Baby H: 18 Months of Patrick

A year and a half with our littlest boy. I cannot even believe how quickly the time is flying and how much he's growing and learning, sometimes by the day even. We love you sweet Patrick and are thankful we get to watch you grow!

He...

[+] wears a combo of 18 month and 2T clothes right now. We're slowly growing out of the 18 month size and the 2T clothes that used to be Mark's fit better than the new ones thanks to all the use/washes. He wears 7/8 in shoes and size 4 diapers. For as much bigger as he is than Mark at this age, all these "size" stats are basically the same which seems so strange to me.

[+] and again just like Mark, Pat still just has his same 12 teeth. Four on top, on bottom and one-year molars. He's definitely a much worse teether than big brother ever was so I'm hoping these next ones aren't too terrible when they decide to come through.

[+] is exploding in language right now and it's so much fun the second time around! He says... momma/mommy, daddy, Maaa-k (Mark), Ollie, Nani. Truck, blue, uppie, bank-kie (blankie), drink, paci, cheeeeese, bu bar (blue bear), book, "read that", apple, please, thank you, ni ni (good night), hi/bye and probably so many more that I'm forgetting. His most recent thing has been linking something with "mommy"... hi mommy, bye mommy, uppie mommy etc etc.

[+] knows what a dog, cow, lion/bear, sheep and fish "say". He consistently points to the picture of a fish in their shared bathroom and opens & closes his mouth over and over again which is his version of a fishy-face. He was also doing the same thing at lunch while pointing to my iced tea. We were very confused until we realized he thought the lemon wedge floating in the bottom was a fish! Kids are so funny!

[+] is obsessed with books in the last month and will spend an hour walking back and forth between you and the shelf picking out new ones. His favorite by far is Little Blue Truck and he even makes the "vrooom" and "honk" noises on the right pages. Much more than Mark ever did, he will also sit by himself just flipping through the pages by himself. But also loves to purposely rip the pages of paper books so we definitely have to keep an eye on him.

[+] legitimately fell out of his crib the other night and scared the living daylights out of this momma. He was throwing an epic fit, likely because he was overtired and we were getting ready for bed. Typically when he's really mad we ask him if he wants to go in his crib and sometimes that's what he needs to just "scream it out" until he calms himself down. Well I put him in there like we've done a ton of other times and all of a sudden I see him falling. He had pressed his belly up to the railing and somehow ended up top heavy and flipping over the edge. He fell right onto the floor, screaming even harder but thankfully was perfectly unharmed. Daddy quickly lowered the mattress down a level while I calmed him down and checked him out. Phew, please don't ever do that again buddy!

[+] on a related note he is still quite the little lover. He calls out for his blankie when he's going to sleep. He carries it around and wants to lay on my chest on the couch with it. He is starting to get into stuffed animals and carries them tucked in his elbow just like big brother. He blows kisses and gives hugs and lays his head on your shoulder. He's what makes you want another baby, that's for sure!

[+] and his big brother are starting to be quite the pair of wild things lately. They are really starting to play together and it warms my heart every single time. They play chase, jump off cushions from the couch together, and have even come up with a few of their own "games". Mark will hand Pat a broken truck put back together, Pat breaks it with all his might and they both laugh and laugh. Pat catches a ride on their mini tractor with Mark pushing him from behind. And then they yell and scream and say "NO!" and hit in the next instance. But brothers will be brothers I suppose.

[+] knows his own and other people's... hair, head, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, teeth. Tummy, arms, hands, legs, feet, piggies and toes. He calls out for bath time while he's sitting at the dinner table. He runs to get his shoes and socks from the bins in our mudroom if we say "let's go bye bye". He's also starting to sit on our little training potty when Mark sits on the big one and typically demands (but seriously, cries and cries) until he gets a treat too.

[+] absolutely loves Ollie. He always grins and points to him when Ollie comes into the room. He gives him the sweetest, most gentle hugs. He cracks up laughing when Ollie licks his hands or feet. He chases after him and always keeps an eye out for him at the back door when he goes outside. 

[+] still has the most stunning bright blue eyes. They have not changed at all since they reach their full color and they still shock me every day. His hair is also lighter than all of ours, definitely not blonde though and is stick straight. He got his second back porch hair cut recently and likely needs another one soon. 

[+] is still such a total mommas boy, sometimes not even letting me put him down without crying "mommy" over and over and over again. And yes, sometimes it's frustrating. More so for J than me most of the time. But deep down I really do love it. Mark never wanted much to do with me, and typically still doesn't either, so being Pat's "someone" is definitely something special for me.

Happy half birthday my baby boy! (only a few weeks late, ha!)

And for nostalgia sake, here's Mark's 18 month post!

Baby H: 15 Months of Patrick

It seems like these last few months have made huge changes in our littlest boy and it's been amazing to watch him turn into his own little self. Sometimes I default to thinking he's still just a baby and then he'll do something that stops me in my tracks and shows me how big he's really getting. He's the perfect fit for our family and we couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more sensitive yet full of personality little boy.

He...

[+] is still the sweetest, cuddly baby there is. He is so content sometimes just sitting with you on the couch while you rub his back and head. He lays his head on our shoulders if he's being shy and snuggles with soft stuffed animals. He still rubs his face into any soft blanket and can't fall asleep without his lovie blanket right by his face. He sits and watches TV and for the most part still doesn't fight being in the carrier which this momma loves. He's also starting to be more of a daddy's boy since I've been back to work which daddy loves. 

[+] is blossoming on the sign language and is keeping on track with where big brother was at this point which is reassuring. He consistently signs "all done" and "more" and both aren't just in the context of food anymore too which is great. He also signs "milk" especially at the end of the day when he's ready for bed, "please" which is accompanied by the sweetest little "peeeees" sound and most recently "thank you". 

[+] verbally he says dada on command along with Ollie. He also says some version of "buu baa" if he wants blueberries and he grunts and nods if an answer is "yes". He said the sound ma once a few weeks ago and I haven't heard it since and am waiting for the day on pins and needles. 

[+] knows where his head/hair, belly, ears and piggies are. He'll also put both hands covering his ears if you say "Pat can you hear me?" He points where he wants to go and what he wants. He tries to open doors and knows where his shoes are for going outside. 

[+] is finally starting to get into books and will sometimes walk back and forth between your lap and the cabinet filled with books for a good 45 minutes. He sometimes just wants to look at the pictures/flip the pages but is getting better about you actually reading them to him too. He typically hands you the book and then backs into your lap to sit and lean against you. It's so sweet.

[+] has really started throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way or screaming at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. Neither of which are very fun in general but always seem to be worse when were out and about. He absolutely hates when you take something from him, don't let him go somewhere he wants or pick him up when he wants to walk. He's also mastered the limp body, throw yourself backwards technique which just adds to the drama. And icing on the cake his scratching and pinching that we're trying desperately to stop.

[+] has been taking one nap for what seems like months now and it's awesome. Especially because it's at the exact same time as Mark naps giving us between 1.5 to 2.5 hours of peace and quite throughout the day. He typically goes down around 12:30 but is sometimes extra cranky in the hour leading up to nap depending on how his morning sleep went. He's definitely not as good of an early morning sleeper as Mark was, going down around 7:30pm and typically waking some time between 6&7am. But the nice thing is that we don't ever go get him up until 7am and he's perfectly content rolling around and playing with his lovies while he waits.

[+] has 10 teeth now and I'm hoping the last two of the bunch come through soon so we can coast for a little while. As of right now he has four on top, two on the bottom and all four molars. We're still waiting on the lateral incisors on the bottom but haven't noticed any glimpse of them yet.

[+] wears size 18mo-24mo for most clothing items, size 6 shoes and size 4 diapers. He is quickly catching up on big brother making getting them dressed/doing their laundry that much more complicated. I think we might have to switch to doing their laundry separate at some point because their clothes are already ending up in the wrong drawers/on the wrong bodies.

[+] is such a water baby just like big brother. He loves going to our neighborhood pool, splashing and crawling in the zero-depth area, climbing the stairs on the play structure and floating around in the deep end in his floatie. He also loves being on the boat at the lake except for when he's tired and fighting his boat-nap. He also went tubing for the first time on July 16th which he loved. He was stone-faced the whole time so we weren't sure what he thought but as soon as the boat stopped, he wouldn't stop signing "more, more, more" so we know he loved it. The one part of water he isn't a fan of is bath time. He's typically wanting to get out way before big brother.

[+] still tends to get constipated so we're still on a daily Miralax regimen to help him out. We've also upped his dosage as he's gotten so much bigger since we started and we were noticing there were some days it wasn't helping him entirely. There's no harm in it and so we're not worried about it at this point. Hopefully he'll grow out of it eventually and it won't be a problem anymore. 

[+] can "jump" which is just a big time squat that he stands up quickly from. He also dances like no body's business, clapping his hands, swinging his arms and stomping his feet. He waves hi/bye and often times waves bye when he's off to do something he shouldn't be. It's actually quite adorable. 

[+] is still getting two bottles of whole milk, one right when he gets up for the day and one right before bed, because after a few absolutely horrible days of fighting with him and some advice from the pediatrician, we're not pushing it at this point. The boys' new pedi has an awesomely laid back attitude and said that as long as he's getting 2-3 total servings of dairy of any form in a day then that's all he needs. And also that the 5-10ish minutes of drinking from a bottle aren't going to mess with teeth/development especially because he knows how to drink from a sippy/straw cup too. 

[+] is still enamored by his big brother and it's so fun watching their relationship grow. He will go and cuddle with Mark when they're both laying on the floor and even leans in for kisses when we ask him too. Their newest game is for Pat to push Mark over while he's sitting on the floor and they both laugh and laugh. They also run laps around the house playing chase and their giggles are contagious. Pat's starting to get feisty with Mark too over toys and cups and the like. He'll screech and run away if Mark's trying to take something or he'll scratch and try and tackle Mark if he has something he wants. Overall their interactions are awesome and I'm so glad they have each other. 

We love you Pat Pat.

Baby H: Twelve Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 23#6.5oz (81%), is 30in tall (57%) and his head is 46.5cm (63%).

[+] is wearing 12-18mo sizes for the most part. Some of his pants are 18mo because I have to pillow-case shake him into some of the smaller ones which is never a good feeling. He wears size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes.

[+] had yet again another horrible sickness month and goodness gracious it seems like they just keep getting worse. He started out the month with another horrible GI bug, was absolutely inconsolable, and just wasn't his go-with-the-flow self for a handful of days. Then he decided to top a house record and get a 103* fever at 11:30pm which broke the next day into one of the worst cases of hand-foot-mouth disease our pedi has ever seen. His poor little body was absolutely wrecked with blisters, then open sores, then peeling yucky-ness for what seemed like weeks. He was so miserable (as were we all!) and I'm so glad it's past us. Here's hoping he doesn't lose all his finger and toe nails with this one!

[+] is seriously motoring with his walker and barely puts any pressure on your hand when you help him walk but won't just do it himself yet! In the last two-ish weeks we've really been trying to work with him on walking and we've definitely made progress with him standing on his own not holding anything. But then he just sits and crawls to us instead of attempting steps, silly lazy boy! Hopefully we've got a walker on our hands soon.

[+] still points all the time and I love it. He's also mastered clapping as his version of sign language "more" and he'll shake his head back and forth when we say "no, no, no". He dances if he likes a certain song, particularly anything Justin Timberlake, and still nothing makes him laugh harder than his big brother Mark.

[+] is starting the transition to whole milk and it's not going very well yet. He absolutely hates the cold temp and also isn't taking too well to the sippy cup yet so we're having to improvise some. As of right now, he's still only using a bottle and we're trying to make his formula cooler and heating his actual milk up ever so slightly. He "drinks" four times a day, 5-7oz each time and we're gradually introducing more and more milk as the days go by. He also eats three meals with us and while he's definitely not the bottomless pit he was in the past, for the most part he'll eat everything we do.

[+] is still taking two naps, around 10am and 1:30pm and I'm not sure how much longer that will last. We have a handful of events coming up (selling the house, weddings out of town, etc etc) that might interfere with his morning naps so maybe it'll force us into dropping to one. He goes to bed at night around 7:30pm and sleeps until at least 6am but we don't actually go get him till 7am.

[+] celebrated his first birthday! We threw him a very similar party to Mark's 1st and it was such a joy to celebrate our littlest with such a perfect day. While he literally only wanted to be in my arms the whole time, we had a blast with our family and friends and without fail, this boy killed his green cake! On his actual birthday (which fell on Easter Sunday) we opened presents, cleaned the house for selling, played at the park and went out to dinner before everyone passed out in bed. I can't believe we have another one year old on our hands already!

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, stink-bug, chunky monkey

[+] likes: wagon rides, swinging, momma, eating wood chips off the floor

[+] dislikes: being sick, sippy cups of milk, getting above wood chips out of his mouth

I...

[+] find so much joy in having a momma's boy this time around! I went through so many emotions with Mark because I felt like I didn't connect with him. Either because he would reach for someone else when I held him or because I couldn't settle him when he was upset sometimes or because he still calls out to daddy more than mommy. But regardless, even if my arms are tired, I wouldn't put Pat down for anything when my arms are the only place he wants. Feeling his little face press against my neck as he turns away shy from someone else.... it's heaven I tell you!

[+] have officially matched into the family medicine residency program in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I am thrilled to have matched within the state although I'm fairly anxious to have everything taken care of for us to get there. We have to sell a house, buy a house, pack & move and arrange child care. I have to finish my online classes, re-certify for ACLS, graduate and take care of all the other loose ends life seems to be throwing us. It's a daunting process and a tough three years ahead of me but it feels so good to be moving on to the last and final stage of this whole deal.

[+] am trying to make myself a priority more and while I still haven't done a good job yet, I'm definitely making progress. I have an annual doctor's appointment set for myself and am planning on finally scheduling some dental work I need done. I have some spa gift cards I need to use before the big move and am hoping to get those set soon too. I have a number of momma-only events coming up in the next month and think that time away with girlfriends will be just what I need.

Baby H: Eleven Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 22# 8oz according to our scale at home. He's basically the most delicious thing ever.

[+] got his top right lateral tooth this month and I'm thinking it's pair isn't too far behind. His two front teeth are moving in quite nicely and goodness is it nice to have those behind us because they're seriously the worst. It's so strange seeing his grin change as his teeth come in.

[+] was basically sick for an entire month and it was the worst thing ever. From snot nose to cough to horrible GI bug this boy went through the ringer. He fought bottles, was a horrible sleeper, vomited everywhere. He eventually got to the point where we had to syringe liquid in his mouth to force him to drink in order to avoid an ER visit for dehydration. We are thankfully on the mend here and praying that was the last of it for this season.

[+] dominates at meal times which doesn't surprise us but is a nice change after his sickness. The other night he had an entire turkey hotdog, a handful of grapes, a chicken tender and part of a cheese stick. It's so nice that he's basically onto "adult food" because the extra time commitment of prepping his food is basically nothing. I have a sneaking suspicion too that he's going to dominate his cake next month!

[+] babbles all the time and makes some extra silly noises too. He's just started pointing at everything and often points where he wants to go. His little outstretched finger is the cutest. If you ask him where Mark is he'll look all around until he spots him. We're working on sign language with him and hoping he starts picking it up soon. He hates sippy cups (which might have started with his horrible liquid refusal above) and basically just bangs anything we give him on his tray in terms of utensils.

[+] is definitely our sensitive boy and this momma loves it. He will rub his face into anything that's extra soft; pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and loves to snuggle anything similar. He also snuggles with us when he's tired and often climbs into your lap just to rub his face on you. Now that he's mobile he occasionally gets into things he shouldn't and a stern "no" or "Patrick Reece" sends him into a panic. His bottom lip sticks out and he cries the saddest, tear-filled cry until you tell him it's okay. His soft little heart is the sweetest.

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, snuggle bug,

[+] likes: eating, pushing his walker, the toy stethoscope

[+] dislikes: trying to poop, being told "no", sitting in the bath

I...

[+] am working to plan this little boy's first birthday party and it's so much fun. Thankfully the process is relatively simple since we're basically just copying Mark's first birthday celebration with the same type of party, the same menu, the same decorations just in a different color scheme. On my list of things to finish includes putting letters on his birthday banner and ordering his birthday hat and I can't believe how close party day really is!

[+] have officially matched into a residency position and I am thrilled to death. At this point I know that yes, I've matched but don't know where to yet. It's definitely silly that they make you wait to know location but knowing that I have a "home" (and a paycheck) come July is amazing.

[+] am absolutely loving having two boys. Sure it's the only thing I know but it's basically the best. Now that Pat is getting more mobile and interactive, it's been so fun to see their brother relationship start to bloom. They sit next to each other playing with match-box cars. They make each other laugh like no one else can. Pat's eyes are always on Mark and Mark has recently started being concerned about Pat when he cries. I can't imagine life without the two of them and know they are making me a better person each and every day.

Baby H: Ten Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 20# 6oz according to our scale at home. He's a chunky guy for sure!

[+] is wearing a combo of 9mo and 12mo clothes which basically just means were trying to get one more wear out of his smaller sized items before moving to the bigger ones. I did a whole load of laundry of 12mo pieces of Mark's that can be pulled off for the winter (since it was July when Mark was 10mo) and it's so fun to see him in some of the same pieces big brother wore.

[+] is officially real crawling this month and is so much faster at it than his silly belly-scoot he was previously doing. He also figured out the stairs which means the baby gate is out at all times again. He loves pushing his walker toy and will literally do it for 30+ minutes once he gets started, walking till he gets stuck and then crying until you set him straight again. He also "knee walks" behind just about anything, a dump truck, a random box, a light up toy, etc. He moves with such purpose now, so curious about everything. I totally forgot how fun this stage is when their personalities start to come out.

[+] is out of his infant car seat and into the big boy ones! We got the same seats we have for Mark, different ones for each of our cars and he is so cute riding like a big boy now. We thought for a minute that he hated the one in J's car but I think it was just an off day.

[+] got his top right tooth on January 22nd and its pair on the left popped through on February 8th. It seems like it's been FOREVER since they've been making their way so its nice to have them through in hopes he starts being less fussy. His pedi thought all four on the top were making their way at his latest appointment so maybe it'll be soon that he has the lateral ones too.

[+] is getting four bottles during the day, 6oz in the morning and before bed and 5oz during the day. He's mostly drinking Enamel Reguline at the recommendation of the pediatrician to help with his constipation and then he's getting one bottle of breastmilk from the freezer. Just like with Mark, I worked to get him one bottle of breastmilk for as long as possible and we officially have enough until his first birthday which is amazing.

[+] has been battling a snot nose for what seems like forever and I think it's a combo of teething and actual colds. He's been refusing bottles lately too which is exactly when Mark started to also and again, not sure which is the cause. He's also had the saddest cough for the last few days and I'm hoping it starts getting better quickly otherwise we'll be headed to the pedi.

[+] takes two naps, at approximately 10am and 1:30pm. His morning one is usually 40-45min but very occasionally stretches to 90min. His afternoon nap correlates with Mark's nap which is awesome for some down time and typically he sleeps at least 90min if not 2hrs for this one. Except for lately thanks to teeth and a lovely cold, his naps have been crummy so we're waiting for that to get better for sure. He goes to bed at night between 7 & 7:30pm and has been frequently waking in the early mornings. We usually don't go in with him unless he's really upset and sometimes he'll put himself back to sleep. His "wake-up" time is anytime after 7am so we wait till then to get him up.

[+] has finally started "playing" with us within the last week. He raises both hands when we ask him "how big is Pat?". He ducks his head down on his arms and plays peek-a-boo. He mimics roaring and certain other sounds when we say them to him. He uses his fingers to babble with his lips and he's just started clapping.

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, chunky monkey, littlest

[+] likes: breakfast meat, "walking", playing with Mark, babbling

[+] dislikes: drinking bottles, food that's too cold, diaper changes, being told "no"

I...

[+] have again started thinking about 1st birthday preparation which is crazy. My baby will be ONE in two short months. We're basically doing the same celebration as we did for big brother, a BBQ at home with our favorite people and a delicious smash cake for our boy. I've also purchased the crafts to make his birthday banner and will be ordering his special birthday hat sometime soon just to make sure we have it in time. His invites for the party have already gone out because our April was seriously filling up and I love how they turned out.

[+] am done pumping and making milk which is a big relief honestly. I was thankfully able to keep it up pretty well while I was out of town and once I was back it got harder which is what I predicted. I did however, get enough milk into the freezer for him to have one breastmilk bottle until his first birthday. Which is a huge feat I think especially given how much shorter the process was with Mark.

[+] have officially submitted my residency match list with all my potential programs and it's exciting and daunting at the same time. It's official that I have no more control over the process and just have to wait until match day in March to find out where I'll be doing the rest of my training. Fingers crossed for top programs for me and our family!

[+] only have 6 weeks left of actual rotation which is great, on a related note to the last point. I know what 3 weeks of it is and it starts in 1 week. I don't know what I'm doing for the rest of the time yet and the timing of it might depend on what's happening with selling/buying houses and moving for residency but either way, graduation is just over the horizon it seems. I've been working on some graduation checklist type things (ordering announcements, picking a hooder, etc etc) as well as potentially party planning and I'm just excited!

Baby H: Nine Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 21#2oz (71%) and is 28 inches long (25%) with a head of 45cm (44%). He's a pound less than Mark was at a year old and still such a shortie!

[+] is finally mobile and it's so interesting to see how different his "style" is compared to Mark. He is by no means a hands & knees type crawler, instead doing this funny army-crawl/drag himself across the ground move. He also learned to go from laying to sitting which has been interesting for naps and nighttime. A few times he's pulled himself up to standing but doesn't show any interest in taking steps yet. We're working with him with the walker toy and also with holding his hands to encourage some steps. 

[+] celebrated his first Christmas this month and it was so fun to get this experience with our second boy. He by no means "got it" like Mark is finally starting to but I'll cherish all these "firsts" forever regardless. 

[+] is seriously a horse when it comes to eating. For a while it seemed like we weren't giving him new things/more adult type foods I think because of his constipation issues and not wanting to make it worse. But now that we've resorted to more of a regimen of Miralax and different formula and he's going a bit more regularly, we've opened the flood gates for him and his food. And boy does it love it all. Recently he's tried... turkey lunch meat, pieces of tomatoes, whole pieces of toast, sausage filled lasagna, mini pancakes, pineapple and breakfast sausage. 

[+] doesn't really care too much to play with toys the same way Mark used to. Of course his favorite things to play with are the toys of Mark's he shouldn't have (i.e. puzzle pieces, Lincoln-logs, etc). He also isn't nearly as mouthy with everything like it seemed big brother was at this point. Who knows what that means about teeth I guess. He's also no nearly as paci-addicted either which could be a good thing.

[+] chats all day long and it's the sweetest sound. He's conquered a number of consonant sounds including da, ba, ga but of course, not ma yet! He also has the silliest growl that is so throaty it's hilarious. We're also working on sign language with him and so far the only thing that's "clicking" is that he gets super excited and almost dances when you say and sign "more". Seriously, this kid and food! 

[+] is officially on bottles all the time now. He gets 3 formula bottles a day and 1 breastmilk bottle because we're trying to get him on one bottle of breastmilk for as long as possible just like we did with Mark. He takes either 5 or 6oz depending on the time of day and it'll be interesting to see if this helps his early morning waking. 

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, chunky monkey, baby bird

[+] likes: eating, pounding his hands on any surface, "chasing" his big brother

[+] dislikes: stopping eating, getting his face wiped, watching you leave the room

 I...

[+] am officially done nursing Pat and I am so sad about it. But an entirely different kind of sad that it was with Mark. I've loved nursing Pat and I'm really honestly going to miss it. Every day it was our special time together, time for me to relax and snuggle time, time for us to connect together. I know it was time because my supply just wasn't giving him what he needed anymore (and the 4-6am waking was proving that) but I'm still bummed it's over between us.

[+] will be pumping as much as I can in the next weeks to continue to put milk into the freezer for his once-a-day bottle because I know my milk is great for him. I do think some of my sadness from above is the idea of being connected to my pump all the time which isn't too bad when I'm gone during the day but is definitely more complicated when I'm at home. Feeding him a bottle then going to pump all while trying to play and be with both my boys. I think there's enough milk in the freezer right now to get him another month so I'm not too worried about it but I'm still going to give it my best effort.

[+] will be spending the next two weeks out of town (with the weekend between at home thank goodness!) as I complete my final audition rotation for residency programs and I can't even imagine how much I'm going to miss these boys of mine! The longest I've been away from any of them since Mark's been born has been two nights and I'll be doubling that this time around. Thankfully I'll be following this up with an entire month at home doing online classes so I'll get all the snuggles and play time and adventures I want but man, I didn't actually need absence to make my heart fonder for my guys.

Baby H: Eight Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 19#10oz as of this morning. He is such a chunk and I can't believe how close the gap between him and Mark is getting. I can't wait to see if they basically end up the same size sooner rather than later.

[+] still only has his bottom two teeth but there are days I swear when I stick my finger in there I'm going to feel a new top one popping through. His gums are all sorts of swollen up there but so far nothing's come out yet.

[+] is still battling the constipation game and we're trying to get a handle on it. After trying more diet related changes with really no improvement we've gone to the "bigger guns" as they say. He gets daily Miralax in either a bottle or mixed into his pureed food and we picked up an infant probiotic with vitamin D. We've switched up the formula he gets (even if it's just one bottle a day we'll try anything). He also gets lower fat yogurt for the probiotic effect but decreased fat content to hopefully not block him up as much. We offer him prune juice daily and are still avoiding the big constipating foods but basically can't just feed him straight prunes all day every day so we've been a bit more lax on his food choices.

[+] absolutely loves food, speaking of eating. Seriously if he cries and you feed him something he's happy as a clam. Lately he's eating purees, baby puffs, teething biscuits, halved blueberries, pieces of bread, noodles, squished avocado, bites of cheddar biscuits, greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, french fries and basically everything he can get his hands on.

[+] isn't mobile yet but I think he's getting closer. He hates being on his back at all unless he's getting over the top excitement and play from one of us. He sits playing with toys and can successfully get from sitting to laying if he tries to reach for something. He also "crawls" fairly well into our laps and over our legs but I think it's because something is helping him hold his belly up. Ha! He's also much more content standing with us, even next to furniture, so hopefully we're making some gross motor progress soon.

[+] just switched from three naps to two after what seemed like a daily struggle to get him down especially for his first nap of the day. We're actually really pleased with this schedule change because it seems like he's sleeping better and now his afternoon nap overlaps with Mark's which is a huge plus. This also means he eats five instead of six times a day either nursing or bottles.

[+] has learned to blow raspberries and it's the cutest thing ever. Fairly consistently if you blow them at him he returns them back at you. In all honesty we haven't been very good at "teaching him" things like waving hi or sign language etc etc (life with two kids problems!) so it's nice to see him picking up on stuff regardless. He also lifts his little arms up if he's sitting on the floor and you ask him "Uppie Pat?"

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, little love, buddy, chunky

[+] likes: eating, his big brother, Ollie, momma, his Zutano booties

[+] dislikes: getting into his carseat, putting on his sleep sac, being constipated

I...

[+] am still nursing Pat and the fact that I can say that is extremely rewarding. At this point with Mark he was getting mostly bottles of formula and I had officially thrown in the towel at this point. While I have a sneaking suspicion our time might be dwindling (i.e. decreasing supply) I'm so much more at piece with it. I'm hoping to give it my best effort in the next few weeks to get the supply up a bit but actually found myself thinking the first of the year might be a good time to switch exclusively to bottles and just pump as much as I can without the stress of it. Well see what happens because I still really love nursing him which is entirely different than with Mark but it feels good to be at this place.

[+] have completed all my residency interview travel and I'm both thrilled and scared at the same time. The novelty of traveling wore off relatively quickly and selling yourself on basically the most important "job interview" of your life gets extremely exhausting after a while. Now comes the daunting task of actually figuring out where I want to end up and hoping I match even somewhere (!!!) so keep your fingers crossed for me in the coming months.

[+] get so much joy being this boy's momma! He open mouth kisses me on an hourly basis when we're home playing. He literally throws himself from J's arms toward me or cries and whines until I pick him up when I get home from work. He snuggles into the nape of my neck and sometimes just wants to sit snuggled in my lap staring up at me. He is the mommas-boy I always dreamed of.

[+] am thrilled that I have changed my schedule and officially get two weeks at home with my boys around Christmas. Yesterday was my last day of my rotation and I won't go back until after the new year. Granted the month of January is set to be one of the most demanding I've had since Pat's been born but with how much I love Christmas time and this season of the year I couldn't have asked for anything better. Bring on the festivities and the Christmas music and the cookie baking and the holiday cheer!

Baby H: Seven Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 18#13oz according to our scale at home. He's so chubby and snuggly!

[+] keeps having issues with constipation relate to his solid foods we think and I'm not quite sure what to do about it. He gets all sort of backed up, grunting and crying when he tries to poo, sometimes getting a little ball of solid stuff out that I can tell is uncomfortable for him. We end up basically switching him to eating entirely prunes for a few days and he let's it all loose but then we end up in the same position again a week or so later. I'm not sure if there's something we're giving him too much of (sweet potatoes? squash? applesauce?) or if we just need to incorporate more of the good-pooping foods on a regular basis but I just feel so bad for him.

[+] Because of the constipation issues we've still only given him fruits and veggies but I'd love to start introducing the other goodies too... eggs, peanut butter, yogurts, etc. He also has no interest in feeding himself off his highchair. So far we've tried zucchini rounds, puffs and the mesh-feeder with pear inside and he just plays and throws it. Maybe we need to try something more enticing?

[+] goes to bed around 7/7:30pm and gets a feed from me around 10/10:30pm before I head to bed. He usually sleeps until around 5am (sometimes earlier/later) where he'll nurse again and is pretty good about making it till the morning then. Every once in a while he fusses earlier than we want to "start our day" and we try to just let him be in his crib but sometimes one of us ends up going into his room with him. He's by far not as good of a sleeper as Mark was at this stage but thankfully it's nothing horrible.

[+] is still nursing from me when I'm home and then getting bottles when I'm gone obviously. We've started giving him one bottle of formula throughout the day to help him get used to it and to extend the breast milk I pump for longer. So far he's doing great with it so we're sticking to this plan.

[+] absolutely loves sitting and either watching everything around him or playing with toys in front of him. He's not too fond of laying but we're trying to push it more and more in hopes we get some mobility soon. He isn't really motivated to crawl for anything in particular so his biggest "attempts" come when he's just really mad. He hasn't coordinated his arms and his legs yet, pulling up his knees while pushing the side of his head across the floor and then separately using his arms to lift his noggin with his legs straight out. I almost wonder if he'll end up a butt-scooter instead of crawling?

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, Chunky Monkey, Fat Pat, snuggle-bug

[+] likes: dill pickles (just like big brother at this age!), the walker toy, observing everyone

[+] dislikes: pooping, sleeping/laying on his back, learning to crawl

I...

[+] absolutely love being this boys momma. I'm not sure if it's the "second time confidence" or that Patrick's such a different baby but I've always felt more connected to him. Mark was a tough cookie for a long time and has never been a cuddly kid and for whatever reason, I never had the momma-son bond with him I had hoped for. Yes I love him to pieces and cherish our moments together but it's just so different with Pat and I absolutely love it. I love being the one he calms with, love having him snuggle with me, love the bond him and I have always had.

[+] am ready to not be so exhausted all the time. Most nights I get around 7hrs which isn't horrible but goodness gracious I'm still so stinking tired all the time. I typically fall asleep in the evening around 9pm just laying on the couch watching TV and many nights my alarm to feed him at 10:30pm goes off, I silence it and literally have no memory of doing so. I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes.

[+] am officially back to my pre-Patrick weight which on one hand is awesome but on the other hand my body just feels so different still that it seems like I have a long way to go still. I know a huge part of that is that I've had no "toning" routine really since being pregnant with Mark (yes I know how bad that is!). I can bet that some body weight exercises with some ab work would make a big difference for me but really, (see last point above!) that's the last thing on my mind.

And how about a little comparison shall we.

I present the Holland Boys. Both 7 months old wearing the same onesie.

One things for certain, Pat needs some hair!

Baby H: Six Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 18#3.5oz (56%) and is 26.25in long (20%) with a head of 43cm (29%). Apparently we make short babies which is still so strange to us but this guy is for sure much chunkier than his big brother was at this stage and I LOVE it!

[+] is moving towards size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes and it makes this momma sad to pack away items that I know will never get used again. I am looking forward to bundling him up as the weather cools down because nothing is sweeter than a snuggly baby dressed in flannel.

[+] officially has two teeth! The first popped through on big brother's birthday after having a tough day that we attributed to being out and about messing with his schedule celebrating Mark. I ended up putting my finger in his mouth and low and behold, there it was! The second came through exactly a week later. 

[+] still isn't sleeping through the night but for different reasons than last month. Sometimes its legitimately that he's hungry as I've been battling some supply issues recently and we can't exactly sleep train him when we know his belly needs some milk. He's also had quite a bit of congestion/cold stuff going on both from big brother passing along his cold as well as from his moving teeth and it's so sad to hear him struggling because of his stuffy nose. We're finally back to the stage of typically only waking once, quickly eating and then going back down easily so here's hoping it doesn't get worse again. 

[+] is seriously the sweetest, most laid-back, easy baby there is. He is content just sitting and watching. He puts up with toys being taken from him, being set in the bouncer while Mark needs something and all the bumps and bangs having a big brother entails. He snuggles on a regular basis, just laying in my arms wide-awake looking at me which is something Mark literally never did. It takes basically nothing to make him smile and he giggles and laughs all day long. He's the type of baby that would make you have another, he's literally that perfect. 

[+] started into the realm of solid foods this month. He's doing great with it and while he definitely has his preferences (bananas, sweet potatoes and squash) and his dislikes (looking at you peas!) overall he's a huge fan of eating. Most of the time we can't feed him fast enough before he's crying for more. He's had a pretty decent rash going on that we think is related to foods with more sugar (applesauce and blueberries) and has been getting a bit constipated sometimes but we're working through it and having lots of fun with it. 

[+] sits perfectly on his own playing with toys as content as can be. Only within the last few days has he shown any interest/progress towards crawling and I can't decide if I want him to learn or not. I want time to slow down and for him to stay little longer but also know it's going to be so much fun seeing him chase Mark around and gain his independence. 

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, Fat Pat, snuggle-bug, buddy

[+] likes: hitting surfaces with his hands, Mark, wiggling in the air

[+] dislikes: peas, being constipated, cleaning his face after he eats

 I...

[+] have been dealing with decreased milk supply the last few weeks and while I always knew there was no way I'd get to a full year, it was still a hard pill to swallow. Between Pat sleeping longer stretches at night and then not getting as many opportunities to pump on my most recent rotations, I was barely keeping up with what he was eating from a bottle and also not giving him enough when he nursed either. There was one day where I weighed all his nursing feeds and he got significantly less than what he should have. I've really been pulling out all the stops to get my supply back up but we also picked up a container of formula to start introducing too. While I know that I've done so much better with Pat than I ever could with Mark, it's still so hard and so sad to be going through this stage again.

[+] am so anxious for the next few weeks because I have 6 interviews scheduled in the span of three weeks! I'll be doing a bunch of traveling with nights away from home and while I absolutely hate the thought of leaving my boys, I'm also looking forward to getting to know these programs and starting to piece together my game plan for Match in the spring. I can't believe we're already to this point!

[+] am also anxious for the holiday season this year as I have an audition rotation (aka the more demanding type of rotation) scheduled from mid-December to mid-January and I have no idea what that means for Christmas. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's an extra blessing that Christmas falls on the weekend and that I'll get those days off but also realize that might not actually happen. Not to mention being extra busy the weeks leading up to it will make Santa visits, shopping, cookie backing, etc more complicated and I want to make sure for my boys' sake, that this Christmas is one to remember. I've always known that a career in medicine would mean holidays change I just wasn't anticipating that happening yet.

Baby H: Five Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 15#11.5oz according to our doctor's appointment this past week. He's such a chunk of a baby that he's definitely earned his Fat Pat nickname.

[+] is still 100% breastmilk fed. Now that I'm back on rotations he gets more bottles obviously but so far we haven't had to supplement with formula at all. He eats every 3 hours during the day and takes 4oz when it's from a bottle.

[+] rolls back-to-front regularly and he's done front-to-back a handful of times too. He plays with his feet, puts everything in his mouth and is getting really good at sitting with minimal support. He also can ride in the stroller without the carseat which makes walks with both boys so much easier.

[+] is no longer sleeping through the night but we anticipated that going away at sometime thanks to the lovely "four month sleep regression". Now that he's no longer swaddled we've learned that he is a belly sleeper just like big brother but the only problem is that he can't get himself off his belly in the middle of the night which usually leads to one if not way more wakings in the night. I'm also not sure if he's waking for hunger too but hopefully we don't have much more time left of the night time shenanigans.

[+] typically takes three good naps with one bad one throughout the day lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. His last nap for the day is usually the worst, typically from 6:15-7pm and I imagine he'll end up dropping it in the coming weeks/months. He typically goes to bed for the night around 8:30pm and I try not to get him out of his crib until 7am in the morning.

[+] gave us quite the scare just this past week having a completely limp arm when I picked him up from his crib one morning. He was screaming and clearly not using it and this momma freaked. Thankfully after a quick nursing session to calm him somewhat, he started moving it again but we headed to the pedi just in case. They think he had nursemaid's elbow and that he might just be more prone to it but he's completely back to normal and I couldn't be more thankful. It was scary for sure.

[+] is bald as can be which is so funny. The hair he does have is dark just like mine and big brother's but he definitely doesn't have much of it. And he's still got those baby blues that just slay this momma's heart!

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, Fat Pat, baby boy

[+] likes: Mark (seriously obsessed), the vtech cube, the frog chair

[+] dislikes: not getting enough milk from momma, being on his back in his crib

I... 

[+] am proud that breastfeeding/pumping has gone so much better this time around but that doesn't help the negativity and worry creep in every so often. Patrick goes through his share of nursing strikes and in hindsight I realize this was exactly what happened with Mark too. He'll only nurse for a few minutes and just cry and cry if I try to get him to have more. I like to think I handle it better now but every once in a while I lose my cool and end up with a screaming child in his crib while I take a breather in the other room. Pumping has been going better too and I usually can keep up with what he eats at home. Being in a hospital with the best-grade pumps definitely helps. Not to mention the less stress in general this time around. But boy is it a lot of work overall.

[+] weighed myself for the first time in about 8 or 10 weeks and am up about 10lbs from my pre-Patrick-pregnancy weight. It's so different this time around because I literally don't care in the slightest. Every once in a while I'll think about it because a shirt will fit me differently or my pants will be a little extra tight but then I have an extra cookie or put half and half in my coffee and the thought vanishes. I am so worried about losing my milk supply that cutting calories at this point isn't an option for me and while I'm sure I could fit in quick workouts at home I just don't have the motivation most days. Maybe this will change in the coming months but for now I'm happy with it.

[+] am just about to enter interview season for residency applications and while I'm excited, I'm also nervous too. Obviously nervous for the actual interviews themselves but also nervous about being away/traveling so much. Most programs host an optional welcome dinner the night before meaning I'd stay the night the evening before my actual interview and so far, I have 4 nights schedule away and one flight to a different state. I know it's what I have to do but I'll miss my babies when I'm gone.

Baby H: Four Months of Patrick

He...

[+] I'll update his measurements after his doctors appointment this Friday

[+] is wearing 3-6/6month clothes and size 2 diapers already. He is so much bigger than Mark was at this age it's insane! He's growing like a weed and I'm loving the baby chub.

[+] is seriously the happiest baby there ever was! He smiles at just about everything and everyone. He only ever fusses when he has to burp right after he eats and for the 2 minutes before his nap when the tiredness sets in. He laughs at the silliest things, lights up when he sees his big brother and is just a joy to be around.

[+] could care less about tummy time and he'll just lay there looking around when we put him like that. It's such a difference between Mark who would scream his head off. But it also means that he's far from being motivated to roll yet. A few times he's gotten himself from his back onto his side but that's all so far. He kicks his feet like a wild man sometimes and hasn't found his feet just yet.

[+] eats every three hours starting at 7am which means 7/10/1/4/7. I nurse him when I'm home and otherwise he gets around 4oz of breastmilk in a bottle when I'm not. He typically goes to bed for the night between 8:30/9pm and then gets one last feed between 10/10:30pm when J and I go to bed. Every once in a while he wake up somewhere between 6/7am but more often than not he goes all the way through.

[+] should be going to bed in his crib but this momma just can't put him down at the end of the day. He is 100% napping in his crib and does great in there through the night but that 8:30pm "bedtime" is more likely than not snuggled with me on the couch. And I have to say it's my absolute favorite time of the day!

[+] is starting to transition out of the swaddle and we haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. We tried a week in a "modified" set of long-sleeve pajamas to help settle is wild arms but we weren't noticing any progress so we decided to just go cold turkey with it. Right now he's sleeping in a pair of pajamas and a sleep sac for naps working on putting himself to sleep. We haven't stopped swaddling him at night yet and won't until his naps are better but hey, it's progress.

[+] is in the "everything in your mouth" stage which isn't a surprise. Most common items include his fingers/fists, a few random toys and our fingers when he gets ahold of one. He's a slobbery mess from it so I'll be sure to get some more bandana bibs for him soon.

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, Fat Pat and baby brother (I think we've found his names and they've stuck!)

[+] likes: the bath, his big brother, kaboom on his butt, the frog chair

[+] dislikes: having gas

I...

[+] am thrilled to say that as of right now I have kept up with pumping what he's been taking from a bottle milk-wise. It's awesome. Granted sometimes that means pumping more often than he's actually eating when I'm away and also throwing in a few sessions over the weekends but I'll take it because it really hasn't been that bad. I counted the other day and have about 40 5oz bags in the freezer and so far haven't had to "dip" into the stash.

[+] find myself purposefully having to put the idea that I'll never be pregnant/have a newborn/experience another baby out of my mind because I have a tendency to get sad when I think about it. These boys are absolutely perfect and our family is perfect with them in it but it's such a strange feeling being done with this "stage" of life. (I know, I'm so so dramatic. Thinking done when I only have a 4mo old!) I think some of it has to do with Pat coming as early as he did so I didn't get to cherish those last few weeks being pregnant but it's still just an odd feeling.

[+] am thankfully doing okay being gone more often this month on my current rotation. Technically it's Mon-Fri typical hours but most days were done in the early afternoon and the schedule changes quite often making the weeks fly by. I hated the 45min-1hr drive that first week but I've gotten more used to it as the days go by. Plus I checked out an audio book, The Girl on the Train, and it's actually been refreshing "reading" something for fun.

Baby H: Three Months of Patrick

He...
[+] weighs 13#9oz according to our scale at home but we won't get a length or head measurement for another month. Mark didn't weigh 13# until he was 4 months old so all this chunk on Pat makes me so happy!

[+] is officially sleeping in his own room and completely in his crib. He's been napping in his room from the beginning and we wondered if it would make him sleep better at night if he was away from us. We used the same method as we did with Mark to help him transition to his crib and it didn't take him long to make the switch. He's still swaddled which will be another battle to deal with I'm sure but it's working for now.

[+] goes to bed around 8:30pm, gets a dream feed around 10:30pm when we go to bed and usually sleeps until 7am! It's been glorious (and yet we still find ourselves tired some days, ha!). Some mornings he'll fuss around anywhere from 5:30 on but if he does it usually just means we rock him a bit and he'll sleep till morning. He hasn't gotten fed in the middle of the night in forever minus the one night he broke free of his swaddle and I couldn't get him settled until I fed him.

[+] eats every 2.5hrs during the day still and while I'd love to start spacing out his feeds to 3hrs, we're keeping it the same for the sake of my milk production. I'm worried about how transitioning back to "work" is going to affect my milk supply (on top of not feeding him during the night anymore too) so dropping a feed isn't something I want to do just yet.

[+] went to his first weddings this month and was such a good little guest. His first included a Greek ceremony in the church and he didn't make a peep which I was thrilled about because of how much it would have echoed. The second included a trip to Seattle where we got to play tourists for a few days on our first "vacation" as a family of four.

[+] is still a great nurser (most of the time) which I think is huge for my milk supply and my relationship with him. He's also started getting bottles as I transition back to med school life. We offer him 3.5oz each time which I think is on average what he gets from me and while he sometimes has a hard time taking the bottle, overall it's been a fine switch for him. Obviously I want him to eat well when I'm gone but it is nice he doesn't LOVE the bottle because it means he'll nurse well from me when I'm home still.

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, Fat Pat, chunky, baby brother, Sir

[+] likes: baby talk, watching big brother, Ollie, his swing and bears

[+] dislikes: getting dressed, picking at his dry skin/cradle cap, being hit by his brother

I...

[+] have started back on rotations for my 4th year this month and it's been an interesting transition for sure. I'm in a pediatric clinic which is both good and bad for this momma. Good because the doc I'm with only works 3 days a week leaving me plenty of days off to spend with my little family. And also because his offices are close to home making the commute easy. Bad because all the babies in the office make me miss both my boys so much. And also because I'm getting spoiled with this schedule knowing I have a "typical" Mon-Fri rotation coming up that also happens to be an hour (or more!) away from home.

[+] am so glad I get to be a boy mom. There is not a single fiber in me that wishes I had a girl. These boys are so fun and so sweet and I know I'm going to learn so much being their momma. There will be lots of messes, plenty of fights and bumps & bruises, many adventures and I am so looking forward to all if it with these two. Not to mention I get tears in my eyes imagining dancing with each of them on their wedding days someday in the future!

[+] forgot what a pain in the rear postpartum hair loss is. The last week or so it seems to have ramped up and it's horrible. There are some times where my hairs been in a bun/braid for a few days and I shower and literally feel like I'm going bald it's falling out so much. I'm horrible at taking my prenatal vitamins which I'm sure would help but goodness gracious. Maybe I need a mom-chop?

Baby H: Two Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 11#15.5oz (41%) and is 22 in (10%) long with a head of 39cm (45%). It's very baffling to J and I why both our boys are shorties since neither of us are "short" (I'm 5'4") or come from short families.

[+] has a little bit of a flat spot on one side of his head we need to keep an eye on. He prefers to lay looking right and the way J and I both holds him promotes him laying on that same spot too but luckily it's nothing too bad. He also has a bit of an umbilical hernia which I noticed even before our doctor confirmed it (and you can see it in the above picture). Again, thankfully, it's nothing to be concerned about now and we'll discuss it if it doesn't close by the time he's 4 years old.

[+] switched to size 1 diapers around 6 weeks because he was consistently blowing them up and it seemed like they were getting too tight around his belly. We're definitely a Huggies family around here. He also moved into 0-3 month clothing right around the same time and it seemed like both transitions literally happened overnight. This boy is definitely getting big fast it seems!

[+] has started social smiling and it's the best thing ever! And he's not stingy with those gummy grins either. Momma, Daddy, Mark, both grandmas.... it doesn't take much to get some good ones from this happy boy. He's also started to find his voice and Grammy said she heard him giggle in his sleep once!

[+] had a bout of what I think was foremilk-hindmilk imbalance for a few days. He was seeming extra fussy and extra gassy for a few days and hadn't had a good dirty diaper. Then when he finally did it was way more green than it had ever been and seemed almost watery. A quick google search lead me to believe that's what we were dealing with and it made sense after looking back at our feeding logs. I made a conscious effort to change our feedings slightly and within two days he was back to normal!

[+] went on his first plane rides this month to celebrate Auntie's graduation in California and was a great traveler. I wore him in the ring sling through the airport, nursed him when and where I needed to, he took naps on the plane and didn't make much of a peep the whole time. The place we stayed had pack-n-plays for both boys to sleep in and he did surprisingly well in it. He went to the beach, toured the college campus, sat in many restaurants and was such a perfect boy.

[+] got his first sunburn on our trip to CA and I felt horrible about it. Graduation was outside and it was a cloudy, perfectly warm day and he napped soundly in my arms through a big portion of it without trouble. Until we woke up the next morning and realized one half of his face was red. #momfail

[+] still sleeps in our room at night and I'm honestly not sure when we'll move him which is so much different than with big brother Mark. After our vacation and him doing so well in the pack-n-play I decided to get ours out and give it a try instead of the rock-n-play. So far he isn't sleeping any worse (or better) in it so we'll stick to it for now. He still naps in the rock-n-play in his room and is still swaddled anytime he sleeps (except in the carseat/wrap/etc obviously).

[+] he goes to bed around 9pm, wakes twice in the night to eat, usually around 2am and 5am, and we start our day somewhere between 7 & 7:30am. We stopped doing the 10/10:30pm feed before we went to bed because it wasn't making a difference with how long he'd sleep but I'm wondering if we should start doing it again. He still eats every 2.5hrs during the day and is such a good nurser which I am loving. Occasionally I'll do weighted-feeds with him just to see how much volume he's taking and it varies between 2.5 and 4.5oz depending on the feed.

[+] officially has blue eyes for now and they are both gorgeous and shocking. Never in my life would I have imagined I'd have a blue eyed baby boy! The pedi told us that most of the time, eyes his color blue stay that color so we shall see.

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, baby brother, buddy, little love

[+] likes: baths, nursing, his swing, big brother, being held upright

[+] dislikes: when we make him stay awake, initially being swaddled, getting dressed

I...

[+] am still loving nursing my little boy which brings me so much joy especially how things ended up with Mark. Patrick is a great nurser and I'm definitely experiencing "the bond" I desperately longed for the first time around. And in even better news, we've officially been shield free the last month (except for a rare few feedings where I used it to help slow my milk down). The only trouble we've dealt with in the last month has been managing my fast let-downs causing him lots of gas issues but with some different positioning and him getting bigger and stronger every day I think the issue is behind us now.

[+] unfortunately ended up with a whole slew of new stretch marks from this baby boy that I'm really not happy about. I knew a few of them where there while I was pregnant but they have definitely made their (dark, purple, wiggly) appearance since he's been here. They're all below my belly button which makes sense since he was so stinking low for so long and means I'm the proud new owner of a one piece swim suit for the summer. Thankfully my girlfriends all told me I was like a pin-up girl in it because it definitely makes me feel like I have a total mom-bod! Here's hoping I'll someday get back in better shape and the marks fade with time.

[+] went out of town to Philadelphia for an exam for school and was away from my baby (and my big boy and husband) for two nights and it was so much harder than I anticipated it being. One reason being I don't even remember the last time I was alone for as long of a stretch as that. Maybe before Mark was born? And the second reason being that leaving my baby was so, so tough. Sure I missed J and Mark but I literally cried in my hotel room looking at pictures of Patrick because I missed him so much. I said it in his last update but I feel so much more connected to this boy, he's definitely turning into a mommas boy, and leaving him was such a struggle.

[+] have TONS of milk in the freezer and it's such an awesome feeling seeing it all in there. In relation to my trip out of town I knew I needed to have a ton of milk stored for when I was gone with the assumption that I'd be replacing what he ate with what I pumped. Well, not only did I exceed my goal for what I "needed" for the time I'd be away but I also pumped more than he ate leaving us with a surplus. Having the extra in the freezer eases so much stress about my upcoming return to med school & pumping life.

[+] have been at home on board study month the last few weeks and while it's been so nice not having to actually GO anywhere, it's also been hard too. It's hard to make myself sit at the table and study. It's hard to be motivated to get work done when Patrick has a particularly tough night. It's hard to not want to snuggle him when he wakes early from his nap. It's hard not getting to play and go on adventures with my big boy. But I guess I should have known having two babies in med school was going to be hard, right?

Baby Pat-Pat, you are such a dream baby and I couldn't imagine loving you more. You are the perfect missing piece to our family puzzle and I can't imagine our life without you in it. Thank you for making me a momma for the second time, thank you for flashing me gummy grins on my worst days and thank you in advance for putting up with all your big brother's shenanigans. Life with you, sweet boy, has already been so grand, I can't wait to see what's in store in your life. xoxo, Momma