aiden + mommy two months update!

(to give an idea of size, that is the same picture frame shown in my 28 week bumpdate)

two MONTHs

When Aiden turned one month old, I remember Jason saying to me, "Where did that month go?" Well, I am slightly sure that the next month went by just a little bit faster. What is this? The Twilight Zone? All I know is that everything "they" say is true: it really does go by so fast. 

I'll be doing monthly updates like this for Aiden's first year. Aiden is currently 10 weeks old! Things have been understandably a little crazy the last while. Being a new mom and trying to figure things out keeps me pretty busy, so forgive me that I'm not on any kind of blogging schedule for now. (: 

Here's how our second month has been!

MOMMY

Recovery:    
I still deal with back pain, but I've tried to make a conscious effort to improve my posture post-pregnancy (which is easier said than done haha) and it hasn't seemed to be as bad.  I've noticed when I wear my Bellefit it really helps prevent or minimize my back pain. It doesn't hurt to have Jason crack my back once or twice a week though! (: 

Body:
Nursing has been going a lot better and I haven't had many problems lately. As time goes on, I don't leak near as much either. Can I get a "Praise! Hallelujah Jesus amen"?! I still avoid wearing light colored shirts though. I don't trust 'em as far as I can throw em. Which isn't over my shoulders yet. The skin on my stomach is still a little "loose" like...squishy? I don't know how to explain it. It doesn't have as much "snap-back-to-it-ive-ness" as it did before having a baby. And while my stomach is fairly flat, it has this pudding-like feel to it. The truffle shuffle continues. I also realize I'm dating myself because I'm sure no one born after the year 2000 knows what the truffle shuffle even is. Kids, it is a dance move. Not to be confused with anything else. You're welcome.

My hair has started to fall out, I'm sure of it. I guess this normally doesn't happen until three months post-partum, but I'm not complaining. I'm Armenian, so you know. I have hair and I have lots to go around. It's so thick that as a kid my dad used to have to thin it down with thinning shears every few months as if I were a sheep. It's so thick a lady I had never even met came up to me recently and said, "You have so much hair! What are you going to do with it all?" as if she was a news reporter and I had just won the lottery. If I was Oprah and had my own talk show, I'd give out locks of my hair like they were new cars. That's what I'd do with it. But I'm not Oprah and I don't have a talk show. So I am welcoming my hair loss with open arms. 

My shirts are starting to fit better, but I'm finding that I'm having to go through my wardrobe and figure out what actually looks good on me. It all changes after you've had a baby, even if you're doing good at losing the weight. None of my pants or jeans fit me except for one pair of jean shorts that are stretchy. One of these days I'll break free from the comfortable clasp of my maternity leggings! One day...

Exercise/Weight loss:
Total pregnancy weight gain: 36 pounds
Total weight loss: 25 pounds
Weight to lose for pre-baby weight: 11 pounds

Jason and I have been going on two walks a week together. It's worked out pretty nice that there haven't been rainy days over the last few weekends so that we can get out a lot with Aiden. We usually walk to the park and to the two beaches just down the street from us and back home - about 3-4 miles each time. During the week, I try to get out when I can, but it seems like that's when we have gloomy days! So normally Aiden and I get to do 1-2 walks during the week. On other days we'll go out on the back porch or in the backyard for a while. At first he wasn't totally sure about the idea of nature, but I think he's warming up to it. haha

I'll do a workout video at home about two times a week. If I time it just right, Aiden can sit in his rocker the whole time and be totally amused by all the strange and unusual things mommy is doing! For my first post-partum workout, I did the kickboxing video that was a favorite of mine throughout my pregnancy. I took a picture with Aiden in front of the TV afterward (to commemorate the occasion) and after I looked at the picture I noticed he had been smiling up at me from his rocker. I could have just melted into a puddle. A sweaty, red-like-a-tomato, puddle. 

Here's another thing I did recently: I ran. Shwhaaa? Yeah. Ran. Thrice. Voluntarily. Kind of.  Jason and I had been on a walk a couple of weeks ago when suddenly Aiden decided he needed food right at that very moment. Nothing else would do and we still had a good half mile to go so...I put my jogging stroller to good use and ran him home. Just for the kicks and giggles of it and to challenge myself I'll run a few stretches during my walks. I really, really, can't stand running by the way. My incredibly slow speed doesn't help. It's probably technically considered "jogging" when I run, but where's the line between a jog and a run when you already run as slow as a normal person jogs? Whichever way you phrase it, I've been run/jogging and it feels good to get moving like that. Just not entirely. 

Emotions:
I'm still more emotional than I was before having a baby. It's a far cry (no pun intended) from soaking in a tub of tears all day long - I just cry more often in general. I think having a baby makes you feel things deeper to your core and changes who you are emotionally, for the better. It also makes you realize how precious life is and how every day is a gift with your little ones.  

"Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ” - Elizabeth Stone

AIDEN

Height/Weight:
I measured Aiden's length and weight at home this week and according to that he's 24 inches long and 13 pounds 8 ounces. His two month check up is tomorrow, so I'm sure that measurement will be a little more accurate (:

Refresher course:
+ At one month he was 22 inches long and 10 pounds 8 ounces.
+ At birth he was 20 1/2 inches long and 6 pounds 14 ounces.

2 weeks / 7 weeks 

Hair/Eye color:
His eyes have lightened up a lot! They have lost most of the gray color and are now a very, very dark and striking blue. Jason's eyes are light blue and mine are green. My guess is he's going to be a blue-eyed babe, but I know they still have lots of time to change all kinds of colors before they settle on just one. (:

His hair is growing back quick! It's about as long as it was before he lost any of it but I don't think it's grown in quite as thick yet. I think the people who say he has the same color hair as me are right - you really can't peg down what hair color he has and that's always been true for me too. My hair can easily appear to be brown, blonde, or red depending what lighting I'm in. I've had people hover around my head trying to peg down what color it is. Which is rarely uncomfortable or awkward. On Aiden, if you look at him from the front, you'd say he has light blonde hair. If you look at him from behind, you'd say he has brown hair. If sunlight is streaming through a window, you'd say he has red hair. This boy is a chameleon just like his momma! He has a really cute hairline that's becoming more noticeable as his hair grows back in (on the right side of his forehead, seen on the left side in the picture above.) The hair kind of flips upward right there and it makes it look like his hair is always done in such a fancy way. Something that I, with unruly, poofy, curly hair has never experienced. So naturally I can't get enough of how cute it is. And he totally got it from Jason! He has the same hairline. (:

Routine:
We're starting to get on a bit of a daily routine! At nights around 10-11pm, he'll fall asleep right after eating. And as of the last two weeks he's been sleeping through the night most nights! Once he's asleep, he doesn't wake up until about 5am, then I bring him to our bed and nurse him. Then he co-sleeps with us until 7-8am, I nurse him again, and then he'll usually stay asleep long enough for me to get a load of laundry going and have some breakfast. Then he has a nap in the early afternoon for 2-3 hours, and again around 7 or 8pm until shortly before he eats to go to sleep for the night. 

5-7 pm is usually when he's fussiest. I've gotten into the habit that if he shows any signs of fussiness during this window of time and he isn't hungry/need a change, etc, that it's bath time. And he loves his evening baths! He rarely cries in the tub and it usually calms him down from being fussy. It's not fool proof, but I'm glad to have something easy I can do that he enjoys when he's upset. It's pretty much become a part of his routine, so I know he looks forward to it at that time of day! It didn't take me long either to decide that bathing him in his baby tub was not going to work. It hurt my back way too much to be bent and hunched over the tub, holding on to a wiggling baby while trying to bathe him. So now we co-bathe! This way I get to hold him in the tub and he loves it! And no back pain for me! (:

Sleeping: 

He is sleeping so well now! He naps during the day on his own for a few hours at a time. He used to not be able to sleep more than 20 minutes at a time in the day and then he would only take one or two of those short naps in a day. That kid was determined to stay up all day long! haha. He seems to be happier now that he has his naps! (: 

Eating:
Things have been going so much better with nursing! I am thankful that we only ever needed to use the one canister of formula. I am hoping to exclusively breastfeed him from now on. There were many times in the first few weeks that I wanted to quit, but I'm happy I stuck to it and didn't give up! Now when he eats, it's just completely natural for the both of us. 

Clothing sizes:
Since last month's update, I got Aiden some new (to him) 0-3 month clothes. And just like with his newborn clothes, he's growing out of his sleepers first! My little guy is just so tall! When he straightens his legs out, he has the feet all stretched out and he's only had his 3 month sleepers for a few weeks! haha. He still fits in the rest of his 0-3 month clothing with ease! I already ordered the next size up of baby clothes so I'll be ready when he grows out of his 3 month clothing (: I'm pretty sure he's technically too big for size 1 diapers already...eeek! He has his 2 month check up this week so when we get an accurate weight I suppose I'll know if I should move him up to a size 2. I'm still having lots of fun dressing him every day! (:  I wouldn't mind trying to make him some clothes either. I've never really made clothes from scratch before so it will be fairly new territory for me but I love sewing and I love making one of a kind things. (:

Developments:
+ He's coming so close to laughing! He sure knows how to put on the big smiles though!
+ He recognizes himself and Jason and I in mirrors. 
+ He follows people and objects with his gaze.
+ He can support his head while being held upright very well
+ About half the time we will burp him elevated over our leg (so it puts some gentle pressure against his tummy) and he's gotten really good at lifting his head and back that way. Building strong muscles!
+ He can lift his head a little during tummy time
+ He sometimes reaches out for Jason or I. I'm not sure if it's because he wants to be held, or if he just so happens to be reaching his arms outward.
+ He recognizes us as mom and dad and knows our faces and voices! He always calms down when we enter the room! 
+ He will spit his pacifier out sometimes when he's getting ready to eat. He knows he can't have it in his mouth and eat at the same time!

+ He started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks - now I don't feel like I so desperately need to be hooked up to an IV of coffee.
+ He sucks his thumb to self-soothe himself to sleep
+ He grabs on to my shirt when I'm nursing him and he usually hangs on the entire time. He's also starting to grab toys hanging from his activity gym and hold on to them. He likes hanging on to his pacifier clips also! He still hangs on to my hair when I carry him (:
+ He coos, lots!  He's most "talkative" in the mornings and then randomly throughout the day. We have great conversations and he loves when we talk with him!
+ If he spits his pacifier out and it lands on his chest, he can push it back in his mouth with his fists. He's also grabbed his pacifier a couple times and put it toward his mouth. I was so proud of him the first time he did it, it felt like my heart was going to burst! (:
+ Starting this week he started chewing on his fists and drooling a ton! I was starting to worry that teething could be on its way already, but from what I read it's normal for babies around two months to start drooling/sweating/producing tears because their glands have developed enough to produce all that fun slobbery stuff. haha 

General Preferences:
+ Bath time! (Co-bathing especially!)
+ Snuggles with mommy and daddy
+ Being outside! He loves all the soft background noise - birds chirping, cars driving in the distance, lawn mowers running, and so on

+ Sitting up - either by one of us holding him or by being propped up with pillows and blankets. He's still just a little too small to use the Bumbo yet. But he's getting there! (: (Our church gave us a Bumbo from the nursery room to borrow since we didn't have one - so sweet of them!) 
+ Sleeping in our bed at nap time and in the early mornings
+ He loves being a cheeseball! Whenever he wakes up in the morning or from a nap, I ask, "Are you cheesin?" This is how he responds:

+ Being a bashful little guy when you make him smile (:
+ Looking at all the "dots" on the peg board wall next to his changing table.
+ Sleeping on people (:
+ Being held by lots of people.
+ Looking at high contrast colors and patterns on blankets and clothes or anywhere in his surroundings
+ He loves seeing himself in the mirror! Whenever he gets a new outfit on, I stop at the long mirror in our hallway and show him what he's got on. He always gets a nice little kick out of seeing himself, haha (:
+ Watching ceiling fans!
+ Making funny faces! I have no idea where he learned this stuff. I mean he can raise one eyebrow and everything! I guess he sees me do it enough, haha

What we've been up to:
+ I forgot to put this in last month's update, but Aiden went to Canada for the first time just a few days after he turned a month old. He's an international traveller! But I guess that's what happens when you live across the street from the border haha. That and Jason is from Canada so you know, there's family, moose, maple syrup and whatnot to see over there!  
+ Family picnics in the backyard
+ We celebrated World Turtle Day with a t-shirt. 
+ Co-bathing
+ Baby wearing
+ Seeing Aiden's grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins in Canada and having lots of snuggle time with his grandma! (: 
+ Walking to the nearby beaches and listening to the boats and airplanes go by as a family
+ Spending time after church chatting with dear friends

+ Going on a little "walk date" to the ice cream shop in our teeny tiny neighborhood town and sitting on the pier

+ Co-sleeping in the early mornings
+ Went on my first few walks alone with Aiden while Jason is at work
+ Playing at the park / going on the swings 
+ I did my first sewing project since Aiden was born and made him some pacifier clips! No more pacifiers falling to the floor left and right (: He started cooing when my sewing machine was running as if he recognized the sound. It was so sweet! You know your mom's a crafter when...
+ Singing and dancing to silly "Moose Tunes for kids"
+ Getting said "Moose Tunes" stuck in our heads all day long 
+ Aiden's first time thrifting!
+ Technically this (picture below) would be from when Aiden was a month old, but I got the pictures back from my baby shower! I loved how they had it decorated all woodland themed just like his nursery. Even the cake was a little woodland wonderland! I had to share because I truly enjoyed the baby shower so much. (: 

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As always, you can check out more of our adventures (with frequent updates) 

by following me on instagram - @marlyssa

Happy two months, little one. You have been such a joy to your daddy and I to have around.
I wish I could put into words how much we love you!