2 months

The past month has been challenging, to say the least. I'd always heard of colicky babies but had no idea how difficult it really was. And unless you've had a baby with colic or been around one a great deal, I don't think I can make you understand it either. My mom told me recently about a lady she used to work with who had a baby with severe colic. My mom was telling her about Gray and she shared some struggles with my mom that she'd had with her child. This is a very nice, normal and great mother but she had an extremely hard time dealing with it. She told my mom that she finally decided to seek help the day she considered putting her screaming baby in the microwave. She didn't plan on turning it on, but it would be a place that she could get some relief for a little while. A good friend of mine who has been extremely thoughtful and serving to me during this time, told me that her brother had colic and her mom went through severe post partum depression because of it. I am here to tell you that I might have judged those stories before hand, but never now. Though I did not quite get to the point of depression or ever consider putting Gray in the microwave, I have had some really difficult days. Even Paul, who is one of the most patient and laid back people I know, has had a very tough time dealing with it. But God has seen us through the past 7 weeks now and just when we thought we couldn't take any more, He'd give us a good day or two with our sweet boy.

At two months, I am thankful to say that I think he is finally starting to grow out of it. I've said that a couple of times before so I guess growing out of it means he'll have some good days and some bad days until it's gone for good. He had a solid week that was great and we thought it was completely gone but that was followed by a really rough few days last week. Now we are on a good streak again. I have also cut dairy completely out of my diet and that seems to be making a difference too. Dairy is probably my most favorite food group, so it's been quite a sacrifice. But I'd do anything in this world for my sweet boy to be pain free and happy. More than it being a sacrifice, it's just been really hard to pay attention to what things have dairy that I would have never thought of. I was going to order a chicken souvlaki sandwich the other day but remembered that tzatziki sauce is yogurt based. I've been reading the labels on almost everything before I eat it and dang if it doesn't ALL seem to have some kind of dairy product in it. The first morning that I drank non-dairy creamer in my coffee I thought I'd rather just not have it anymore. But then I realized coffee is an essential in getting me through the day so I'm getting used to it. And the almond milk that I've been using in my cereal is surprisingly not bad at all. But dang I am wanting some cheese like something fierce. In finding a positive in this though, perhaps cutting dairy out will help me shed the last almost 15 pounds of unwanted pre-baby chub.

I am so excited about being able to get out more now that Gray doesn't spend most of every day screaming. We went to church on Sunday for the second time in 12 weeks.

He was 9 weeks on Sunday and even though he was extremely happy, we thought it was time to go ahead and put him in the nursery. He is starting to really "talk" a lot and we didn't want him to be a distraction to us or anyone else in service. A sweet lady I know was in the nursery when we dropped him off and my mom came in an hour later, so I felt really good leaving him. He was a big boy and didn't have any problems at all. This is a huge accomplishment!

Gray had his two month appointment today. I thought he handled his shots like a champ. He didn't scream nearly as long as he did during the physical exam when the doctor put that cold stethoscope on his belly.

But even that was nothing that a little snuggling with Daddy couldn't fix.

 Too bad they don't do hand measurements. He'd be breaking records on that one for sure!

He has been running a fever tonight but is being such a trooper about it and was ready for bed even earlier than usual.

And now for some more milestone updates. At two months Gray...

weighs 12 pounds, 1 ounce-55th percentile

is 23 1/4 inches long-59th percentile (averaging out here-down from 85th percentile last month)

head measurement is 15 3/4 inches-47th percentile

snuggle measurement-off the charts! ;)

is getting more and more head control and I think he'll be sitting in his bumbo in no time

is starting to coo and talk a lot-it is the sweetest thing!!

smiles at the sound of Mama and Daddy's voices

smiles when he looks at himself in the mirror

smiles when we touch his nose

still wears size one diapers, though I think he'll be in a size two before long

wears 0-3 month clothes

gets a bath every other day. His skin is not as dry anymore so as we work on getting more of a nightly routine, I may start giving him a bath every day. He loves baths if the water is extremely warm. Getting out and dried off is a whole 'nother story ;)

still loves to be swaddled

eats about 4-5 ounces at each feeding (I can only tell how much by the pumped bottles he gets once or twice a day)

sleeps 5-6 hours during the first stretch at night, then another 2-3 the next stretch. He is starting to have somewhat of a sleep schedule! He's gone from screaming until midnight to wanting to go to bed around 9:00 or 10:00 every night. He'll usually sleep until 3:00 or 4:00, wake up to feed, goes right back to sleep, is up between 6:00 and 7:00 to eat again and is usually ready to play after that but will occasionally surprise Mama and get one more snooze in. He usually takes his first nap around 9:00 or 10:00. Naps the rest of the day are still inconsistent but the past several days he has taken a 2-3 hour nap in the late afternoon. One day he even took a four and a half hour nap. Can I get an "AMEN!!!" ;) He sleeps most of the night in the swing though and we are going to start transitioning to the crib soon, which I think is going to be a challenge. We are going to take the cradle out of the pack-n-play and start him in the regular part of it before moving to the crib. Then I am planning on doing some play time and naps in the crib before we try it at bedtime. Praying that it doesn't mess up his lovely sleep schedule at night!

Two month pictures were hard to get with our wiggly little man but they are still precious nonetheless. Of course we couldn't get the little booger to smile while we had him in his two month tie. We even tried on two different occasions. Stinker.

Daddy and I can't wait to see how Gray grows and learns in the next month!