Colin is TWO MONTHS

Dear Colin,

On December 31, 2013 you turned 2 months old and we celebrated your little birthday in the hospital.  The day before you had started to seem a little unlike yourself and then in the late afternoon Daddy and Mommy both noticed that your breathing sounded a little funny.  Mommy called her friend whose son has had croup but it didn't seem like that is what you had.  However, because you were so little Mommy packed you up and took you to Urgent Care just in case.  Good thing - turns out you had the FLU!  Because you were so little they decided it was best to send you up to MMC for observations incase the virus settled in your lungs or your temperature went higher (we had been watching your temp. all weekend because Conor and Mommy had been sick and you were fine but between your last check and getting to the clinic it had jumped to 101).  I had packed in haste and didn't have a cell phone charger so the lovely nurses at Urgent Care let me borrow theirs while we waited for the ambulance (yup, they required you to go by ambulance).

You did really great in the ambulance despite being nervous.  It was clear you wanted to be held but it was safer for you in the car seat and Mommy doesn't take any chances.  So, they turned the lights down low and Mommy held your hand and talked to you until you fell asleep.

When we got to the hospital they checked you out an confirmed you had the flu.  It was not pleasant to deal with the resident because she kept wanting to pretend she was HOUSE and do a spinal tap to rule out "anything else that could be causing his fever".  Ummm....no, you are not sticking a needle in my baby's spine.  Don't worry Colin - Mommy is great at speaking her mind and standing her group.  I made it clear from the start that it wasn't going to happen and, in the end, they did not (though I also had to use reverse psychology and encourage them to call DHHS on me). 

Since we were confined to the room because you had something that is considered highly contagious and there were other, much sicker babies on the floor, we spent the day talking, reading, and watching TV.  Daddy and Conor also came to visit and brought Mommy and you some clothes and the much needed cell phone charger!  You were very unhappy in the hospital.  They required you to be in the crib whenever I needed to use the bathroom or when they came to check your status.  You hated that crib and you hated all the wires they had on your body.  So many of them were unnecessary but since they were not intrusive I permitted them to stay.  When they finally came off you were so happy!

Not happy about having your vitals taken.

Yeah!!!  No more wires!

I will not sleep in this metal thing!!!

Daddy is a great Daddy and he brought your Rock n' Play so you slept in there the night of your two month birthday until your third wake-up and then you slept in the chair with Mommy.  We weren't allowed to co-sleep in the parent bed in your room but the nurses said the chair wasn't a bed so they could look the other way.  Therefore they brought me a GREAT reclining chair from another space and we slept there (it was basically a twin bed).

I took your monthly photos a few days later once you were feeling better (and so was everyone else in the house)!  At two months old you were sleeping in 3 hour stretches, sleeping in the co-sleeper for the middle part of the evening, you recognize the faces and voices of your family members, you engage with Conor, and you are starting to uncurl your fingers and toes.  You loved the bath, Mommy's face, and Conor.  You were still terrible at breastfeeding but Mommy was used to it now and we just go went it.  You hadn't taken a bottle yet but had spent some time with Daddy without Mommy around. 

You are wearing size 3 months clothes and have started sporadically wearing cloth diapers.  You love the bath and make BIG splashes....your tub must be in the tub or there is big cleanup!  You adore the ringsling and dislike the structured carrier.  You aren't crazy about the swing or your playmat at this point either.  You are still on medication for reflux and you spit up variably thought out the day.  Tummy time is slow to come since it causes you to spit up.

Your two-month exam went well.  You are incredibly alert and your reflexes and muscles are developing beautifully.  Here are your stats:

You were a big heavier than Conor and a half inch taller than he was at this age.  But the two of you love the doctor's office and it makes for super cute photos!

However, you did not like getting your immunizations.  Right now there are many parents that are choosing not to inoculate their children against anything and everything.  Some people are on delayed schedules or they are choosing to give some immunizations and not others.  Right now, after a lot of research, your Daddy and I have decided that we will continue to immunize Conor and we will immunize you for everything except Hep A and Chicken Pox.  Until there is more concrete evidence out there that immunizations are causing terrible side effects in children I would rather you not suffer the diseases that your family members in the past may have had to endure.  I held you close as your shots were given and the first one stunned you for a moment and you unlatched from the breast and screamed like you had never screamed before.  At that point the next two were just about over and I was able to calm you down and settle you into nursing for a few minutes in order to comfort you and take the pain away.

Waiting on shots.

Back to your monthly photos.  I did not have the same outfit that Conor wore because it was Valentine's Day when I took his monthly photos for month 2 but I did have a similar baseball type outfit so that is what I used.  Here you are in all your two month glory!

And because Mommy likes to compare her two little boys because everyone says that you two are so alike I did a comparison photo.  The two of you are a lot alike but there are differences and so Mommy always knows who she is looking at in the photos!

Conor above, Colin below

It has been so much fun watching you grow Colin - I can't wait to see what the next month brings!

xoxo
Mommy

Your First 24 Hours

Dear Conor,

Your first 24 hours of life were very busy as you were not only the new kid on the block but also the most popular.  Your Dad and his parents (your Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dennis) came to visit around 10am and they stayed for a few hours.  Your Dad gave you a little Michael Meyers doll and your paternal grandparents gave you a stuffed dog and a Hallmark Christmas Ornament.  They enjoyed spending time with you and you took to them pretty well.  I didn't get any pictures of them on this day because my camera battery had died over the evening so as soon as they left I plugged it in to charge.

After your Grandparents left it was just me, you and your Dad for the first time.  We hung out (with you spending some time in your Dad's arms) until your Grandma Mary came to visit and she brought your Aunts Danielle and Sarah with them.  They had left school and driven up to meet you.  Your Aunt Danielle could not contain her emotions when she came into the hospital room - she started crying the moment she crossed from the foyer into our actual room and she announced it.  She couldn't wait to hold you and so I handed you over.

The first time you met Auntie Danielle

After Auntie Danielle held you it was Auntie Sarah's turn.  Her holding you was very special as you were the first baby she has ever held.  Her emotions got the best of her as well and she started crying!  In these pictures you weren't even a full 24 hours old and you had already made two girls cry - your such a heartbreaker!

Auntie Sarah and You

After your Aunties had their chances to play with you and love on you it was time for you to officially visit with your Grandma Mary.  Of course, she had met you the night before and had held you but it had only been for a few minutes.  She was just as excited to hold you on this day as she was the night before.  She told me several times over and over again that the moment you made her a grandmother was the happiest day for her.

You and Grandma Mary

You also spend more time being held by your Dad.  At one point you wouldn't stop crying so he took a fun picture with you with him pretend crying too.

Everyone left around dinner time and then it was just me and you again.  We had a good night that night.  You slept for 3-4 hours at a time and you also fed really well each time you woke up.  You were taken to the nursery for a few hours to have your vitals checked and to have some testing done as we wanted to leave on Friday.  So your hearing test was done and the metabolic blood screening was also done and your blood forwarded for analysis.  But, before you left for those tests you and I celebrated your one day birthday!

You had a very busy day your first day of life - but you handled it very well!

xoxo
Mom