2 Months Old

Today Henry had his 2 month well-baby checkup. Our little (big) guy weighed in at 14 lb. 7 oz. - about 2 pounds over my estimate... shows what I know! He is 25 inches long! Both vital stats off the chart, but proportionate to one another. He received several immunizations and of course screamed his head off. That's no fun for anybody! However, he calmed down very quickly after I picked him up.

Speaking of which, the little guy is very clingy to me. I've been trying to figure out just how to describe his personality differences from Lucy - he is less intense but more dependent. I'd say he seems gentler but that's more an intuitive thing than anything he has shown by his actions... because he's too young to pound Legos on the slider. I just get the sense of it, although I want to be careful not to make it a self-fulfilling prophesy if I'm off the mark. Today I figured out a trick to get him to sleep in his crib more easily (as opposed to the bouncer, or my arms) - I bundled up a t-shirt that I wore last night and tucked it next to him. It actually smells like my body wash and laundry detergent more than anything, but whatever scent he detects in there is comforting, and maybe he feels like I am still by him.

We just started giving him a small amount of rice cereal (the flakes) mixed with some warm water, and perhaps a teaspoon of applesauce to help move things along. He is getting the hang of eating from a spoon, and it should help reduce the amount of formula he eats. I know it is very early for "solids" (if you can call them that), but I find it a better alternative to the child eating 35 or more ounces of formula in a day. We're blessed to have kids with healthy appetites, and Lucy enjoys such a variety of foods, but I'm very conscious of them overeating or eating for entertainment or comfort (not that I think Henry is doing that... yet. Wait until he has his first taste of ice cream). Other than that he checks out just great, and he makes good eye-contact and he is smiling more and more. I dug out the ol' Baby Einstein activity mat (with arches with things dangling down) and he seems really enthralled trying to bat at the little toys. Lucy is happy to demonstrate for him (sigh) by closed-fisted punching the little ladybug rattle. I half expected her to do this kind of stuff when I started bringing out "her" old toys. I'm sure others can relate, and it's pretty cool watching him watching her...