Nolan David: Two Months

Nolan David,

Today marks 2 months for you, little champ! We have loved getting to know you better with each passing day. You are growing like a weed. In one month you gained 4 pounds and grew 2 inches! You are rocking the scale at 12 pounds 5 ounces and you are 23 inches long :) We think you and your sister are starting to look more alike!

You are such a happy little baby and your smiles light up our day! Your big sister is still your favorite person and she loves to make you smile. We are pretty sure you learned your name weeks ago because she says, "Hi Nolan!" at least 100 times a day...inches from your face. Thankfully, your personal space bubble hasn't developed yet and you love her attention. She still reports all that you do throughout the day and loves to hold you. Her new favorite activity is joining you with tummy time. She lays opposite of you and helps you practice strengthening your neck. She thinks it is quite hilarious! She celebrated her 2nd birthday last month. You tagged along for every adventure as we celebrated and you slept through the whole thing! We also celebrated your first Easter and tried to get a family picture...tried is the key word!

We are starting to learn more about your likes and dislikes.

You like:
-eating
-doing tummy time (for about 5 minutes)
-smiling
-snuggling
-talking to your sister
-looking at books
-being held and rocked
-going for walks
-sleeping in the baby carrier

You dislike:
-eating
-car rides
-evenings

Now that you are 2 months old, we have started the eat, play, sleep routine. This will hopefully help increase your sleeping stretches at night. You are doing between 5-6 hours right now, which is great! But hopefully we can bump that up to 8 eight hours over the next couple weeks. Evenings are still hard for you. As I said above, you have a love/hate relationship with eating. You clearly love it, because you are gaining weight, but eating can also make you very unhappy. We are trying some different things to find out if you have acid reflux or if you are just gassy. If we don't see improvement soon, I am going to try and cut some foods out of my diet to see if that helps. You amaze us though, little buddy, because even when you are uncomfortable, you handle it like a champ. You just fuss a little and kick your legs. But being uncomfortable can keep you up for long periods of time in the evening. I do not mind one bit because it just means more snuggles and rocking time :)

This month was big for you, me, and big sister. We got out of the house a lot during the day. We started back into our routine of MOPs, Play n' Learn, story time, etc. The 3 of us also went to the doctor and Target...by ourselves!! But as much as I love going and doing, I also crave our quiet days at home with no plans. We aren't rushed and can just enjoy some quality time together in our pajamas!

Nolan David, we love you more than you will even know! Transitioning to a family of 4 has brought so much joy along with lots of opportunities to practice patience and grace for all of us. I am so grateful for you and I love being your mommy. I hoped that you would be a snuggle bug and God answered that prayer :) I will rock you for as many years as you let me!

Nolan David: One Month

Nolan David, 

Today you are one month old! I truly cannot believe how fast the time has gone. You are a gift, my sweet boy! From the moment they laid you in my arms, my heart was captured by you. You surprised us by coming 5 days early. Just like your sister, once we got to the hospital you didn't waste anytime in making an appearance. We got to the hospital at 1:50 PM and you were born at 4:05 PM weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 21 inches in length on Tuesday, February 23rd. Needless to say, we were smitten by you and just a little in shock with how quickly you joined us :) 

The first night in the hospital was just you, me, and daddy! It was a sweet time for us to enjoy you and love on you. The next day, Mimi and Papa arrived with Katherine. They were so excited to meet you! Katherine wanted to hold you the minute she saw you. It was a surreal moment to have our little family of 4 together for the first time. I will always treasure this memory in my heart! 

 Papa was able to stay for a week and Mimi was able to stay for 2 weeks to help us as we transitioned to our new normal. This was a huge answer to prayer because Mimi was able to take care of Katherine as she ran a high fever and got a rash the first week you were home. The doctor didn't want you or me getting sick, so we camped out in the bedroom for a couple of days until Katherine wasn't contagious anymore. Thankfully neither of us got sick, but it made for a rough first week home! I will always treasure, however, the quiet moments we got to share during our quarantine that we might not have had otherwise. We had lots of snuggle and nap time!! 

Going home!!

Nolan, this is called a tongue!

You are such a peaceful and content little guy. During the day you hardly cry and are very alert during your awake moments. Nights have been a different story as you have been tummy issues and it seems to be a struggle for you to get comfortable. Some nights this keeps you up for multiple hours on end...making for tired parents!! This week, however, has already been better for you and last night you slept 5 hours in a row!!!! 

Katherine absolutely adores you! You are the first person she asks about in the morning and wants to check on you right away. She always wants you to be awake and loves when you have open eyes! She also loves when you cough, sneeze, burp, sleep...she just really loves everything about you. If I let her, she would probably hold you 20 times a day. She loves to help me take care of you and has already started reading you books. We always say she feels every emotion at 110%...and buddy, she loves you at a 110%! This also means we have to make sure we keep you strapped into your swing due to her eagerness to hold you and have to make sure we are always with her if you are laying on the floor due to her eagerness to hug you. We found ourselves telling her the other day "you can't sit on people that are smaller than you"...in her attempt to give you a hug! But she is quickly mastering the art of being gentle around you. She has learned to just use her eyes to look at you when you are in your swing and to sit nicely next to you when you are on your mat. Listening to her say your name is probably one of the cutest things ever! You truly have the best big sister! 

She wanted to pray for Baby Nolan!

Best picture...Nolan's face is priceless! 

Nolan, thank you for blessing our life abundantly. We love being a family of 4 and are so thankful God choose us to be your family! We are trying to soak up each moment with you as we engrave your sweet little face, hands, and feet into our hearts forever. If I could hold you all day, I would. I look forward to our snuggle naps each day!! We love learning more about you each day. You name means noble, champion, and beloved. We pray for God to use your life in a big way as you grow in nobility, strength, and courage. 

We love you!! 

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Katherine