Asa is two months old

Oops, somehow a whole month has gone by since I posted. Asa is now two months old! He continues to be a really sweet, happy, and mellow baby, and for that I am so grateful. I cannot imagine having a 2 1/2-year-old and a really fussy or colicky baby. We are actually doing pretty well in the sleep department, too. Asa has synchronized his sleep schedule with Ewan's amazingly well. He usually takes a massive nap in the middle of the day when Ewan does, so that I actually get to nap, too, and/or have some time to myself. We also have the best little bedtime ritual during which we get both boys ready at the same time, then all four of us climb into our bed together. Troy reads a few books to Ewan while I'm nursing Asa, then we switch boys, turn off the lights, and Asa falls asleep cuddling with Troy and sucking on his pacifier and Ewan falls asleep cuddling with me. They are usually asleep within minutes of each other, then we transfer Asa to the co-sleeper, and done! Yes, Ewan is still in our bed, and sometimes I think it would be nice if we had the type of kids we could just kiss goodnight, put in their beds, and let them fall asleep by themselves, but mostly I am grateful for this sweet family cuddle time. And both boys are sleeping pretty well during the night. Asa usually has a stretch of at least five hours at the start of the night and then wakes up every couple hours or so after that. He almost always goes back to sleep immediately after nursing and a quick diaper change. Sometimes he'll have a bit more trouble as it gets closer to morning, which is usually when I bring him into bed with us. He also likes to sleep late in the morning and naps so much more than Ewan ever did. I think if we didn't also have Ewan, we might actually be fairly well rested. But I'll wait to throw a big party over the sleep stuff if we make it past four months and are still doing well. (That's when Ewan's sleep totally fell apart.)

Enough about sleep (such a huge topic with two young kids!). What else can I say about our sweet little guy? He is smiling and cooing up a storm, which is always enough to overturn any kind of bad mood I may be in. He has a big dimple on his right cheek when he smiles, the opposite side of Ewan's dimple. His primary goal in life seems to be to find his thumb (or maybe actually to fit his whole fist in his mouth). I was feeling sure he'd become a thumb sucker, but in the last few days he's really taken to the pacifier. Either one is fine with us; I'd just love for him to find some way to self-soothe, since Ewan was never really soothed by anything but nursing.

Although the last month has mostly been smooth, we have hit a few health-related bumps in the road. I won't talk much about the main issue because I am hopeful it has resolved itself; I'll just say that we've had several unanticipated doctor's appointments for Asa and a couple minor procedures that were not fun for any of us, but hopefully that's all behind us. Asa also currently has his first cold and cough, just in time for my return to work today. I would have had a much harder time going back if we had to put him into daycare right away, but thankfully my mom, dad, and sister are here for the week, and my mom is staying for an additional two weeks to watch him and help with my transition back. Although I'm not excited to be back at work, having her around has helped me feel so much better about it. And today went really smoothly for all of us!

We have Asa's two-month doctor's appointment on Monday, after which I'll post his stats. I do know from other recent appointments that he weighs around 14 pounds already, which is what Ewan weighed at this age. My back is killing me already, but I'm so glad that he's nursing well and gaining weight. And all that adorable chub is impossible not to love!

So that's our big two-month-old for you. Besides the medical stuff, everything has gone more smoothly than I ever imagined it would, but I guess there's always something. And of course we have our difficult moments, but we're having a whole lot of fun, too.