Seth is 2 months old (well, was on Monday)

So, I am a little bit late getting this up because I have been busy celebrating my birthday, but Seth did indeed turn two months on Monday. He went to the doctor, yesterday, on my birthday. A bad idea, on my part, because he was then fussy, lethargic, and feverish from shots all day, making it hard to celebrate. Anyways ... he weighed 12 lbs 7 oz (almost exactly doubling his birth weight) which is about 70% and had height and head circumference about 25%. He looked pretty good - a hernia, like Andrew had, and maybe a little concern over his frequent projectile vomit. They were cool with us putting him to sleep on his side. His head is definitely getting quite flat, but we have seen much improvement since putting him on his side last week or so. He hated the shots, but then, what do you expect?

Seth is such a happy baby. He coos all the time like a little conversation. It is SO cute. (What's even funnier is when Andrew "coo"s back - it sounds like a pigeon).
He loves to look at pictures on the wall and will stare at them forever. He loves the mobile on his swing and will coo and smile at it so much. He really likes listening to music. He also LOVES to be outside and especially look at trees. He really likes being held. When he is in his sling, he looks around a lot for the first 10 minutes and then falls fast asleep. He is not very fond of being in his car seat.

Seth is SO cute, at least we think so. His hair and eyes are still light. His hair is almost sort of reddish in the sunlight. His eyes are kind of hazel, now. He looks a lot like Andrew in his baby pictures (which I am always bummed about, because I want my boys to look really different).

Seth sleeps REALLY well. He goes to sleep between 8 and 9 and then will sleep most nights till sometime between 3 and 5. Then he'll wake again between 6:30 and 7:30. Some nights he wakes up twice, but at least half the time it's only once. He also takes really stellar naps. He takes at least one in the morning and then sleeps almost all afternoon (waking up to eat, of course). He eats every 2-3 hours during the day and about every hour in the early evening. He eats well and fast (rarely more than 10 minutes), but has this projectile vomit thing a couple times a day where I swear he spits up the entire feed. Kind of obnoxious and makes for A LOT of laundry.

We love Seth & are having a lot of fun. It seems so much easier and fun the second time around.

Seth at (almost) 2 months

I had to get pictures for Seth's passport, so I decided we might as well take regular pictures, too, since we were already there. They turned out pretty well and it really wasn't horrible doing pictures with a baby. Seth didn't even cry until we were leaving, and we were there for an hour!

Andrew Update - 2 years 3 months

Andrew is sure growing up fast. He seems like he is going through a growth spurt and is hopefully getting taller. Maybe he can ride his bicycle soon. Changing diapers has become significantly more difficult because he can kick really hard and has strong legs. He loves to go for walks - on Sunday, it was 100 degrees out and he still wanted to go outside. He also loves to move about. He likes to have "dance parties" where he mainly just jumps around to the music. He LOVES to play hide and seek, unfortunately half the time at bedtime or when he is supposed to be asleep. This usually involves him telling you where to hide, if you are playing along. He usually talks the whole time and is not a very discreet hider. His favorite spot to hide is in the closet or behind a door or underneath a blanket.

Andrew is learning lots of new things. He is still a huge talker and what he says actually makes sense. You can actually have a conversation with him now, which is fun. There are now no secrets, though. If Katsu shows Andrew a movie in the morning while I am sleeping in, Andrew will tell, along with the movie title. His play is becoming more imaginative and more complex. His cars will stop for (imaginary) stop lights until they turn green again. He gets this cute, high pitched voice he uses when his cars or people are talking. He doesn't even need a toy as a prop - he plays with anything, his food, his vitamins, his fingers, or even thin air. He is learning about "same" and "different", his colors, and his numbers and shapes. I don't teach him these, except as they normally come up in conversation, so I'm not really sure where he's learning them from. Maybe Katsu has covert teaching moments in the morning. (Katsu says, no - I guess Andrew is an autodidact)

Andrew is a GREAT big brother. He loves to help take care of Seth. He loves to hug and kiss him. He reminds me to do "tummy time" and brings toys and talks to Seth. If Seth is crying, he tells us to come or asks to help. He will bring burp cloths and the nursing pillow to me. He repeats what we say and calls Seth cute names and will try to calm and soothe him just like we do. It is SO cute. For the most part, he is not too violent ... though occasionally he tries to bite the baby (yikes!), but usually he is just a little too rough.

Andrew still has some terrible two streaks and those toddler thing (like he just discovered the joy of sticking rice up his nose!), but he is doing really well. We started a bedtime chart with the routine on it, and this has really helped out and made Andrew very cooperative. He cleans up his toys really well now and will search the living room afterward to make sure he got everything. We labeled boxes for all his different toys so it is easy for him to pick up.

We are trying to get Andrew more independent - picking up, taking off his own clothes and putting them on, and learning how to pull down underwear and run to the potty. I can tell these tasks will be an ongoing process. We also need to be more diligent about his chore of feeding the cat.

We've had a fun month. We sure love Andrew.

Books (since March?)

It looks like I have been a little bit negligent about book posts. Plus, I forgot how much I read when I'm nursing, so the number I've read keeps piling up ... I LOVE that part of nursing (and feel so sad for people who can't seem to nurse and read at the same time). Also, this is the last week of my self-given maternity leave before I need to at least attempt to do research, so I need to eek out all the fun time I can. And blogging is fun. So, here are the books, and of necessity, VERY brief reviews (if I can remember).

The opposite of love by Buxbaum, Julie - I thought this was an interesting "chic" book that was way more intelligently written than the usual book. 2.5/4

Peony in love by See, Lisa - Not as good as her other books, I felt like this one was her trying to write a story to show off her knowledge of the opera ... though I understood it more after reading the back matter and in the end, I actually liked the book. Halfway through I wasn't so sure. 2.5/4

The lucky one by Sparks, Nicholas - I don't know why I like his books, as they are quite sappy and I feel like they are getting less original and interesting by the minute. But I still enjoyed reading it. 2/4

Lose that baby fat! : bouncing back the first year after having a baby by Chabut, LaReine - I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to putting all the exercise tips to work to lose the WAY too much weight I gained. It seems nice, reasonable and gradual. 3/4

Admission by Korelitz, Jean Hanff - I really enjoyed this book. Partially the academic bent, and also the writing style ... a little racy part in the very beginning that I skipped over, but otherwise very enjoyable. And I did not expect the ending at all. 3/4

Happens every day : an all-too-true story by Gillies, Isabel - Also really enjoyed this book. Again, the academic bent, but I just loved her voice. I loved the way she wrote. The book is sad (isn't infidelity usually?), but I still smiled and laughed and loved it. 3.5/4

Amazing baby : the amazing story of the first two years of life by Morris, Desmond - This book had some beautiful, gorgeous baby pictures, but the information was pretty routine, although I learned that newborn babies are naturally good swimmers for like the first 3 months. Fascinating. 2/4

One Fifth Avenue by Bushnell, Candace - Could not finish this book. Way too raunchy. 0/4

Wedding season by Cosper, Darcy - A "chic lit" book that was alright, but not that great. They'll probably make a movie out of it or something. It was mildly entertaining with a somewhat expected plot. 1.5/4

The size of the world by Silber, Joan - I really enjoyed this collection of short stories that are all a bit intertwined. I liked the first story least, so it is worth bearing with it. 3.5/4

How to live well without owning a car : save money, breathe easier, and get more mileage out of life by Balish, Chris - This book really should have just been a magazine article. Pretty lame - it didn't say much that I didn't already know. Plus, it was not encouraging at all for people with kids. It basically said try to get by on just one car. 0.5/4

The baby book : everything you need to know about your baby--from birth to age two by Sears, William, M.D - I think after the last two years that my parenting is probably more in line with Sears than others, so I thought I'd take a look at this book. It was pretty good. 3/4

The breastfeeding caf{u00E9} : mothers share the joys, challenges, & secrets of nursing by Behrmann, Barbara L - I actually really enjoyed this book and was really appalled at some of the stories and how little support the women got. I'm glad things are better now for most people. 3/4

The best birth : your guide to the safest, healthiest, most satisfying labor and delivery by McMoyler, Sarah - I liked this book. Most labor books seem very dogmatic, but I thought this took a more even handed look. I also liked how they said that Lamaze and such don't actually really prepare you with very good methods that actually work to achieve no-drug childbirth. I did find that their suggestion of vocalizing worked really well and I liked how geared it was to husbands. 3.5/4

The secret lives of toddlers : a parent's guide to the wonderful, terrible, fascinating behavior of children ages 1 to 3 by Murphy, Jana - I unfortunately don't remember this book much. I think it mostly talked about "weird" behavior of kids and why they do it. But I remember it wasn't that great. 2/4?

A map of the child : a pediatrician's tour of the body by Sanghavi, Darshak - I really liked this book. I learned a lot about the body and a lot about pediatricians. 3/4

Down came the rain by Shields, Brooke - Less weird than the last PPD book I read, I actually felt like I came to know Brooke and respect her some. Pretty good. But I still think movie stars have a lot more resources and a different life than the rest of us. 3/4

Life is friends : a complete guide to the lost art of connecting in person - This book really made me want to invite people over for dinner all the time. Ah, the lost art of dinner parties. What happened? Oh, right, Katsu was out of town and we had a baby. Well, maybe now.

Understanding your moods when you're expecting : emotions, mental health, and happiness-before, during, and after pregnancy by Lucy Puryear - 2 stars - the book itself was well written, thoughtful, and kind, but I didn't feel like it added a whole lot - it just described the typical pregnancy concerns trimester by trimester. I really expected to see a little discussion on feeling ambivalent about having a baby (I know this is not uncommon) or about an unplanned pregnancy and the mixed feelings that come with that (isn't that 1/2 of all pregnancies?). So not as wide ranging as I expected.

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. 2 stars. Okay, I like his books usually even though they are pretty cheesy. But I did not really like this one. The plot was SO boring and a little fantastical to me - find the love of your life like that. Sure.

Not buying it : my year without shopping - I thought this book was really really lame. Like the biggest struggle for this lady was not being able to go to the movies. I'm like, have a baby and see how that feels. Really, 50 years old, no real job, no savings, no preparation for future, really lame. And I wanted to like this book - I liked the idea of not buying anything. 1/4

Our daily meds : how the pharmaceutical companies transformed themselves into slick marketing machines and hooked the nation on by Petersen, Melody - I really really liked this book. And it definitely made me not want Katsu to ever go into pharm sales. It totally made me question the amount of money spend on "R&D" for drugs, most of which seemed more like advertising for drugs which maybe worked better than a placebo and were no better than the other drugs for the same condition. Eye-opening. 3.5/4

Unstuck : your guide to the seven-stage journey out of depression Gordon, James S. - I thought this was a very interesting book. Some of the ideas seemed a little kooky (the shaking thing), but basically it was good stuff - meditation, writing, eating right, exercising. Exercise, for people with mild and moderate depression, gets better results on improving depression than anti-depressants. And that's without adding all these other stuff. I think this book is definitely worth looking into for mild to moderately depressed people. 3/4

The feeling good handbook by Burns, David D - My therapist used some of the exercises out of this book. I think this book is a really good self-help book for people to help identify and change their negative thinking. Someday, I should buy it and work through it - it is a BIG workbook. 3.5/4

Child of mine : feeding with love and good sense by Satter, Ellyn - This is the book they recommended when Andrew had all his eating difficulties and I finally got to reading it. I think, for the most part, it was pretty good. The main message, that you decide where, when and what your kids will eat (i.e., what they offer), and your kids will decide how much and what they will eat of that. I think this division of labor is actually good in most things. Some of the particulars (like offering dessert along with the meal), I didn't love so much. But overall, a very good book. 3/4

The middle place by Corrigan, Kelly - I loved this book. I loved hearing stories about this woman's kids and her dad. I just love that kind of Irish family that she describes. And you will love the characters by the end of it too. 3.5/4

Whew - I can't believe I did it all! Enjoy!