Two Months Old

On February 16, our little boy turned two months old! As he is growing, so are Greg and I both as parents and individuals. Or maybe we are just trying to keep up!

The first part of this month was unfortunately characterized by a nightly 'witching hour' where Will would weep and wail for 2, 3 or even 4 hours at a time. Greg caught the brunt of this as it usually began about supper time when Papa takes him to give Mama a break. We learned from other parents and websites that this is a pretty normal feature of infant development, and may last until month 4......but say it ain't so! As William's tears were mostly related to gas and we learned some exercises to help him pass it, and we jiggled and soothed and rocked and sang and walked....he has been doing much better in this last week so hopefully we are through the worst of it.

These rocky nights are more bearable as he is usually a lovely little guy during the day. He is smiling a lot and making gorgeous cooing noises. He is more interested in the world around him, and his favorite things to stare at are lights and book cases! He also likes his little toys and is beginning to reach for them himself. He loves to lay in his crib and 'talk' to his Peter Rabbit pictures. He can hold his head straight up, and has strong legs as well. He definately prefers to be out and about! We have visited Greg's office, and gone out to playdates which is really nice for Mummy. We played our first game of peekaboo while getting changed the other day, and he has graduated to being bathed in the big bathtub as his legs were getting too long for the kitchen sink. Most of his newborn clothes no longer fit, and the other day he wore a gorgeous blue velvet outfit that I bought for him when I learned I was having a boy. He also recently did a half roll....his stationary days are numbered I wager. He is quite social, and helped Daddy to celebrate his 42 birthday.

At his last check up William weighed 5.5 kilos...over 12 lbs! All this growth requires a lot of fuel, so he has been a very hungry little fellow; at times he eats every 20 minutes! This can be a little hard on Mum, but a good feed is often followed by a good sleep, so that helps. He typically eats at 1 am, 3 a, 6 am and 9 am but lately has been giving up his 1 am feeding, allowing Mum a little more sleep.

We feel a little more confident going out with William now and so have done 2 driving trips in our new-to-us Renault. We went to Fontainebleau Castle a few weeks ago, which was very opulent. Will did well until the trip home when he cried himself into vomiting...not fun. Next we went to Chartres to see the famous cathedral. This trip home went better as when he started to fuss we sang. He prefers zippy tunes and he even giggled when we sang 'the Happy Wanderer' (appropriate, yes?). Last weekend we took him with us to a movie which caused a bit of consternation with the French viewers, many who said they never saw a baby at a theatre before! They were relieved that Will stayed asleep after a good feed (so were we!).

This growth in William has mirrored the growth that Greg and I are experiencing as parents. We feel a little less green (both literally and figuratively)and better understand what he needs. We recognize his "hungry cry" or know when he's bored to go for a walk. Thanks to friends and visiting Nana, we have managed to get out for a few dates, even though we continue to miss all the time we had together before. Greg is a wonderful father, and I am starting to relish my new job as "Mum".