Henry 2 Months Old!

July 30, 2014 - Henry is 2 Months Old

Height: 23"
Weight: 12lbs 6oz

Henry is sleeping longer segments now (5 to 7 hours at night).  At 9 weeks he started sleeping in his crib (instead of Mommy's bed) and is doing great!  He sleeps with a double swaddle on and an awesome white noise machine - because I can't let the hairdryer blow all night!  He is still a great nurser but is spacing out his feedings more and is becoming quicker and more efficient when he eats.  He does spit up a lot!  Sometimes I forgo the burp rag and just grab a full size blanket because I know what is coming!  Best of all, he has started smiling and baby babbling.  This little guy is happy and he has a lot to say!

Major 2 month milestone:  Henry SMILES!!

Henry 1 Month Old

June 30, 2014 - Henry is 1 Month Old

Height: 22"
Weight: 10lbs 2oz

What can I say, he is a typical newborn.  I am still trying to figure out what he likes and does not like...Henry sleeps in 2 to 4 hour segments.  It seems like he nurses all the time!  At night he sleeps on his side right next to Mommy.  I wear him in the Baby K'tan just about every day.  Unlike his brother, he does not like the pacifier.  He does like to be held, patted on the bottom and swaddled.  He loves the sound of the hairdryer.  I have since downloaded "hair dryer noise" songs from iTunes!
 

Henry is here!

I've been a little busy this summer so this post is somewhat overdue, but here it is.  Henry is here!  May 30, 2014 at 1:31 PM Henry Andrew Skrljac arrived.  He weighed 8 lbs 3.5 oz and was 19.5" long.  My delivery was a scheduled induction and thankfully everything went very smoothly.  I was discharged from the hospital the next day and my recovery has been quick and easy...I know I am very fortunate!!

The summer has flown by.  Life with a newborn has been exactly what is is supposed to be.  A lot of holding, cuddling, nursing, burping, spitting and not very much sleep.  The difference is, this time I knew what I was in for.  I don't expect to sleep through the night, so when it happens (yes it has happened a few times recently) it is a pleasant surprise.  I know this time will fly by, so when Henry wants me to feed him, that is what I do.  When Henry wants me to hold him, that is what I do.  The challenge is when Jack wants me to hold him too...That I was less prepared for.

Splitting my time between a very needy newborn and a very clingy toddler has been the challenge.  Jack has been great with Henry, he is very affectionate toward him and has shown no signs of jealousy, thankfully.  However he has also become very clingy to me.  All of a sudden he only wants me to dress him, feed him, play with him etc.  This is the hard part, because more often than not my hands are busy with Henry and I look to someone else to assist Jack.  Jack does not always like this new way of doing things which leads to tantrums, bad behavior etc.  And on top of that, we are potty training!  I try to carve out some Mommy-Jack time as often as I can, and as Henry gets older that is getting easier.  But this is certainly a transition time for our family.  The world previously revolved around Jack, now he is sharing the spotlight with his baby brother.  We are still learning how to be a family of four, and how to love and parent two kids at the same time!  

C'mon Baby Deuce!

37 Weeks today, but so far no sign of Baby Deuce making his appearance.  I have gained the exact same amount of weight that I gained with Jack (32 lbs) so I feel like I'm maxed out.  No more room to grow, time to vacate Deuce!  In general I feel pretty good for being 9+ months pregnant, however I have all the typical frustrations: exhaustion, restless legs, heartburn ALL the time and I am not sleeping very well.  But I won't complain...too much.  We are ready to meet him, so now we just wait...  Here are a few more recent bump photos and I'm happy to say his nursery is complete!

Date night at 34 weeks!

Baby's nursery!

I can't brag enough about my mom's incredible sewing ability!  She made the bedding for Jack's room and it was gorgeous, and she has done it again!

Baby Deuce's Nanny made this awesome bedding!!  The colors are Pool and Shroom (green and gray) and the fabric is all organic.

I found this cute distressed sign in a children's boutique in Old Town Spring!

Paper mache, no animals were harmed! 

I love the book slings in Jack's room so much, I had a pair made for Deuce's room too.  I found a lady on Etsy to make them and I sent her some of the bedding fabric to use so they are a perfect match.

We have chosen his name (hence the blurry sign over the crib), however we will keep it to ourselves until his birth day!

Looking forward to many more hours in the glider.  I loved rocking and feeding Jack in this chair so I am anxious to use it again!

I plan to fill the remaining blank spaces on the walls with his newborn pictures.

Another pic of my Mom's beautiful work!  It turned out so great!

No blog post would be complete without a Jack picture.  He likes to go in the baby's room and play with his old baby toys!

2014 Fun

While we are busy preparing for Baby Deuce, we are still taking lots of time to have fun with Jack!  Jack is a busy 2 1/2 year old and every day he says or does something that impresses/ startles/ humors me etc.  Most of the time he is a funny and sweet little boy, but he does have his "terrible two" moments as well.  Right now Jack loves coloring, playing basketball and being outside.  We just started Soccer on Saturday mornings, although he has made it clear that he would rather be playing basketball. Hopefully after a few weeks of soccer he will start to catch on!  We also joined The Little Gym.  Every Wednesday I take him for a 45 minute class of climbing, jumping, swinging etc and he loves it.  Both soccer and little gym are run by a teacher with a structured activity plan.  Although Jack enjoys being there, he rarely follow the teacher's instructions.  For the most part he goes off and does what he wants. I guess that is typical for a 2 year old and I try to encourage him to follow the rest of the class, however he usually has his own agenda.  Hopefully with time he will learn to follow directions...

Jack is learning a lot at school and I am really starting to notice it at home!  He can sing his ABC's and count to about 14.  It is so cute to listen to him!  He also knows "Twinkle Little Star" and the "Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" song.  He loves to "dunk" the basketball and sleep in "Mommy's bed."  He uses my old iPad to play with toddler apps and he calls it his "onputer" (computer).  His favorite book is Goodnight Moon and he can basically recite it to me.  He has his Mama's sweet tooth.  He loves to drink "Chochy Mo" (Chocolate Milk) and he has learned how to take the chairs from his table and use them to climb on the counter and get chocolates from the canister I keep them in.  He always wants a "piece of chocit".  He can feed the dogs, turn on lights, put on his socks and shoes, throw away his poopy diapers in the "outside big trash" and wash himself in the shower.  He is learning so much and is a joy to watch!   

Our Wednesday playgroup.  It is rare to get a photo of all of them looking at the camera.  We all met at music class when our kids were only a few months old!   The two girls have baby sisters already and the two boys will be getting baby brothers soon.

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Jack and his friend Julia.  I think they like each other!  

Jack's favorite activities.  Coloring and wearing his boots!

He loves to draw motorcycles and cars and "Happy Sunshine".    After he finishes his picture he will bring it to me and say "Look Mommy, I made that!"  Then he will say "I love it!"

Of course no day would be complete with out several rounds of basketball.