Two Months!

Time is flying and almost an entire month has gone by since my last post!  I guess two major holidays in there will do that to you… We had two very festive and fun First Christmases with the boys {one with each side of the family}, but right when we got back home from our travels, we hit the two month park for Henry and Parker.  Wow!  That is like sixty days with these guys in our lives.

 That’s almost a smile!

Too-cool-for-school Parker is doing a fly-by.

Month two was a great month and these two little bears did some good growing.  Not just getting bigger (which hello, they did) but also getting a little more used to us and life in the world. (And we are getting more used to having them in our world!)  I feel like Mark and I are figuring these boys out, learning how to keep them happy and in the process, keep ourselves from going crazy!

Parker Bear.  You have made such a turn during Month Two!  I never got around to blogging about it, but Parker came home from the hospital and immediately decided to scream and cry all the time.  If he wasn’t eating or sleeping, the kid was crying.  Or screaming.  Which stressed Mom and Dad out a lot.  But we learned how to keep you happy, and learned that when we freaked out and got frustrated with you, it only made it worse.  Many an evening were spent dancing around with you while we tried to swaddle/sush/swing/soothe/sing/whatever the “Five S’s” are to try and get you to calm down.  And eventually it would work, but not without some near tears on our part.  This month, we’ve learned to let you calm down yourself and not overwhelm you too much.  Mom figured out that you love listening to music (just like her!) so if I turn on my iPhone and let you listen in, you often will calm down, stop crying completely, and listen.  This especially works with Taylor Swift.  In the past week, you’ve turned a corner and are awake more and more, without being mad!  It is so fun to have you get to be up and hang out with us, while you are alert and happy.  You still LOVE your swing though, and sleep there all. the. time.  Maybe next month we will work on breaking that habit.  Or maybe not.  And we still love a good swaddle and some swaying with the white noise machine running to help calm you down when necessary.  Thank you, Happiest Baby on the Block.

Henry.  Oh Henry.  We started calling you "The Hulk” when you were still in the NICU, because you would go from zero to ANGRY in seconds.  One minute you are totally content and calm, and then you remember that you are HUNGRY and you FREAK OUT.  Or you realize that you are laying alone in your bed and not being held and you FREAK OUT.  It is actually really funny, and Mom and Dad enjoy making fun of The Hulk’s temper.  You are easy to please though, and no matter how much you work yourself up and yell (which can be a lot and SUPER loud!), you always calm right back down once you are eating/being held.  You are such a snuggler too, so that tends to help you get you your way, as Mom will often come rescue you from your cries for a chance to cuddle.  Henry and I like to have dance parties when I am home alone, which means I plug in my iPod headphones and sway around with him when he is refusing to nap.  Even when I sing along to music he can’t hear, he humors my terrible voice and will eventually drift back to sleep.  Henry is an easy baby, but also a ticking time bomb, since you never know when The Hulk will show his face.  Also, his head is still huge and he is still way heavier than his little brother.  We visit the doctor next week, and we’re curious to see how the official weights compare to each other.

Our second month with these little guys has been good.  We are sleeping at night (even if it’s only for around three hours at a time) and it’s not too common to have both of them crying and mad or fussy at the same time.  Mom is even surviving better with being at home alone with both of them during the day. They mostly give me a break and don’t double team me all the time.  Which helps!  I know Mark appreciates that the days when he comes home and I am near tears are much more rare now.  I’m sure month three will only get better, as they keep growing and learning how to be a part of our family.  We are ALL figuring it out every day!