Behind the Scenes with a Two Month Old!

Archer is 13lbs 13.5oz (probably over 14lbs by now…half of which is all in his chins), 23.5″ long and has a head in the 90th percentile (for his giant brain of course).
He’s not on a schedule yet but we’re getting into a routine that works about 50% of the time – he’s an every other day baby as I like to say.

I cut dairy out of my diet this month after we saw some symptoms that Archer couldn’t handle it. It’s really unnerving to realize something I was eating was hurting my baby and I had no idea! Honestly, I don’t miss queso and mac and cheese and pizza unless I really think about it. No really, I’m fine. *wipes tears from keyboard*

Just kidding. I’ve found lots of ways to adapt and am excited to share more recipes and snack ideas with other moms out there dairy free and nursing. That’s been the hardest part – being starving all the time and having no idea what’s safe to eat.

Gear We Love: My husband is on staff with a ministry called Young Life that works with high schoolers. As a result, we go to a lot of pep rallies and football games and other loud places. Archer hasn’t been to a football game yet but we love these headphones for pep rallies! He totally slept through an entire Halloween pep rally the other day wearing these!

He’s starting to love the crinkly baby paper! He’s still not grabbing anything so the crinkling is all on me but he’s definitely entertained!

We were given this funky little toy as a gift by accident – my niece opened it in the store before they left so they tossed it in with our gift. I put it aside and didn’t know what to do with it. I saw it in an ad recently how it’s one of the few toys you can use from 0 months and up. I did a little googling and found out how to use it! Their website talks about all the developmental benefits (who knew?!) and so far, Archer really likes it!

We’re still nursing exclusively and introducing a bottle slowly but surely! Obviously he’s getting enough to eat, ha! We’ve been using these bottles and he’s been taking them pretty well!

We’re loosely (and I mean looooooosely) following the Mom’s on Call method to get on a schedule and establish a routine but like I said earlier, it only works every other day. He’ll sleep consistently in 3-4 hour stretches at night and will push to 5 a few nights a week. I still nap when he naps most of the time during the day.

We’re in size 2 now as of last week! We switched from Pampers Swaddlers to Baby Dry and I’m not a fan. Definitely going back to Swaddlers after this box to see if those are better. They supposedly last for 12 hours but they seem to swell up much more quickly and he obviously doesn’t like them either.

Still using the same Huggies Natural Care wipes and loving them! We had our first experience with diaper rash this month since I wasn’t convinced the diapers were too small and kept putting him in them…whoops. We used the Beauty Counter diaper rash cream and I ALWAYS use this nifty little tool.

Archer: Still in 3 month! Squeezing into most 0-3 month sized clothes but not for long! We had our first cold front this month and I had a moment of “OH MY GOSH WHAT SHOULD HE WEAR?!” Luckily, a blanket covers a multitude of sins and it’s Texas so the cold days are few and far between. He got his EarWells off so hats are back in the game and it’s ten times easier to put onesies over his big ol’ head. He got to wear his fancy outfit (that includes suspenders) twice this month to his first wedding and to our Young Life Banquet! He’s such a dapper little baby man. 🙂

Mom: Slowly but surely cleaning out the maternity clothes (mainly because they’re all summer clothes and not helpful right now). I’m unbelievably thankful that “athleisure” is a thing so I can wear all the leggings I want. Speaking of which, I’m obsessed with these high waisted leggings from Zella, these slip on sneakers from Steve Madden (that I had to order a half size bigger because I’ve come to terms that my feet may not go back to the way they were) and these joggers from Nordstrom’s.

I returned a huge stack of unread, overdue library books this month. So that was an expensive bummer. I really want to get back into reading but it’s so hard to focus long term – like as soon as Archer falls asleep, I just zone out for a little bit.

The weather has been much nicer so we’ve been on a lot more walks! I’ve been hitting my FitBit step goals for the first time since mid pregnancy! I got the “yay you did it!” alert on my FitBit last week and thought my battery was dying…that’s how unfamiliar I am with hitting my step goal.

I’m easing into working out more, it’s been pretty easy with a 14lb baby, I just throw some squats in while I hold him!

Lessons Learned this Month:

– Postpartum Anxiety doesn’t set in right away. Everyone makes it sound like if you are going to struggle with Postpartum depression or anxiety, it will hit you right away. So when I made it through the first month I thought I was in the clear. But honestly, it took two months for the overwhelm to hit me. I was able to power through during the first month and I don’t think I even stopped to think about how overwhelmed I was until this month. And that’s okay. It’s hard because this is usually when people start to feel normal and scheduled and life becomes more predictable. But I feel guilty for just now feeling overwhelmed. Now, I don’t think it’s specifically Postpartum Anxiety since I had anxiety pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy as well, but anxiety nonetheless.

– It’s awful to see your baby in pain From realizing that my eating dairy was making Archer uncomfortable to watching him get his shots (which I sobbed through right along with him), I realized how much my heart cringed when he was in pain.