Wow how time goes by so quickly. I feel like just yesterday we were writing about Holden's first month of life, and now here we are at month two! We have a doctor's appointment for Holden tomorrow, so I will update then with his latest stats. Nathan predicts Holden's weight to be at 15 pounds. I think the doctor miscalculated and Holden is only 23.5 inches. We'll see!
What has been the best part?:
Meredith: Oh the very best are the SMILES - and they are for real this time! Holden smiles a lot now and it is A-DOR-ABLE. When I first come in his room in the morning, he is kind of cranky and fussy, but then I just smile for him and he starts to smile back. He makes these huge, open-face smiles too. I love it!
The other best part (yep, I have two) is that Holden sleeps through the night. We usually put him down somewhere between 8:30 and 10:00 PM, and he will sleep until between 5:00 and 7:00 AM. It is wonderful and a huge blessing for a mom who LOVES her sleep!
Nathan: Before talking about the best part of this past month, I'd like to stress that I am a man. I am man, but still have to say that Holden is the cutest little boy in the world. Aside: Cutest little girl in the world and Holden's future wife - HERE. Seriously, though, if you weren't convinced with any of his pictures, you should spend some time with him after he eats. Like most men, including his father, he is happiest after a nice meal. We may differ on our choice of cuisine, but can agree that time on a jungle playmat is one of the highlights of our day.
What has been the hardest part?:
Meredith: The hardest part this month is the amount of spit-up that comes out of Holden. My goodness! If it weren't for the fact that he is definitely gaining weight, I would be quite concerned with the amount of fluid that comes out of this little boy's mouth! It is slightly frustrating because he usually spits up all over his outfit, my outfit, and whatever he happens to be laying on (boppy, playmat, chair, etc.). Nathan and I try our best to predict it, but Holden and his spit-up are usually unpredictable.
Nathan: Although I am very thankful Holden is mostly sleeping through the night, it is difficult for me to watch as he becomes The Boy Who Never Sleeps, Jr. Apparently, as a child, I was not one to sleep. Holden doesn't nap well either. I know he needs his sleep. His mama needs her sleep also. I know his pattern will change, probably several times, but I hope he learns how to nap better. Also, it can be tough, but semi-funny, to watch him spit up all over his mother. Sorry, Meredith.
What has been the most surprising?:
Meredith: I think I am still in shock about how much time and energy a baby can take. Before Holden arrived, I thought I would have hours of time in the day to accomplish everything from housework to responding to emails to me-time. I am totally wrong. I do get hour long windows when he goes down for a nap now, but that hour seems to go by much faster than other hours! I constantly feel as though I am behind and trying to catch up on so many to-dos. Hopefully I'll learn how to juggle it all soon.
Nathan: For the last few weeks, we started putting cloth diapers in the mix (shout out to BumGenius 3.0). Last week, we got a dozen more. Now that we are pretty much full on cloth diapering, I'm surprised how much I like cloth diapers. Other than when he pees through them, probably because I put them on wrong, they work pretty well.
What is your most memorable story from this month?:
Meredith: As Holden has gotten older and Nathan and I have become more comfortable taking him out and about, we decided to start taking Holden to MBC for The Edge service. The first Sunday we tried, we ended up getting there at 11:38 AM - - service starts at 10:45. We watched the last 20 minutes of Lon's sermon in the lobby so as not to distract anyone with our serious tardiness. Next Sunday, we got there at 11:25. Still quite late, but not too far into the sermon. Holden was asleep in his car seat, so we thought we could sneak inside to a bench and listen. As soon as we reached our seats, Holden let out a BIG cry. We immediately turned around and headed out the door, sequestered to the lobby. Now, we don't even try going inside to service. We are getting better with arriving before Lon starts his sermon though!
Nathan: I got peed on two days in a row. That was fun. Also, our friends Chris and Sarah were laughing one night about how Holden likes to go #2 in the bathtub, so Chris joked that Holden won't be able to get in hot tubs when he is older. Although that may not translate well into hilarity in the retelling, Holden proceeded to go big potty in the bath for the next several nights in a row. Thanks, Chris.
What has Holden learned this month?:
Meredith: Holden has learned quite a bit, in my humble opinion! He has learned how to grip a few things: fingers, shirts, blankets, hair, and his jungle friends on his playmat. Nothing is intentional yet - just mostly putting his hands out and closing his fingers tightly around the item. As mentioned above, Holden has learned to sleep through the night, which is a huge blessing, and he has genuine smiles all the time. In the last few days, Holden has also learned to focus on things in front of him. He will look at illustrations in books, the computer screen and yes, the TV (we let him watch a little of the World Cup). Finally, Holden is starting to talk. He is cooing and gurgling and sometimes he yells. I am amazed at how much he has accomplished in just one month!
Nathan: Holden has learned that he likes to be held facing forward. Although sometimes a challenge because he doesn't have total control of his neck, it helps keep my arms in shape. I think Holden comes up with new sounds every night as I change his diapers and put him to bed.
What have you learned this month?:
Meredith: I learned to be more confident raising Holden. With the onset of a "schedule" for Holden, I feel better about predicting, knowing, and meeting his needs. I feel more like a parent because I know when he needs to sleep or when he needs to eat, instead of just guessing.
Nathan: I learned that Holden still can't take Kenzie (one of our cats) in a fight. He probably has a few more months to go. Ok, I didn't actually try to have them fight, but sometimes I do wish Holden would smack Kenzie around. I actually learned that we can be social and have a child. We did a few social things and for the most part, Holden survived. No one's furniture was ruined. No one lost their hearing due to newborn screams. We were the only ones who were spit up on. All in all, I think we will survive as a 3 person family. That being said, we aren't about to even discuss adding another.
Holden loves to give us smiles now. This is him after a nap.
Holden really is starting to pay attention to the books we are reading him. Here is Nathan and Holden reading Jamberry, from Kendra. Other favorites include Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, Bible stories and more. He has a very large library.
I still cannot believe how big he is, and how quickly he is growing. Every day I notice something new.
