Dear Joshua,
Yesterday you turned two months old. Oh child, it is so obvious that you are our second. We let you cry a little more than Julianna did. We understand your cries a lot more than we understood your sister's. You have hand-me-down everything. This letter is late (as most of them probably will be). We are just different parents. Of
two kids. And you are a happy baby.
I guess I have to go ahead an apologize to you for something I'm certain you'll deal with your whole life. It is almost impossible to not compare you to your sister. We'll always love the two of you equally, but we can't have an experience with you and not think of a similar experience with Julianna or be reminded of the way it was with her. Sometimes the two of you are the same and sometimes you are as different as can be. She was our first baby and now you are our first baby boy. You are both unique individuals and you are both loved tremendously.
Anyway Buddy, you are HUGE! We haven't gone for your two month check-up yet due to the holidays, but we'll go next week and find out how much you weigh. I'm guessing around fourteen pounds. You are so long, but in a different way than Julianna was. Your torso is extremely long while her length was in her legs. This gives you much chubbier thighs than she had at your age. Oh the rolls! I love them. One thing I almost cannot believe (but will probably have trouble forgetting) is that you're wearing 6-9 sized month clothes at only two months. We've already had to remove the U-shaped baby head rest in your car seat because you just don't fit in it or need it anymore.
I suppose we'll have to wait to see if you can handle your shots as well as your sister does.
You smile and laugh all the time. You are generally content every time you wake up and you give us the biggest grins automatically. My favorite part about your smiles is when I just lay you down horizontally on the boppy pillow you instantly smile from ear to ear and your fat cheeks turn red from happiness.
We've given you a few bottles of breast milk now and we let Julianna do the honors with the first one. You hesitated a little bit each time at the beginning, but eventually catch on and don't object. You eat very well and I have learned to easily tell when you are satisfied (one of my greatest challenges with your sister who I felt used me for a pacifier). You still haven't had formula since the hospital and I hope it stays that way for a long time.
Earlier this month I had a nasty run-in with mastitis. I woke up one morning after you'd given me a pretty good night's sleep and I knew instantly that something wasn't right. I was in a lot of pain and you couldn't latch on. I thought I'd give it a few feedings to see if it wasn't just engorgement from you going so long without nursing. Unfortunately, I started getting body aches and running a 102 degree temperature so I started antibiotics, fed you often, and things were back to normal in a few days. You, me (and the Zoloft) make a good team.
You're sleeping usually from 10pm to 4am and then again until 7 or 7:30am. I can't complain too much. You love the paci, unlike your sister. You don't even mind the pink ones. Whenever you're up against someone's shoulder you constantly lick their shirt if you don't have a pacifier in your mouth.
Your eyesight has greatly improved and you are turning your head in the direction of voices. All we have to do is just speak in your general direction and you will break into a HUGE grin, shake your head back and forth furiously, and nearly wiggle your arms and legs right off in excitement. You can even push off with your legs now like you're wanting to roll over. You absolutely HATE your car seat though. You would much rather be carried in the sling or the front carrier and when you have to be in it in the car you scream the majority of the time. The only time you have fallen asleep in the car and stayed asleep was when we drove to the NC Zoo the other day.
Mostly you are an easy baby. On Thanksgiving Day so many people were holding you and passing you around and after a while of it you just wouldn't go to sleep and wouldn't stop crying. I kept saying that I thought you were just tired, but every time we'd get you to sleep you just wake up again and scream. Finally we figured out that you were just tired of being held. You've even fallen asleep and stayed asleep a few times on your own, something I don't believe Julianna ever did at two months old.
Josh, I cannot believe how fast your first two months have gone by. I think - no, I'm
sure I said that with Jules, but I believe it's so much more true with you. Because I am enjoying you as a baby more and because I'm not a new mother anymore and because I'm actually throughly enjoying being the mother of an infant, it seems like the time is just zooming by. I'm afraid that I'll blink and you'll be packing for college.
Thank you for making me feel like a wonderful Mama. Thank you for loving me for loving you. Thank you for being content to just be my precious baby boy.
Love you,
Mama
