Hi!! I can’t believe my little bug is 2 months old, how did eight weeks go by already? Time is certainly flying! I thought I would update you with all things William today, how we’re doing, what we’re loving, how he’s sleeping, etc…
He is seriously the sweetest little guy and such a GOOD BABY!! It has been so fun for our family to have him around, my favorite is watching Brian and Grace with him. Opposite of what I thought, Brian has taken more to him than Grace. He loves talking to him, holding him, giving him bottles, playing with him on his little activity mat, and he’ll even keep his eye on him if I need to run out of the room for something (quickly). Of course Grace loves him and gives him attention, but it’s not at the same enthusiastic level as Brian (yet).
I will say going from two kids to three has been a total GAME CHANGER. It’s 3 (kids) against 2 (adults) and we definitely feel that, especially during times when we’re trying to do something else like make dinner or get out the door.
William is doing so, so great. Looking back, weeks 5-8 were tough. He was really fussy and everything I read confirmed that if there is a peak for colic, it’s definitely in those weeks. Their bellies are developing and working in overdrive to get out all the kinks. He had a lot of gas and what seemed like constant tummy aches. I kept telling Brian how the third was supposed to be easy! And how did we end up with a colic-y baby!?? Then I went back and read my journal entries from Brian and Grace and low and behold, same thing. I went back and forth with trying to eliminate dairy, change his formula to alimentum (which is seriously GROSS), but I knew it my gut he was okay and that he would outgrow it, and that Brian and Grace went through that same difficult stretch. Also, to note, if it’s a true dairy intolerence, there is blood in the stool which he did not have.
He really started to turn the corner right at 8 weeks (he’s actually nine weeks right now), we noticed a HUGE difference! So if you’re in that stage, hold out, it’ll get easier!
Schedule
He’s starting to give us some long stretches at night 🙌🏻 Last night he went from 11-7!!! When I woke up and saw the time I almost cried, PRAISE BE! He typically eats a lot at night so and fills up before his night. He honestly did that on his own but I will tell you a couple things I’ve practiced from experience to help us get those long stretches when we need them.
I read the book 12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks with both kids and it helped us so much. Both kids were sleeping 12 hours by 12 weeks and I owe it all to this book. The basic premise is getting them to take all their bottles in the first 12-hour block of the day, so say it’s 8 AM to 8 PM, you’re going to want to feed the baby all their ounces in that time. Little by little you drop what you’re giving them at night so that their bodies don’t rely on that feeding to get their calories in. I started weaning him from the 1 AM feeding by not giving him the “cheeseburger” but rather the “salad”, feed him just until he get’s sleepy which is usually very quick in the middle of night, swaddle him right back up, and put him back down. If you’re in this phase you’ll probably have a lot of question so I suggest ordering this book, best $20 you’ll ever spend!
Here is a little glimpse into a typical schedule for the W:
Wake up between 6 -7. I feed him and put him back to bed. Sometimes, I feed him in our bed and we both fall back to sleep until 8:30 or so 😬
8:30/9 – feed, play, nap (about a 1 hour nap)
12 or 1 – feed, play, nap (about a 2 hour nap)
4 or 5, feed, play, cat nap
7 or 8, feed, play
10, feed, bed
I’m going to try and get him down to 4 feedings throughout the day, 8-12-4-8, over the next week or so, we’ll see. William is a very slow eater so it usually takes him a longer time than normal to eat, sometimes it takes him an hour to get 4 ounces down, other times, 20 minutes!
Breast or Bottle Feeding
I’m currently breast and bottle-feeding and I’m actually shocked I’ve gotten this far with breastfeeding. I struggle with a low supply so it hasn’t been easy, but for some reason I can’t yet give it up. Maybe it’s because he’s my last, or because for the first time as a mom I actually enjoy the act of nursing. I did not like it with Brian and Grace, and gave up within the first 3 weeks. 5 years later, here I am. SO here’s how it works:
I offer my breast at every feeding and sometimes he’s satisfied, sometimes he’s still hungry. When I can tell he needs more I’ll either supplement with pumped milk or formula. I try and get 2-3 pumping sessions in throughout the day so we have that to give him but it doesn’t always work based on our schedule. I’m fine with whatever he gets, I’m not anti-formula as I’ve seen how Brian and Grace thrived on it! I try not to put too much pressure on myself because I’ve got two other littles and a business to run so whatever works!. I use the Spectra S1 Plus pump, it works the best for me and the battery feature is KEY! I can cart it around wherever I go.
What We’ve Been Using and Loving for William
OILS! I diffuse oils in our bedroom every night when William goes to sleep. We use Sleepyize which is a blend of baby + kid-friendly oils, pre-diluted, so it takes out the guess work. I typically add 4 drops to our diffuser at night since he’s still in our room and it helps set the tone and comfort him, all of us actually 🙂
I also use a kids oil called Tummygize on his tummy when he’s fussy and it calms him right down. I roll it directly on his belly in clockwise circles around his belly button and it soothes the discomfort.
Speaking of discomfort, we also started using the Evivo probiotics for him and we think they helped! My lactation consultant recommended this brand.
He sleeps in the Snoo and we all really like it. It’s safe and he sleeps really well in it. It has its own swaddle that you put them in and the motion keeps him asleep, securely and snug. It took him a couple weeks to get into it, I think he was just too small at first. He was 6 pounds when we brought him home and he didn’t like it. We ended up putting him in his swaddle and then in the Snuggle Me in between us in bed which worked great. I’d say about 2-3 weeks in we moved him to the Snoo!
We are loving the Ryan and Rose pacifiers and the Avent “soothies”. He honestly likes them just the same but the Ryan and Rose ones are so cute and you can buy the cutest little clips for them.
William loves his activity mat, like LOVES it! He can stay in there for around 25-30 minutes and just laughs and coos away which is perfect for when I need to getting something done! He also really likes sitting in the Baby Bjorn bouncer. I’ll set that up on the kitchen island when I’m cooking or we’ll put it on the floor when we’re eating, etc…
We use the Moses basket when he takes naps downstairs or on the deck, etc… we’ve used this thing a TON!
We’ve been taking him to the beach a lot and bought this cute little tent to keep him shaded. We either put him in the car seat and bring it right on the beach or the bassinet portion of our stroller.
More…
He’s just started to social smile which is THE BEST THING EVER!! It’s the cutest thing in the whole entire world and never gets old. He smiles at all of us and we’ll do just about anything for it!
He just about comes everywhere with us, which is really only to my parents house, my brothers house, or the beach. Quarantine life has been pretty great because there is really nowhere to be so we get to just move slower and there is no pressure to be anywhere. I kind of wish it was like that for my other two!
I don’t worry so much about Covid with him because everywhere we go is in open air, although I haven’t been as generous with other people holding him these days. I just feel like other than my close family, there is no need to take the risk.
Our main nickname for him is Mister, or Meeter! We all say that to him when we’re trying to get him to smile. Our family and friends all call him something different, Willy, Billy, Will, Bill, etc… We’ll see which name sticks!
We’re all just having so much fun and enjoying him, a lot. I’ve said this before but I think that because Brian and Grace are a little older, 7+5, they really get to enjoy him with us, and I as a mom have so much more perspective than I did when they were little. I understand how fast the time moves, and that the little things I once worried about are silly. It’s been a totally different, and much more relaxing experience because of that. We’re so grateful to have him, he truly is the best gift, and the light of our family.
