Comparing these two photos is an accurate indicator of the differences between month one and month two.

Oh man, month one was rough! I was too stressed to worry about even properly focusing my camera!

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Month two was so much better!

We went from having a baby that cried almost constantly to a baby who has way more happy times than sad times. During the first month, I wanted to step on the accelerator and zoom to the next phase of parenthood. Now that we’ve made it through month two, I want to put the brakes on and slow down time. Where the first month was about simply surviving, the second month was about savoring the Trikester’s babyhood.

Sleep

Hurrr-ah for naps in the crib!

We’ve made progress when it comes to sleep. I’m no longer spending the night on the couch. I wish I could say I was back in our master bedroom, but I’ve relocated to the guest bedroom and its lumpy mattress. Although I still miss Mr. Tricycle, it is a vast improvement over spending the night in the living room. The baby’s sleep has also improved dramatically. Last weekend we got our longest stretch of sleep – he was out cold for six straight hours. I kept checking to make sure he was still breathing – I’m glad were still co-sleeping. That long stretch hasn’t happened since, but we do usually get a five hour block followed by a two or three hour block, followed by a one hour block. We start the bedtime routine around 8 PM and usually get up for the day sometime between 6 and 7 AM. The other big change is that the Trikester has started taking naps in his crib. Over the past week he’s gone down two or three times a day in his own room. I don’t always have luck with getting him to sleep in his crib – today I tried six times before he actually fell asleep. His naps aren’t long and I’m lucky if I get 30 or 40 minutes out of him. Not complaining though because it’s nice to go from zero time to myself to a little bit of time to myself.

Food

Nursing continues to go well. We’re really happy with his growth. At his well baby visit yesterday we were told that he’s gained almost 5 pounds and grown 5 inches since birth. This put him in the 91st percentile for height and the 17th percentile for weight. We now call him our skinny string bean. He wears 0-3 month clothes, but many are too short (though plenty wide!). The only hiccup in our regular nursing routine is another case of mastitis. I got an hour-long massage over the weekend, and spending some time on my stomach was apparently a bad idea. I’m back on antibiotics and on the mend.

Disposition

Look at that smiling baby!

Oh what a difference a month makes! I no longer would consider the Trikester to be colicky. Other than for a couple hours in the evening, he is a relatively happy guy who only cries when tired or hungry. Granted, he’s frequently tired or hungry, so we do deal with some fussing, but it’s so much better. Another big change we’ve noticed is that we can distract or entertain him when he starts to get upset. This is super helpful because it allows Mr. Tricycle to assume more responsibility. Before, the kid was only interested in boobs, but now a song, a game, or a story often settles him down.

Milestones

The activity mat is good for at least twenty minutes of distraction.

His feet are soo cute! I can understand why he’s obsessed with them. (His feet and hands are also HUGE – I guess it’s part of his string bean build.)

Dude is OBSESSED with his hands and feet; he kicks like he’s prepping for an MLS try out. He loves hanging out on his activity mat and batting at the rattles with his feet and hands. We get regular smiles and I swear I heard a laugh last week. The Trikester is not a huge fan of tummy time, but he’ll tolerate it if he’s lying on Mr. Tricycle’s stomach.

Adventures

We’re still getting all kinds of funny faces from the Trikester.

Once Little Man hit six weeks, we were more comfortable with taking him out in public. We took a day trip to Skaneateles to celebrate my 30th birthday, and he did really well. We’ve been to the grocery store, Target, and the mall multiple times. He’s happiest in the Ergo or Baby Bjorn (Mr. Tricycle prefers this one), but he will occasionally remain content in the car seat/stroller.

No qualms about sticking a purple diaper on our little boy.

Another big adventure is cloth diapering. I find that I really like cloth diapers – they’re more absorbent, less likely to cause diaper rash, and they help pants fit his skinny butt. The Bum Genius brand gives us a better fit than FuzziBunz, which don’t get tight enough around his little thighs.

Was your second month significantly better than your first month?