Bennett at Two Months

Well, Bennett Boy, we've reached two months. I am still amazed that you have been with us that long. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to convince Daddy not to call the doctor because these evenly spaced periods of immense discomfort I was having were nothing more than gas pains. Not so. It was you, preparing to make your two week early entrance into the world. You must know that as an early bird, you are the only one to carry that torch in this family. Oh, I try to convince myself that I am one, but the sad truth is that I want to be one and am working hard to be one, and compared to the others in our little nucleus, I am one, but it is you who must be the one to drive this family to be on time. I know that's a big responsibility for such a little guy, but I have no doubt you can do it, and, much to your father's frustration, I will be there to help you every step of the way.

At two months, you are amazing your father and me. We have no guage for infants other than your older brother, and compared to him at this age, you are a monster. You have gained weight like a champ from the beginning. Other than a slight bout of a latching on problem, you have been a terrific nurser. You eat every 3 or 4 hours, except in the later afternoons, when you would be perfectly content to hang on to me non stop, although I think I can honestly say, "It's not you. It's me." Despite the fact that you eat voraciously, I don't think that you get quite as much as you do earlier in the day. To be fair, and to reveal a secret, as long as Daddy gets home early, I am perfectly content to sit there and snuggle with you for as long as it takes. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen, but I treasure those times when it does.

You have really started to turn on the charm in the past three weeks. You are very generous with your adorable smiles. It warms our hearts every time we see that dimple appear. Daddy and I both have to make fools of ourselves to get you to smile, but Reeves just has to look at you or pat you on the head or tummy to coax a smile and a coo from you. You are beginning to fall in love with your older brother, and I am so happy to see that. Reeves, likewise, loves you, although he doesn't always show it in the most gentle ways. But you're tough and seem to be able to handle his "loving you". He has started to help me burp you which is cute, and, as you are not an easy child to burp, I actually appreciate his help because, like your smiles, you will give it up for him much faster than you will for me or Daddy. He must have some special touch.

For the most part, you are a predictable baby. You only (mostly) cry when you are wet or hungry or tired. In a mixed blessing, you are often wet. I say this because, given my family's history with kidneys, I am so thankful to see yours working so well, but a lot of times, they work so well that your diaper can't contain their productivity. I can't count the number of times I have picked you up only to realize your entire backside is soaking wet. And of course, there are the times you prefer to empty yourself without the benefit of a diaper. It is quite an impressive fountain. Just this week you made it up and over your head onto the floor. Needless to say, we have been doing a lot of laundry around here.

We are still working on your sleeping through the night. Three nights ago, you gave me a blissful 6 and a half hours. I was so happy and nervous about it that I didn't even mention it to anyone for fear that it would not repeat itself. Well, I should have screamed it from the mountaintops because these last two nights have not been so quiet. But you're getting there, and I really feel that once we can get Reeves permanently into his Big Boy Bed and you into your crib, I will again know the feeling of being well rested.

We worked on getting you to hold you rattle this week. You did pretty well, and I think even realized that it was your arm movements that made it make noise. This lasted until you whapped yourself in the face with it. You weren't so interested in it after that. Thank heavens for your short term memory because we will be working on it again today.

You are pretty good at holding your head up and can go for almost a minute. We put you in the Bumbo seat. I think you liked it until the weight of your head exhausted you and you demanded to be out of it. I don't want to rush these precious early days, but it will be nice to be able to put you in that seat soon.

There's so much more to say, but my mind's awash with gushy feelings of love for you so I'm afraid if I go on, I'll just get too sappy, even for a mommy. In the weeks before your arrival, we were having so much fun with Reeves that I wondered how it could be possible to love someone else as much as we love him. I was dreading the first few sleep deprived months, but then you came, and my heart doubled in size. You are such a blessing to us. You have even made me love these first months, despite how hard they are. We love you so much and are so lucky to have you here with us.