2 Months

" Hello world!!"

Wesley is two months old today. Amazing... in many ways I feel like I have known him for infinitely longer than two months (that is what happens when you spend almost every waking moment staring at someone!). And in other ways I can't believe how the time is flying.

"Why would you want to read your book when you could look at me?"

So, what is Wesley like at two months? He is smiling up a storm these days. He often smiles while nursing when he looks up and locks eyes with me. It is incredibly endearing, if not a little messy because what was in his mouth dribbles out. He can recognize Reid and I and frequently graces us with his happy face.

How could I not love that face staring up at me??

But he also has his fair share of crying. In the last few weeks he has started to fight sleep. I know he is sleepy, his eyes are drooping and yet he cries to stay awake. There have been a few times when it seems to go on for a long stretch but we can usually talk him out of it (either by waking up or falling to sleep) if we just keep changing positions and locations (don't like the chair? How about the glider? The bed? Standing up and bouncing?). Other times he drifts off to sleep peacefully with no fuss at all.

With daddy...

Mommy and her little man

He is doing great with night sleeping and eating. He is pretty consistent with times. Depending on whether we go to bed at 10 or 11, we wake and nurse somewhere between 2 and 3 and again between 5 and 6. Then he is usually awake and happy by 7. Most of our night feedings last about 10 minutes and we are usually back asleep with him swaddled within 25. All in all, not bad... don't get me wrong. I look forward to a 5 or 6 hour stretch. But the fact that he is consistent and obviously really eating at those times means to me that he still needs to eat. Eventually those times will stretch and until then I am enjoying our late night cuddles by the light of the closet.

One of the few times he has fallen asleep and stayed asleep in his co-sleeper...

Because laying on people is so much more cozy!

He is, overall, a very happy and joyful little boy. He is cooing and churtling at us, especially on his changing table. He loves to lay in is bassinet and bat at his mobile. He likes to stare at the fish I attached to his travel swing that is on the dining room table. And just this week he has figured out that he can make the animals above his bouncy seat move if he kicks his legs! So, each morning he enjoys some time studying those animals!

Here we are in our bouncy seat with our animals... and a very cute onesie...

In his swing... "That fishy is looking at me!"


Have I mentioned that I am completely and totally infatuated with my son? Because I am...

Parade of Hats

Since both Grandma and Grandpa Doty have asked for them... Here is a parade of hat pictures!

You may or may not remember, but this hat used to be almost too big for him... not anymore!

This may be my favorite hat... The Tigger!



The knitted gnome hat

This one is really too small but the bear is so cute!

Can't you see him saying "Are we almost done here?"

This one just fits oddly... but the oufit is adorable (thanks Jack and Louise!)

And finally... his "prison Mike" hat! Reid loves this one!

And the Up Side

So... after that downer of a last post, here are some pictures from our weekend/the last few days.

Good grandparents... they love on all of the "grandbabies"... even the four legged ones! Have I mentioned Winston loves laps??

Mt. Blanca on Saturday... don't we live in one of the most beautiful places?

Smiling in his car seat on our long day out Saturday where we went to Milagros, the Sand Dunes and the Bistro Rialto!

"You don't say?!" Isn't it amazing how a hat changes his whole look?

"It's so hard to have so many fans!" Wes is adored by all... saying bye to his grandparents has been hard all around!

When the going gets tough...

Disclaimer: The following blog post may contain info you don't want to know... it involves illness and a lot of talk of my boobs. But it is all stuff I want to remember when I think about to the early weeks of having Wes and can only remember the sweet smell of his head and softness of his hair against my cheek while writing this blog post... You've been warned.

These past few days have been rough for me. I caught a stomach virus (the second since Wesley has arrived) late Saturday afternoon. By 8pm I had handed Wes to Reid and installed myself in our bedroom/bathroom. I puked twice and took some of the anti-naseau medicine given to me during my last bout. The medicine makes you very sleepy and since both Reid and Wes didn't want to be exposed to the virus more than they already were, Reid slept with Wesley in the living room. What a good husband and daddy to care for Wes all night long! Wes slept on Reid's chest on the sofa and Reid gave him bottles of previously pumped breast milk when he woke.

By Sunday my stomach was starting to feel better but I was drained from the night before. And to top it off my in-laws had to say goodbye to us and Wes. Parting from family is always hard...

Sunday night came and the next part of the virus set in... diarrhea. It was so bad that by Monday morning I was really dehydrated. I packed Wes into the car and we drove to the store for Immodium. But by that time the damage of dehydration was done. My milk supply for most of Monday was pretty low and that made for one very fussy baby who is used to opening his mouth and having it flow in! Also Monday afternoon/evening was filled with a lot of muscle aches and pains (again from the bug) for me. All around, a nasty day. I finished the day by pounding about 60oz of water in about two hours, which brought my milk back in full force (but also meant I had to pee about six times during the night).

Yesterday was a pleasant day healthwise. I was feeling good and Wes wasn't quite as grouchy. I got the kitchen cleaned and some laundry done. When Reid got home I passed Wes off to him and took a shower. When I got out of the shower I looked in the mirror and found a red spot on the bottom of my left breast. And just below that spot is a hard nodule. Which means I have my first clogged duct, no doubt from all the craziness in terms of dehydration/re-engorgement. So, that coupled with the fact that we woke to about three-four inches of snow means that Wes and I are going to stay close to home today. We are going to nurse a lot and nap a lot and hopefully get that duct unclogged and back on healthy footing by tomorrow.

The only positive out of all of this nastiness? Knock on wood, Wes hasn't gotten sick once so far! Yay for healthy immune system built by breastmilk!

Pics for the Family

I wish I had a witty way to tie these pictures together in a post that entertains and enlightens. But I don't... so you'll have to make due with cute pictures of my baby! We have been having fun hanging out with my in-laws and they have been soaking up baby time (and Chris is luckily recovered from a 24 hour flu bug).

Grandma Annie with 2 of her "grandbabies"... Winston is eating up this attention.

We get this face sometimes... look at the milk hanging out of the corner of his mouth! We luckily have a really sweet baby and therefore don't see this face too often.

We see this face more often... a sweet open eyed expression just examining the world.

This evening we were changing his clothes and putting on a onesie... I just barely got it on his head and saw this picture. He was so happy to wear it on his head! I see many funny hats in this baby's future!

And finally... a full mouth smile caught on camera! He was giving Grandma several of these today! What a cutie...

The Neilsen Men

Yesterday was Reid's 31st birthday and so we celebrated. We went to lunch at the SLV Brew Pub and then visited a few stores downtown and stopped by the theatre on campus to show it to my in-laws. We finished the day off with cake and a war movie! I think overall it was a good birthday for the first time daddy.

And now... some pictures of the Neilsen men.

"Hey! There is a grandpa up there!"

"What did you say?" This picture just makes me laugh! :)

Chillin' with Daddy in the rocker.

Three generations of Neilsen men! The older two seem to be enjoying themselves a lot more than the youngest... probably because someone told Wesley that he doesn't get a slice of birthday cake!

Grandma and Grandpa Neilsen Arrived!

Wesley has new visitors! Grandma Annie and Grandpa Chris came in yesterday and are here until a week from today. Reid has the whole week off so we will undoubtedly have fun adventures!

Here we are with Grandpa Neilsen in our alligator outfit!


And here we are with Grandma Neilsen! She has happily stared at him since she got here and he is happy with that!

Our tummy time this morning...

Cuddling with daddy this morning

In our car seat rocking our hoodie and the hat Grandma Alice made us!

Today Wesley found my face. He has looked at me before, of course, but today he locked into me and watched me for almost half an hour. I was making noises and he was smiling at me and studying me greatly... I absolutely love him!

The Past Few Days in Pictures

Our Last Two Days

Yesterday was a big day of errands for us! We had Wesley's one month appointment. He has gained in every area! His hematoma is going down which is also great. Apparently when he was born he was around the 10th percentile for height, weight and head circumference... he is now close to the 25th percentile for all three! So the stats now are:
Height: 21.5 inches
Weight: 8lbs 4oz (a gain of a pound since his last appointment two weeks ago!)
Head: 36centimeters (don't ask me why length is in inches and head is in cm... it just is!)

We also stopped at Walmart and got his one month picture taken at the studio. My mother had professional pictures of both my sister and I taken each of our first twelve months. They are so cool to go back and look at how we grew. So, I want to do the same for Wesley. I learned a few things at the studio for future months... Valley residents beware! If you don't want to take 3 hours (yes, I said 3 HOURS) to get your pictures done at the only portrait studio in the Valley, I would suggest the following:
1. Make an appointment (I thought I'd just walk in... how busy can it be? It's a portrait studio in Walmart!... and yes there was only one appointment ahead of us. But they took an hour and a half!)
2. Go in the morning (there were so many people stopping to pick up their pictures in the afternoon)
3. Go, if possible, when there are two people working.

But, hopefully the pictures will be worth the annoyance and luckily it was this month when besides having to nurse him twice during that time he slept contentedly in my arms the whole time (though boy are my arms tired today!).

In total we were out eight hours yesterday! Though that used to be just a regular work day, with Wesley it felt like a marathon. So, today we stayed home and took it easy... we spent some time listening to lullabies while napping in our swing, doing tummy time and floor time, napping with mommy and he even let me make dinner for his daddy! So... here are some of the highlights of our day in photos!

Swinging sleepy time... he is giving me anywhere from ten minutes to thirty in his swings at a time which is a huge relief for my arms!

Floor Time... isn't Wesley lucky to have 2 supervisors?! The dogs really are being fabulous with him.

"Aren't I cute?" This is a 0-3 month outfit, not a newborn and it fits him well... in fact he is almost out of all of his newborn clothes! Our little boy is growing!

"Who is that handsome baby in the mirror up there?"

"Mom! I'm stuck on my tummy here!"

Seriously, tummy time is a lot of work!

Good thing he has a buddy to do it with... thanks Tater!

After a hard few minutes work, a thumb can really relax you! (I had picked him up, looked away from him as I put away the mats and when I looked back this is what he was doing!)