Our Growing Boy

"This is a child that will not allow himself to starve," stated our pediatrician.

Truer words have never been spoken. Little P is a great eater. True, he still thinks he is starving if he has to wait longer than 2 hours, and he only eats for 10-15 minutes each time, but he is growing, and growing well.


Today was his 2 month appointment and everything is looking great. He is in the 68% for head circumference, 34% for weight (11 lbs 9 oz), and 73% for length (23.5 in).

He may not be a chunky monkey, but he has gaining a great double chin, has dimples on his hands, elbows, and knees, his belly hangs over his pants, and he has gained a leg roll or two. I love it all. It is so cute. I was most surprised by his growth in length. He has grown 3 inches in the last month. Go Baby P! I have a feeling that he is going to be taller than both of his parents (considering neither of us are exceptionally tall and he has tall grandpas on both sides.) He has grown so long that he is nearly too big for the bassinet. I think we are going to start transitioning him to the crib for that reason. I have already started to have him take his naps there so hopefully it won't be a big shocker.

Speaking of change, our pediatrician said that at 2 months of age, babies are capable of sleeping 12 hours at night. I have a very hard time believing it. Sigh... I know it's true for some babies, but I just don't see that being true of our little guy. Night time sleep is as random as it comes. Some nights are wonderful. Others are awful. In general, he is good to sleep for a 3 hours stretch at first, and then it's back to every 2 hours. Last night went 3, 2, 1. One hour, P? Really? I don't need him to suddenly start sleeping that long (though I wouldn't complain) but it would just be great if he could stretch it out. That is my biggest challenge right now. How do I convince him that he doesn't need to eat that often? It's also rough because our schedule is not very conducive to a bedtime routine (with Ryan getting off work every other night around 11 pm). Little P has learned from us (not that it was our intention) that bedtime is not until midnight, even if we start the routine hours earlier. (Last night he was ready for bed at 9:30. He did not give up until 12.) Our doctor suggested trying out the cry-it-out method. I am not wholly against it, but from what I have seen of P's personality, it won't work. When he gets crying, he doesn't stop. Ever. He just becomes more and more angry the longer he goes. I am sure we can find a method that works for us. We are trying Tracy Hogg's method and I think it is helping. But I still don't know how to get around the feeding issue. Any suggestions?

Pierscen received his first set of shots today, aside from the ones in the hospital. I believe vaccinations are extremely important. I know there are risks, but those risks far out way the dangers of not vaccinating. Of course he cried, but he did a good job. We gave him some Tylenol to help a bit with the pain and hopefully ward off any fever. I have been pumping his legs to keep things moving, which he seems to find funny, so that is good.


As we were waiting for the doctor come in, I was looking at the music stenciled along the ceiling in the room. I was curious to know if they were just random notes drawn in, or if they were to a melody I might recognize. I wish my phone could have captured more of it, but this first phrase may be enough. I started humming it in my head, and then when I reached this dotted half note, exclaimed out loud, "No way!" I jumped up and followed the music around the room. "It's 'I am a child of God'!" I said. "That is so awesome!"

Ryan looked at me and smiled. "You are probably one of like three people that have noticed that," he said.

I doubt that. I am sure there are plenty of other people that have figured it out. But I just thought it was really neat and incredibly appropriate. We are children of God. There is no more precious knowledge than that. And how cool to find that in the pediatrician's office, where their very livelihood is based on protecting and taking care of children, whom God loves more than we can comprehend.

Pierscen is a such a good natured boy. I feel so incredibly lucky! He is smiling more and more. When he gets really excited he opens his mouth really wide and his little arms and legs start swinging. He loves his play mat and enjoys mobile time. Tummy time is not a favorite and I am not good at remembering to do it, but he still does great sitting in his Bumbo. We will have to return around 3 months to get his 4 month shots because he cannot have any vaccinations within 2 weeks of his surgery. But other than that, everything is right on track and he is doing well. We sure love our little guy.

Friday is his eye appointment in Salt Lake. It's a small visit and I don't think it will take very long, but I will definitely post to let you know what we learn!