Eight weeks

George is coming up on eight weeks now and continues to thrive. He's growing like a weed. At his six week check-up he weighed 13 pounds 5 ounces, so I'm guessing he's closing in on 14 pounds now. This kid is huge! Charlotte was big, but I think at two months George is going to be roughly the size that Charlotte was at three months. The cloth diapers we used for both kids come in two sizes, the first up to 15 pounds and the second 15-35 pounds: we switched Charlotte up to the second size at three months and I just switched George up to the larger size today. He's not at 15 pounds yet but he's close enough that the larger size works better. He usually only does five feedings a day, but he's obviously getting what he needs!

George is smiling and starting to coo and "talk" more and more. He's pretty relaxed and low maintenance. After he feeds, he'll usually be awake and content for about 30-45 minutes before starting to get tired and fuss. He likes his tummy, and he fell asleep on his tummy a couple of times in early days (unlike Charlotte, who hated "tummy time"), so we started putting him down for naps on his tummy occasionally: against medical advice, I know! I was definitely more paranoid/conscientious the first-time round... Then, over the past week, I discovered that the solution to a problem we were having with him rousing from his naps after only half-an-hour was to put him down to sleep when he was awake rather than rocking him to sleep. This problem was especially bad when he'd be up to feed at 4:30 in the morning, after a long sleep stretch, and I could only manage to get him back to sleep for half-an-hour before he'd be up again. We've been putting him down awake for some of his naps for awhile now, but I hadn't tried this at night. So a few nights ago, when he was clearly tired and wanting to sleep, I put him back to bed while he was still awake and after a few minutes of fussing he fell back to sleep for close to four hours! It's continued to work since, so fingers crossed that this pattern persists.

Smiles.

Cousins

I've been doing a lot of baby-wearing with George. We did some with Charlotte too, but used the stroller a whole lot more. Early on baby-wearing seemed to help George settle. I'm not sure if it helped his gas pain, or if he just found it secure and comfortable. Whatever it was, it worked, and I've continued to go to it as a pretty sure way to get him to sleep when he's fussy, especially in the early evening when he needs another nap to get through the day but has a difficult time falling asleep. I've also found it practical since it allows me to have my hands free to help Charlotte with various things, make meals or do housework, while still keeping George close. George routinely has one nap a day in the carrier while Charlotte and I go to the park, run errands, or do some other activity. One other reason for all the baby-wearing is that Charlotte is not keen on sharing "her" stroller. I think we'll probably pick up a double stroller soon, but for now the baby carrier is working well.

Charlotte is doing well. She's still not overly interested in George, although she's gentle with him. She's become a very imaginative little girl, and most of my day is spent having conversations with her personifying her stuffed animals and dolls.She tests her limits and pushes our buttons not infrequently these days, as I imagine most nearly-three-year-olds do, but she also loves to laugh and spontaneously tells us she loves us. We hear our words echoed in her conversations with her stuffed animals; reassuringly, it's usually positive. Charlotte has learned many of the letters in the alphabet by playing with fridge magnets and reading books. She likes visits to the library - especially when we take the bus. Socially, she's interested in other kids but is shy about engaging with them. Some of her very favourite people are her grandparents, and she's enjoyed some quality time with them over the past couple of months, with more visits coming soon.

Everything tastes better outside.

Our first visit to the Leg this summer.

Happy Canada Day!

Fun with Granny.