Category: monthly liam

He:

>Is all recovered from his bout with RSV and just finished his antibiotic for the subsequent ear infection (with minimal side effects!)

>Has started cooing instead of grunting. That and his smiles are just the best ever. Makes it all worth it.

>Can wear 6-month sized clothes. Big boy!

>Looks so much different than Meredith, in my opinion.

>Is a champion hair-grabber.

>Has a couple balding spots on the sides of his head, but hasn’t lost any off the top.

>Sleeps through the night, in bed with me.

>May not get a lot of one-on-one attention, but he is showered with toddler affection and entertainment. :)

>Is still a generally calm, happy baby. <3

I:

>Am in a groove with work and home. All of my plans and routines are working so far.

>Miss audiobooks – my reading has gone way down – but I’d take the short commute any day.

>Am finishing up week 4 of Couch to 5k and it’s going really well. I’m also doing yoga on some of the off days. I’m enjoying exercising and when the new gym opens at work (June or July – free to employees) I want to step it up a notch. Now I really need to get my diet under control!

>Cry every single time I read a birth story or see a birth video. When I walk by the labor and delivery unit at work my stomach clenches up. I want to have another baby one day so badly, but I don’t know yet if it will be possible for us.

>Am pumping in two sessions almost the exact amount that Liam drinks during the day. The body is amazing.

>Think this post expresses so much of how I feel about daycare and being a working mom.

>Can’t stop looking at quilt inspiration on Pinterest. I’m even considering joining the Houston Modern Quilt Guild even though I’m such a newbie. Lately all I want to do is play with my sewing machine. If only I had the time!

>Look forward to being off work tomorrow for Good Friday. I think we are going to go to the zoo. :)

>Cherish my morning snuggles with Liam. I get out of bed before 6 and take him to the couch with a cup of coffee and my Bible study. He nurses or sleeps in my lap. It’s the only time of day we have for just us.

For reference:

0 months
1 month
2 months

Meredith at 3 months

He:

>Weighs 14 lbs, 4.5 oz and is 23.5 inches long. A good 85th percentile chub. :)

>Still holds his hands in permanent fists.

>Hasn’t really started cooing yet, he’s still just grunting like a little gremlin.

>Smiles!

>Has auburn hair. For awhile I thought it was just light brown but it’s gotten lighter and definitely has a reddish tint to it, especially in the sun.

>Outgrew the size 1 disposable diapers we had on hand so is now wearing exclusively cloth diapers (small Fuzzibunz during the day, Flips with an extra hemp insert at night) but we don’t have that many so it’s daily laundry for me.

>Really doesn’t care for the pacifier.

>Pretty much goes to sleep at the same time as Meredith and I do (around 8:30 or 9 usually) and wakes up around 3am to nurse, and from there it’s a toss up whether or not he’ll truly settle back down again.

>Is a good baby and goes with the flow, which is nice because the poor guy is sometimes neglected in the face of toddler  tantrums.

I:

>Start my new job on Monday! I think I’m totally ready. House and craft projects are wrapped up for the most part, I have all new scrubs, I visited my old unit to say goodbye and turn in my key, and I have my orientation instructions.

>Have been considering how to fit exercise back into my life, and talked to my friend Lauren about doing Couch to 5k together, and then at the last minute decided to do day 1 yesterday. I took Liam in the jogging stroller around 4:30pm and it went great despite the fact that I’m super slow. But I think I should be able to do some form of exercise every day as soon as I get home from work.

>Don’t have as much milk pumped and frozen as I intended, but there’s enough to get by.

>Know that it was the right thing to have another baby when I see how Meredith dotes on Liam and helps take care of him. (My favorite is how she helps give him a bath by washing him with her own washcloth and pours water on him to rinse. She takes it so seriously.)

>Am grateful for the warmer weather because it gives me so many more clothing options.

>Have been really into yogurt parfaits lately, which never used to appeal to me.

>Am trying to finish up a book for book club this weekend.

>Am in season 2 of Parenthood and obsessed.

>Have been thinking about bedtime and sleep for the kids, wondering how I can get Meredith to move to her own bed and maybe move Liam out of our bed also. I think that this will require a lot of rearranging of furniture and rooms and a huge amount of effort…but it also might be worth it.

>Feel really good about the place we’re in right now. I’m not nervous about sending Liam to daycare or going back to work even though I know there will be hard parts. I’ve got some routines established and some in mind to try and have created space in my life and in my home so that I feel calm.

***

For reference:

Meredith at two months

Liam at one month

He:

>Has gone through a growth spurt in the past week and I’m noticing a lot more chub on him. He no longer fits into most newborn clothes.

>Never had his days and nights confused, for which I am extremely grateful, but lately he has started waking up around 3 a.m. and never really going back to sleep.

>Doesn’t cry much, but grunts a lot and makes noises that sound like a goat.

>Had his first bottle today and drank from it without any problem.

>Is a good nurser, although he needed quite a bit of teaching at first.

>Still has his cephalohematoma, but it has hardened and shrunk some.

>Doesn’t like baths yet.

>Is barely ever referred to by name in our house, but is just “baby brother.”

>Has an extremely affectionate big sister.

I:

>Am still on blood pressure medication that gives me headaches every other day.

>Have zero pants that fit me other than yoga pants, and am thinking a lot about my postpartum wardrobe.

>Miss my puppy, and still can’t believe that she’s really gone.

>Keep being surprised at how light Liam’s hair actually is, especially in the sunshine.

>Will be on maternity leave for about another month and a half. So far I feel like I’ve made good use of the time, but there is still a lot I’d like to accomplish.

>Am really looking forward to getting back into a routine eventually.

>Can eat ice cream again without feeling sick!

>Love the warmer weather that we’re having, and intend to get out and about more now because of it. Trips to the craft and thrift stores are in my near future.

>Met another mom with kids the same age as mine while on a walk today, and now I’m scheming how I can become friends with her.

>Am feeling a lot more like myself lately.

Liam Christopher was born on Friday, January 17 at 4:29 a.m. He was 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 20 inches, and two weeks early! We spent the weekend in the hospital but are now home settling in as a family of four. So happy!

Much more to come. :)