'd hope they would. At least I was able to give him all that I could. I have come to accept it and move on. He's doing just fine on formula and is a very healthy baby. I couldn't ask for more! But back to the tongue. His pediatrician feels it's necessary for him to see an ENT specialist to have a further look due to the fact that without it being corrected (small outpatient procedure that simply has them clip the underneath part of the tongue - sorry - don't have the medical terms for this) it could result in speech impairment. So the sooner the better. He has an appointment set up to have that checked in May.
He also had a follow up Echo cardiogram done on the 22nd of January and the reports came back fine. I never wrote about this appointment but for the record I should say that it was NOT a fun exam! While the doctor ran the echo, he had us feed him to try and keep him calm during the test. So John had his hands behind his back and head to "prop" him up (John stated this was a painful hold after awhile) and I fed him - moving the bottle when the Doctor moved the sonogram thing-a-ma-jig. He ended up eating the bottle straight through when we usually stop him half way to burp so he expelled what he had eaten EVERYWHERE (on himself, the table, the floor, the Doctor, John, and I). The Doctor then promptly said, "Okay. We're done." Nice timing buddy!! Clean up was fun let me tell you. Next time, we'll opt for his pacifier instead. When he had the first echo test done while in the NICU the day after he was born, they wanted to have him follow up in a months time to see if things were closing like they should. When he had the follow up echo test, it showed that 1 of the 2 had closed and the 2nd one was getting there and they wanted to see us again in 6 months. Until I get copies of his medical records, I have no way of really explaining this medically. They're reassured us that this is common in babies and sometimes it takes a little longer for the arteries and vessels in the heart to close.
At the end of his 2 month well baby visit, he received his not so favored shots. 3 of them at this appointment. His doctor gave us a thumbs up and sent us on our way until his 4 months well baby visit.
