Two Month Milestones

Well- it's official- Caiden is two months old today! And what a big boy he is getting to be.  We are going to celebrate tonight because we still have some of the cheesecake I made Eric for Father's Day- yum! Caiden has his two-month doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll get all the stats then.  He is so much more alert and watches things so closely.  He has been putting his fist in his mouth because he can't get to his thumb. Eric has been helping him- not physically, but talking him through it and showing him how to do it with his own hands and Caiden just watches so closely and he acts like he is really trying to do what Eric says. 

He likes to play on his play mat and he bats at the hanging toys. He also likes his bouncy seat- it vibrates so it feels good on his stomach, and he's figured out it can make it bounce by kicking his legs. He has fallen asleep in it a couple of times too.

The sleeping situation depends on the night.  We have started getting him to bed by about nine.  That is not the hard part- he goes down just fine. He'll sleep for 3-4 hours (and once 5 hours!) and then wake up to eat.  That is where the trouble begins.  Once he's eaten and I put him back down, he grunts and groans and thrashes around.  He does NOT cry!  We are not sure if he is sleeping during all of this commotion, but it makes it very hard for me or Eric to sleep.  What usually happens then, is I give in (because I can't sleep) and I'll hold him on my chest until he falls into a calmer sleep and then put him down again.  Problem is... most times I'll doze off while I'm holding him.  But hey, at least I'm getting some sleep!

The other interesting thing to note is he is a completely different baby in the morning than in the afternoon.  In the morning he is pretty chill, and will sit and play and just look around. If we have any errands to run, this is usually when I do them. But in the afternoon he is more needy with attention and food!  We try to go down for a nap sometime between 1 and 3, but he won't go down by himself and wants to just eat and eat!

Here are the two-month milestones and his progress:

 

By the end of month two a baby typically:

 

•  Smiles- He does smile, but not as much as I'd like
• Tracks objects with his eyes-he watches both objects and people
• Makes noises other than crying-grunting, squealing, cooing, it sounds like he says "hey"
• May repeat vowel noises, such as "ah" or "ooh"- not so sure he's "repeating"
• on stomach, lifts head to 45 degrees- he can hold it pretty steady and turn his head from one side to the other

 

Also- I've uploaded some new pictures to our Shutterfly site so if you haven't already check them out. http://www.monaghansmemories.shutterfly.com/.  The link is also on the left column of this page.

Happy 1st Father's Day Eric!

Caiden and Eric enjoyed their first Father's Day together on Sunday.  After sleeping in (a little) they played together in bed. Eric has been working with him on grabbing his finger- he's really good.  Caiden won't do it as much with me.

I know, I should have whipped up a wonderful breakfast for the new dad- but I have a good excuse!  Eric isn't really a fan of breakfast.  We had King Crab legs for dinner to celebrate.  Caiden did a good job picking out his gifts:

• A little charcoal grill- Eric has been wanting one for several years
• A picture collage for Eric to take to work
• A new book to read "Daddy and I"
• Cafe Britt Coffee- this is the coffee I usually bring back from Costa Rica and Eric loves it, but since I didn't go this year I had to order it online.

Here's some pics of Father & Son.  Caiden is wearing a little baseball outfit- and yes, it kinda looks like it's for the Yankee's, but it's not!  Too bad you can't see the baseball that is on the butt of the pants!

8 weeks old

We welcomed Caiden into this world 8 weeks ago today!  What a joy he is!  I'm already looking back on old pictures and thinking back about when we brought him home and he has grown and changed so much!

 
I went and weighed him yesterday and he was 9 lbs 15 oz- so basically 10 pounds!  We just finally upgraded him to size 1 diapers.  It's hard to measure his length since he wiggles so much but I would guess he's 23-24 inches. 

Caiden and I have been very busy- venturing out for short trips to get Eric his Father's Day gift.  I wanted to go to the library, but was afraid that Caiden would start wailing!  Our plan is to try our first dinner out tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes!

We will miss you Reid!

Our hearts are very sad today.  Some friends of ours lost their little boy of nine months yesterday.  Kristen is a good friend of mine from graduate school at UTA.  She gave birth to Reid an September 2, 2009 at 26 weeks.  He was 1lb 14oz and has been in the NIC unit ever since.  He was a true fighter- battling all the complications of a preemie and chronic lung disease.  During the nine-months of his life he grew and developed into a handsome baby boy, but was still struggling with his lungs and Sunday he lost the battle.  Please join us in praying for the Elley family in this difficult time, and to help them come to peace with the fact that Reid is no longer in pain but is now in a much better place in heaven.  Kristen and her husband Chad did a wonderful job chronicling Reid's short life in his blog http://reidelley.blogspot.com/ or you can click on it from the link in the "My Blog List" to the right. Feel free to check it out and leave a message of support for the family.

Reid- you were a true fighter and you touched so many lives in the time you were here, you will always be in our hearts!

Decisions, Decisions

What's new in Monaghan Land?  I am trying to make a very important decision!  What to do with my hair?  I'm sure you are laughing right now- because it's not a huge ordeal, but it kinda is.  I was trying to let it grow out while I was pregnant (hearing that my surging hormones would make it grow faster) but it didn't really grow as much as I'd like.  Now it is at a stage that I hate: too short to put in a pony tail, but too long to be a cute style. Therefore the dilemma: stay strong and let it grow, or cut it short again.  So I'm looking for your help-  I've set up a poll on the right side for you to vote- it's anonymous so don't worry.  Here's a couple of pics of the short to remind you:  

Here's some pics of mid-length:

And here's a pic of it the longest I've had it in about 5 years:

The other big decision I'm working on is ordering Caiden's one-month portraits.  They are so cute!  Check them out at: Caiden 1 month. I'm sure you really came to this blog to find out what he's been up to rather than the drama about my hair- so here's an update on him.  We are feeding him breastmilk from a bottle about once a day so that he will get used to it and I can get out once in awhile.  He's taking it all in stride and gobbles it right down.  His belly is getting pretty big- we will go weigh again tomorrow.  My guess is that he is over 9 pounds.  We are still working on smiling and gaining some hand control, but he is scratching his face less so that is good. 

The last and very important thing to note is that everyday we are praying for our friends in Atlanta. Baby Reid is nine-months old and is still in ICU after being delivered at 26 weeks.  He's have a tough week so please add them to your prayers.

Family Visits

Hey all- I haven't been able to blog recently because we have had family visiting.  Last weekend my mom stepdad, sister, bro-in-law, niece and nephew came to visit.  It was the first time with my sister and family to meet our little man.  My niece, Addison (8) and nephew, Ethan (5) did so well with him.  Ethan loved holding him and it seemed like Caiden enjoyed it as well. 

On Sunday, Eric went and bought a new grill (because a family of squirrels had invaded our over the winter) and got it all put together so we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs that evening!  Yum- Usually we (and by we, I mean Eric) have grilled a ton by memorial day, but due to the circumstances, we got started a little late this year.

Monday was our wedding anniversary! We have enjoyed 7 wonderful years together!  Although we didn't travel anywhere like we normally do, we had a great day as a family enjoying our newest addition.
Yesterday, my dad came in to town to meet Caiden and he will be here for several days!  Caiden will have to wait to meet the rest of that side of the family until we tackle the trip to KC.
Here's a couple of other noteworthy updates:

• As of Wednesday, Caiden weighs 8lb 9.4oz!  He has finally outgrown the NB sizes of clothes (but not NB diapers) and we are struggling with the varying sizes of 0-3month clothes.  Right now the Gerber 0-3 fit the best.
• I had my 6-week check up today and I am good to go.  I have lost all but 4 pounds of my pregnancy weight, and have been given the green light to work out again! Now I need to pump some iron so that I can carry this growing boy!
• Caiden is still working on smiling. I got a video that I will try to post where we were practicing together.