Holt: 2 Months

  

Our sweet little boy turned two months old on October 7th! I feel like he has grown and changed so much over the past 30 days. He is definitely my child--I feel like he looks like me more everyday (and everyone else comments on it too so I know I'm not crazy). Although he did get his daddy's feet and his eyes are starting to turn hazel like his daddy's too!  He is no longer a newborn in any form or fashion--a bittersweet moment for this momma! At the same time though it's really exciting because it's so fun to watch him explore everything--watching his eyes light up when he recognizes me and my voice or watching his little face scrunch up as he concentrates on studying an object or a pattern. I know it's only going to be more fun from here!

Here is what's been going on in our world the last month:

* he took his first road trip to both grandparent's houses
* we dedicated him at church at 6 weeks old--such a sweet time of publicly giving our son over to the Lord. It was a great reminder that ultimately Holt is His and I have just been given the incredible blessing of taking care of him while he is on this Earth.
*he had to get re-screened for hearing--his left ear failed in the hospital so we had to see a local audiologist to re-test it. He only partially passed at 6 weeks old and when we went back in at 8 weeks he passed with flying colors!

Weight: 11 pounds 12 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 24 1/4 inches (85th percentile)

Milestones: *we love to make him smile and see those dimples *he can put weight on his legs and stand for several seconds *he continues to hold up his head very well *he recognizes momma's voice and face *he coos and gurgles at us *he really studies objects and patterns *he blows spit bubbles all the time *he has lost some hair due to me scrubbing his head to get rid of cradle cap--but it's sort of growing back! *I am loving his arm and leg rolls--sweet boy is growing well!

**a big milestone for this momma--making it to church on Sunday morning with both of us dressed, fed, and on time! A huge accomplishment!**

Sleep: We have been continuing to do well in the sleep department. He takes a 1-2 hour nap once in the morning and twice in the afternoon. At night, he has been going down about 8:45-9:00 PM, he typically eats anywhere from 3:30-5:30AM (we dropped down to one middle of the night feeding), and we get up at 8:30 AM to start our day. Although, about the past 2 weeks, he has been waking up with his tummy hurting from gas pains between 1 and 2 AM. I'm almost positive that if he wasn't waking up for that, he would sleep solidly until waking to eat again.

Favorite Things: *shower time--momma loves this too cause it ensures I get a shower everyday! *car rides *his paci *talking and smiling *cuddling/snuggling *watching the fan

Feeding: Going great! We are on a good routine of eating every 3 hours during the day and then he has dropped one of his middle of the night feedings (praises!) so he goes about 8-9 hours at night.

Of course I have to leave you with adorable photos of our punkin' over the last month:

all smiles!

I wonder what babies dream about?

Family photo-op

Chillin' with daddy

I love everything about this picture

say what?

first bonfire in the firepit out back

savoring these baby snuggles

he is such a happy baby!

church on Sunday with daddy

studying those stripes!

My sweet Holt, we just cannot get enough of you! It's hard to believe you have only been with us for 2 months--it is somewhat difficult to remember life without you! Mommy and Daddy love you so much--you are truly our sweetest gift.

Holt: 1 Month

Our littlest love turned one month old on September 7th. I know I'm repeating myself, but this has been the fastest, yet ironically the slowest month of my life.  Here is what all has been going on in our world:

                                                           

  * We have effectively established a routine--yay!
* He has watched (well, slept through) his first Razorback game---Arkansas at Auburn. We lost unfortunately, but the first half was really good! Gotta start training 'em young!
* He had his first road trip--to Fayetteville to see his Aunt Hannah and Uncle Kirby. He LOVES car rides (we are really hoping it stays that way).
* We went to daddy's work and let him show Holt off to everyone last Thursday---our first big adventure out of the house to a public place.
* We went to the Growing Kids Consignment Sale (like Rhea Lana's)--our 2nd big public outing and momma bought some super cute outfits for fall!

Weight: We have a 10-pounder! I weighed myself with and without him, and he added a full 10 pounds to the scale! I think it's safe to say we are gonna have a big boy.
Length: Not 100% sure, but I'm going to guess 22 inches.

Milestones: *graduated to size 1 diapers when he was 6 days old  *graduated out of newborn size clothes when he was 2 weeks old  *he can hold his head up for several minutes in a row--mostly when he is up on your shoulder (still having a tougher time when on our tummy on the mat)  *he has longer awake times and loves to look in the mirror  *transitioned out of mom and dad's room to the crib at night

Sleep: So far, he sleeps very well! We officially moved him to his crib last Thursday (Sept. 4th) and he averages about 3.5 to 4 hours between feedings at night. Every now and he stretches it to 5 hours (and one night last week he made it 6!). Usually, he is in bed asleep between 10 and 11 pm, wakes up between 2 and 3 AM, and then gets wakes again between 6 and 7 AM. He goes back down after that and we officially start our day at 9 AM.

Favorite Things: *Bath/Shower Time---except when it's time to dry off. Then he gets cold and screams bloody murder  *Eating  *Playing on the playmat  *Listening to music  *Snuggling/Cuddling  *His paci  *Car rides  *Walks  *Looking in the mirror

Feeding: This kid eats LIKE.A.BOSS. Such a huge relief for me! I stressed over breastfeeding. It was extremely important to me to be successful---the benefits for both me and the baby are immeasurable. I read so many horror stories while pregnant about how hard it could be and so I became really anxious. However, we have been super successful since Day 1 and it is one of my absolute favorite things.

And of course I have to leave you with adorable photos of our little love...

my talented cousin took some newborn photos for us and made this adorable announcement!

Sophie takes her role as guard dog very seriously

Snuggle time with RoRo

Holt's first game day--WPS!

Our first day flying solo together

                                     

Visiting Daddy at work for the first time---he was so excited to show Holt off to everyone

This was our day on Saturday---not very fun, poor guy

Holt: 2 Weeks Old

I thought I'd give an update on our life with a newborn the past 2 weeks. (If you missed the Birth Story post, click here).

First of all, how has it been TWO weeks already?! It has been both the fastest and slowest two weeks of my life---I feel like we were in the hospital forever ago! It has been an adjustment getting used to our new normal, but I think we are starting to settle into some semblance of a routine. Praise the Lord that Daniel has been able to be home with us!

Mommyhood has completely derailed me--in an amazing way that I never thought possible. You really cant fully comprehend it until you experience it; this completely unconditional, all-consuming love for this little person that you helped create and carried for 9 months.

Sophie has done extremely well adjusting to having Holt home too. She completely adores him! If he cries, she comes running to see whats wrong. She is already protective of him and loves smelling him and being close to him. I am so proud of her! One of the sweetest moments was when we first brought him home--it was love at first sight for her.

We went for his 2-week checkup to the pediatrician on Thursday (the 21st). Love, love, love Dr. Wilkinson! Here is what's going on in Holt's little world:

Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz. (not sure on the percentile?)

Length: 21 1/2 inches

Our boy is growing so much already! We don't go back to the doctor until his 2 month appointment--he will receive his first round of immunizations and this momma is already dreading that! It absolutely tears me up to hear him cry. So crazy how things change when its your own child--hearing other children cry has never bothered me, but my heart literally hurts when Holt cries.

Sleep: He has actually done really well. Most nights he sleeps 3-4 hrs between feedings and we have even had a couple where he has slept 5 hrs! We are trying to start a routine this next week so hopefully by the time he is a month old, he will sleep 5 hrs between feedings at night pretty consistently.

Favorite Things: Praise music--particularly the Sovreign Grace playlist on Spotify; his daddy--Holt loves it when D reads to him and he also loves it when he burps him; riding in the car--he has only ridden in the car 3 times, but he either sleeps or contentedly looks around; his playmat--now that he has more awake/alert periods we have been laying him on his playmat and he is fascinated with the mirror and all the shapes and colors.

Feeding: Feeding has gone better than I ever could've imagined (y'all know how I stressed over it). He eats like a champ. It gets a little exhausting for me at times, especially when we hit our first growth spurt at 10 days old and he ate every hour, but overall I absolutely love it. 

AND....I'll leave you with some photos of our handsome little guy :)

I love when he smiles in his sleep

first big boy bath