Dear Luca,
2 and a half months…I’m a little late in writing this one. But better late than never! I’ve had to change the layout of your monthly picture because you’ve gotten too big with the old one – you didn’t fit in the frame!
So, what’s been happening, you ask?
Your sleeping patterns
I jinxed it last month when I said you slept an average of 3 hours between feeds. After I posted that you dropped to 2 hours, and it got tough. We were still getting an average of 7 hours sleep overnight though, so it wasn’t all bad.
Towards the end of the month, right when you were finishing the second development leap, you suddenly slept for a 4 hour stretch. It was amazing. I thought it was a fluke, but then you did it again the next night. Then the next. On the fourth night you had a bit of a relapse and went back to two hours, but hey, we were grateful for the nights of good sleep.
You still let me know when you’re wake with your little “eh” cries, so I can get up and get you without waking daddy. I feed you in our bed now (instead of walking down to your room) and then once you fall asleep I put you back into your bassinet. There’s a bit of a pattern forming from about 4am. You get a lot of wind in your tummy, so you grizzle and it sounds like you’re in pain. At that point daddy normally gets up and walks around with you and I pass out asleep. You and I are working on your burps overnight though, I’m hoping if I can still get you to burp even though you’ve fallen asleep that it might solve your 4am grizzle. It’s hard to keep you awake though, sometimes you just want to sleep. I get that – it’s late at night after all.
During the day you hate sleeping longer than 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes tops. I’m trying to work on getting you comfortable with your daytime sleeps. You’re getting better at accepting its nap time and falling asleep, but you still want to be in our arms to fall asleep. During the day I’ve started to move the bassinet into your nursery (which is one of the cooler rooms in the house during the day) and once you fall sleep I put you in there. If I’m lucky you stay asleep, but most times you start to toss and turn. It’s a scorching hot summer this year too, so it works in your favour to be in the cool room. Eventually we will work on your ability to settle yourself to sleep so I can put you in your cot awake and you will fall asleep. All in good time though, I’m trying not to rush anything. I just want you to sleep and give your body the rest it needs to keep going with your development!
Your weight
We weighed you in by getting daddy to hold you on the scales, and comparing that with his weight when he stands on the scales by himself. You now weigh 5.9kg! That’s 1.9kg more than last month, so you’re still keeping up the efforts with the weight gain! Good work little man!
You can see your gain in your face (you’re starting to fill out in the cheeks now) and particularly your legs. You have strong thighs, which we can see when you can already support your weight when you stand up. Amazing! We just need to be there for balance and that’s about it really. You’re going to be a strong little fella.
Milestones
This month has been fun.
- Smiles: you started smiling this month, and it’s just gorgeous. Your whole face lights up, and your eyes take on a half moon shape when you’re really happy. It’s the exact same expression of your daddy. When you smile, everyone who sees it smile with you. As you become more comfortable with it you’re smiling more, but right now the biggest guarantee for a grin is when you wake up in the morning. We pop our head over the bassinet, say good morning, and we get a smile in return. No matter how bad a night it’s been with your sleep, that smile makes everything all better. Let’s hope you never click that that’s all I need to forgive everything, otherwise you’ll wrap me around your little finger.
- Eyes: your ability to track things now is incredible. You follow us around the room with your eyes. Sometimes you follow us a little too well, and we joke that you’re judging us. I really love your eyes though, they’re one of my favourite features of yours. So alert, and expressive! Some people say they match mine, in which case I’m honoured.
- Discovering your body: You’ve started focusing on your hands, and your control is getting better. When you lay on the change table you hover your hands above your head, in fists, just looking at them. As a joke I’m trying to teach you how to bump fists. When I do it look at me with this look of amusement, it’s fantastic. You’ve started trying to reach for the toys on your play at that sit above you in the air, and even try spinning them.
- Sounds: you started discovering your voice last month, this month you’ve begun to really own it. I’m starting to work out what sounds mean what. You have a warning system you use to tell me when you’re getting tired. When you’re pissed off you make a “coo” noise in a very disgruntled tone. You’ve made some noises that almost sound like hello, and given how often we say that to you, it wouldn’t surprise me if that becomes your first word. Listening to you talk is so much fun, I feel like we can have conversations almost. Of course, I’m making up what it all means but it’s still fun.
Tummy time: you are killing it with tummy time. Your head is up high and for a long period of time too. You’re starting to move your legs like you’re getting ready to crawl, you’re just working out the arm portion of it and how you should be shifting your body weight. I love your determination! You grunt with effort, but it takes a decent amount of time before you show any frustration. Not once have you laid your head down and given up. After a while, I roll you over so you can rest. There will come a time when I will let you taste what defeat feels like, but not right now. Right now I want to encourage and support you.
Day-to-day
You’ve had your vaccinations now, which means we’ve been getting out and about a lot more. You’re meeting more people, and having more cuddles.
We’ve been going to the shops a lot more, although I’m not always great at timing it between your sleep and feeds. You’re not keen on falling asleep in the car (or the pram), so if I time it wrong you certainly let me know!
You’ve earned yourself the nickname “Luca the pooper” because your bowels are highly functioning. Last month I mentioned them, but this month you continued with some more epic moments. One time you were sitting on my lap in a shirt and shorts, the first time I’d ever put you in that outfit. It lasted maybe ten minutes tops. You were on my lap, pushed hard, and BAM. Your poop flooded your nappy, went up and over the shorts, and into mine. That’s right – I had a lap full of poop. Let me tell you, I was very skillful at getting both of us to the bathroom without dropping any on the floor.
Another day we were at the shops, and I decided to use the carrier instead of the pram. I put a change of nappy and wipes in my bag, left the nappy bag in the car (it’s heavy and I didn’t want to lug it around). You’d never dirtied your clothes while we’d been at the shops, so I assumed it would be the case here again. Well, after we arrived (and I got what I’d come for) you got hungry so we headed off to the parents room. I sat there feeding you, then the next minute felt a warmth spreading across my tummy. Sure enough you had peed through your nappy, your clothes, and then onto mine. That was a lot of pee! Obviously you’d already filled the nappy to nearly the max before that, so bad mummy in not having changed it sooner. I changed your nappy, put your clothes in a bag and put you back into the carrier. As for me, well I had no other options but to wear the pee-stained top (thankfully it was black). I walked back to the car, put you in some fresh clothes and then we drove home with another funny story to tell daddy.
How the family is doing
Well, after last month I’m starting to find my strides as your mum. It’s making things so much better that your personality is coming through. It’s fun to hang out and make you smile. The abscess I had last month cleared up and my scar looks good, so I’m happy.
I’ve just started back at the gym as a little bit of “me time”. It’s my stress outlet, and just helps me to think. I miss you while I’m there, and daddy, but this time is invaluable. A happy and healthy me is a happy and healthy mummy. It means that I continue with good habits that I can pass onto you.
Your daddy is going well. He absolutely adores you, and every day that he’s at work I send him through photos of you during the day. He misses you so much, and when he gets home his first thing to do is to come straight over to you and cuddle and kiss you. Every single thing he does is with consideration for you and I. You’re so lucky to have such a great dad (and me a great husband).
I’m trying to teach him to spend some time on things he enjoys as well, so that he’s happy too. He’s so busy trying to be a perfect husband and father that he’s not thinking about himself. You should see what he’s done this month though. We bought a camping trailer so that we can all go camping next year, and he’s been fitting it out with lighting and electricals so we can camp in luxury. He can’t wait until he gets to take you out for the weekend. He’s also been tinkering with some other little projects as well, including new lighting in your bedroom with LEDs and remotes. I can see you learning all of this from him as you grow.
Your grandparents adore you. Nana O’Brien comes around often to spend time with you so that I can do some housework and chores around the house. We managed to do a trip to Brisbane this month so you could meet all the Italian side of the family. Nonna and Nonno are infatuated with you as well. Secretly, I think they’re competing for who gets the most cuddles. They make as many trips up to the Sunshine Coast as they can so they can spend time with you, and they miss you dearly when they go home. We video call them frequently so they can see you as well. Your aunts Amy and Claire adore you as well. They recently moved back to the state so they can spend time with you, along with Claire’s nieces as well. And your aunt and uncle in Brisbane love you as well, and your cousin Charlotte. Although mark my words – she’s going to be the boss as you two grow up!
I don’t know if you can feel it, but you are surrounded by love everywhere.
Well, until next month little man. Or should I say, my rapidly growing less-little-man-every-day.
