Long time, no post...

It's been the most exhausting and exhilarating 2 months of my life!



Cole is such a good baby. I definitely won the baby lottery with him! Granted, he's president of the Crap Napper Society, but sleeps so well at night that I won't complain. Most times, he sleeps through the night. Last night, he went down at 10pm, woke up to eat at 6:30, and went back down until noon. NOON! The last time I slept until noon, I was pregnant!



Cole is such a big guy! My handsome little man is not so little. At 2 months, he is the size of your average 4 month old. At birth, he was 7lbs, 6oz, and 20". At one month, he was 10lbs, 14oz, and 22 3/4". At two months, he was 13lbs, 10oz, and 25"! That's 89th percentile for weight, and 99th for height! Considering I'm 5'1", we know it didn't come from me! :D



He has also started rolling! He rolled one day at 7 weeks, but I'm pretty sure it was unintentional. I don't really count it. It took him about 10 minutes, and never showed another drop of interest in it again... until Saturday (10.03) when he went down for tummy time, and just threw back his head, threw back his arm, picked up his leg, and kicked himself over. He did it twice on Sunday too! Now, back to belly we are showing no interest in - which I am quite thankful for. It's been pointed out to me that rolling while changing poo diapers is an Olympic sport that there is no practicing for.

Cole did have his first ER trip - talk about scary. He had one hell of a fever the day after his shots - 102.5. They sent us in, they took blood (from a vein people! No little heel prick!), had to use a catheter for a urine sample, took a chest xray, and we are waiting on cultures. Preliminary results are all negative, so it looks promising that it was strictly over his shots. They are slightly worried about GBS, since I was positive and dialated so quickly after they broke my water that I only received one dose of antibiotics.



We are currently on our second of 2 weeks out in Pittsburgh... it's COLD here! I had to go out and get him a hat :D It's a little difficult to live in a hotel with a baby, but luckily the company sprung for the suite - which happens to be a King Suite with a Jacuzzi! Cole is the happiest camper in the monster bathtub. It's practically a pool! He is the happiest bath time baby - he will not sleep at night without his bath. He's a serious creature of habit. His night routine MUST start at 9:30 or Mr. Crankpants comes to visit.



A few things for the moms-to-be - my list of useful and junk. I plan on making a full post, but for now, a quick list. Now, this is just what I discovered - I know there are people who hate gowns, who swear by the mittens, who loved t-shirts... write it on your own blog. :D

Get:
SwaddleMes - at least 3 if your kid is a puker like mine!
Carter's speedy exit creepers (onesies that snap all the way down the front, no over-the-head, easy belly button access)
Sleep n plays (snaps for the day, ZIPPERS at night. You never want to try to match up those tiny little snaps in the dark!) Carter's and Old Navy sell ones with flippy hands (built in mittens) to keep life simple.
BABY LEGS (do you know how hard it is to get jeans on and off a baby?)
Carter's Gowns - until he hit 3-6m clothing, he never wore anything else for bed. Keep things simple for middle of the night diaper changes! And they have flippy hands!
Gerber Burp clothes - the kind that are like cloth diapers, NOT the terrycloth ones. 3 for $8.99
Shout Advanced - again, especially if your kid is a puker like mine. (To be crazy cautious, I put it through a double rinse cycle in the washer. My skin is super sensitive, so I can only imagine his is too. I can only use All Free Clear detergent for myself, and I have no problems with it. Neither has Cole.)
Dr. Brown's Formula Pitcher. Now, it is by no means a neccesity. Cole has a lactose intolerance and we had to switch him to Similac Sensitive. No matter how long you let the formula sit, there will be SO much foam on the top, it was bad. I would scoop it off with a spoon after making his bottle. The pitcher mixes the formula without incorporating air into it, and what tiny bit of foam is in there will stay in the pitcher as you pour out bottles. You can also add a little Mylicon to the bottle, but I've found Cole spits up more (he has reflux) when he gets the drops. It also has oz measurement along the sides, so you can make a full day's worth of formula at one time, pour out bottles, and when the man is hungry, I just grab a premade bottle out of the fridge.

Leave:
One piece outfits without feet. Socks don't stay on. Cole ONLY wears socks when it's cold under babylegs. And the rare occasion he gets dressed up.
Mittens. They never stayed on Cole, I lost more than I owned. Get the outfits with flippy hands insted.
DON'T stock up on clothing! We expected Cole to be a decent size, so we stocked UP on 0-3 and only purchase 2 NB outfits. He wore NB clothes for a month, and we had to go out and get more. He only wore 0-3 for ALMOST 3 weeks. He didn't wear HALF the 0-3 clothes we had bought! You never know how fast or slow they will grow. Get a few pieces, basics in each size, build from there WHEN they get there.
Baby t-shirts. Nothing like having to adjust the clothing EVERY. TIME. You touch your child. They may as well be baby half-tops.


And my general FYI: Gerber onesies run a full size too small. By the time Cole got out of the hospital, he could no longer wear his NB t-shirts. NB fits preemie, 0-3 fits NB, etc. The sleep n plays run pretty true to size, but a tad short. Carter's are longer than most brands, and get the longest time's use in my house. BabyGap sizing is dead on.