Report Card!

Our trip to the pediatrician was too long, but went well overall. Nate weighs in at a whopping 10 lb 3 oz (double digits - woohoo!), and is 24 inches long. I knew he'd be long, but was definitely surprised at how long. Every time I put him in the car seat I think he's gotten longer! We started him on Zantac for the reflux about a week ago as well - it is amazing how well it has worked! The pediatrician was so pleased to hear that the majority of his symptoms are better - still there (as I listen to him hiccup away in the swing), but they don't seem to hurt him as much. A wonderful smiling and happy personality has appeared in the last week - and I'm convinced it is at least partially due to the fact that his belly doesn't hurt so much. In theory, he'll continue to improve as he gets a bit older and as we continue to have him on the medicine. Hooray! 2 hours and 4 shots later, we headed for home. Was a rough night last night because of the shots - so rough I actually took a nap for an hour this morning before we got rolling. As of this afternoon we seem to have turned the corner on the "ickies" from the shots, just in time for Dave and Will to arrive home. :)

Simple pleasures

I smile as I write this - we had a wonderful weekend this weekend, even if we were packing along the way. We're picking up the packing pace (which is a good thing, cause the house sure isn't going to pack itself!) - and making good progress. A few of the "make me smile" moments from this weekend...
Will eating his first corn on the cob - we didn't give him the option to eat corn on the cob last summer, for no particular reason. Since Will is such a picky eater, we often offer new foods and we're turned down. Such is life with a toddler, or at least our toddler anyway. But tonight...we had our first classic (for us) summer dinner - bratwurst on the grill, baked beans and corn on the cob. After a couple of tries, Will decided to go for it on the corn (he ate some of Dave's and some of mine). I will post pictures shortly! He also tried stone ground mustard on his bratwurst - dipping the pieces of brat very gently into the mustard before he ate them.
Nate in the bath - Mr . Nate LOVES the bath, which I've probably already mentioned...he's started to splash, and the look of excitement on his face when he gets going is too funny. I think we're going to have to move bath time into the bathroom shortly, as it will be a crazy wet mess once he really figures it out.
Will at a birthday party - we celebrated our friends' son Jack's 2nd birthday yesterday. Our first big party with both boys, and it went remarkably well. Thank you to Baby Bjorn and Zantac, Nate was a happy camper up with me for most of the afternoon. Will was well, Will. He was painfully shy at moments, but he quickly warmed up to playing with the soccer ball, the swing set, the toy lawnmower and riding in the wagon. He recruited multiple grown-ups to play with him along the way, and did countless laps around the yard with the lawnmower. By the time he was done, he was absolutely exhausted, but announced that he'd had a lot of fun, and we did manage to get him into bed at a reasonable hour.

I start back to work on Wednesday (insane, but true)...and Nate has his 2 month check-up tomorrow. Report card will be posted after his appointment, depending on how he does with the first big round of shots. :(

At 8 weeks I ...

Smile smile smile, and coo and "goo" and "ma" - at Mommy or Daddy when my tummy doesn't hurt.
Hold my big head up and look around to make sure I'm not missing anything.
Roll from my back onto my side if I really want to.
Still get the hiccups 4-5 times per day.
Am pretty good at letting Mommy and Daddy know what I need. But if they're not listening (translate - they don't respond immediately)...I'll yell at them to make sure they hear me.
Am almost sleeping through the night some nights (when defined as sleeping 5 hours straight).
Am trying to figure out how to suck my thumb, or maybe my fingers, I haven't decided yet.
Think my big brother is pretty cool.
Have attended my first soccer game.
Have attended my first party.
Have been to see Mommy's office. Twice.
Weigh 9 pounds 13 ounces.

-Nate

2 weeks = 2 pounds

So the post started this way...about a week ago, I think. Can't remember.

"This is going to be quick as I am really going to try to get a 3 hour stretch of sleep tonight, which means I had better get going...."

I think that I did actually, finally, get the coveted 3 hour stretch of sleep last night, or at least close enough that I was able to launch into a couple of things first thing this morning. Which is good, because I've spent the rest of the morning holding Nate while he slept. We've done a lot of that in the last several weeks. Nate most likely has reflux. The more I've talked to the doctor about it, and the more I've read and the more I've watched him, the more I'm convinced. He's got multiple symptoms that fit the profile. Those really loud hiccups? Symptom of relfux. Who knew?

I feel for him, he is definitely a hurting baby - but he's still really happy, eating really well, and smiling all the time. At his 1 month check up we were astonished to find that he'd gained almost 2 pounds in 2 weeks. I had noticed the rolls and the folds, but based on experience, didn't have high hopes for weight gain. Even the pediatrician was impressed (and she's one hard cookie to impress...). He's getting much longer too - we're about ready to bust into the next size up on clothes, and the next size up on diapers.

As he gets closer to 2 months old, he's starting to consolidate his naps - which means I'm getting better stretches of time to ... pack! (at least on the days when I'm not holding him!). We are definitely moving out of our current home on June 18, and if all goes well, we'll be moving into our new home on July 1.

And on that note...I'm off to pick up a fussing Nathaniel...