Alejo - An Update

Alejo had is 2 month check up last Monday - hard to believe it's already been 2 months. But as I type this, I also feel like he's always been with us; it's a little hard to imagine him not here.

He got a clean bill of health from the pediatrician. His stats are: 11lbs 14oz (50%), 24.5" height (90%) and 16" head circumference (60%). Luis was heavier, shorter and had a smaller head at the same age. I'm a little surprised at how Luis and Alejo's weight changes. Luis was heavier at birth and Alejo was heavier at 10 days and 2 weeks. Now Luis was heavier at one month. Consistently, Alejo has a bigger head...

Alejo is such a sweet, sweet baby. He is calm and easy going almost all the time. He has little squeaks when he's hungry or when he's got a poopy diaper, but that's about it. Alejo loves to cuddle and will curl up on my chest or shoulder and snooze away as long as I'll hold him.

I know it won't last much longer, but he still has days where he sleeps almost all day and all night. Of course, he has some days now where he is awake almost the whole day. Those days are a bit tough, as it requires a lot of baby-holding. It's still really hot here (over 100 degrees every day until last week), too hot to use my Ergo carrier for baby wearing. The good news is that Alejo never had his days/nights mixed up. Regardless of what happens during the day, Alejo always sleeps well, in his crib, at night. He wakes up between 1-3 times in the night, but is rarely awake for more than 15 minutes. While I look forward to when it's just one time per night, I find it hard to complain because the awake time is so minimal.

With all the sleeping that he's doing, I find it difficult to bathe him. I think he went almost two weeks from when he got home from the hospital until his first bath because he was never awake long enough at a time when Diego or I could do it (first bath post to come). We've gotten a little better about it, but certainly not the regular schedule that Luis had.

And speaking of "not the regular schedule that Luis had", this phrase really applies to all of Alejo's life. I'm pretty sure that at this stage of Luis's life, he had a well-defined schedule, including a bedtime routine. With Alejo, I feel lucky if we actually change him out of his clothes into PJ's before bedtime! When Luis was this age, Diego was already working in India, and I had not gone back to work at HITT. Meals were just for me, and were often things like cereal or sandwich or frozen something. So my only focus was Luis (and Ashley & Muffles). It wasn't hard to be more structured and focused about Luis's schedule. This time around, I've got a 3 1/2 year old to play with and teach, a part-time job, and a family to feed and keep in clean clothes. Alejo's easy-going-ness, in a way, doesn't help promote a schedule. When he's hungry, I feed him and when he's tired, I put him to bed. So far, it's been working. I'm hoping that with the start of Luis's school tomorrow, we can ALL get back on a more regular schedule. Honestly, I'm just not quite sure how to squeeze in making dinner, eating dinner, bathing Alejo, bathing Luis, reading stories, nursing an putting Luis and Alejo to bed in the hours between 6-8.

Starting about 2 weeks ago (maybe about August 21), Alejo started to smile. Not the I-have-gas smile, but the OH WOW - HUMAN INTERACTION smile. It's really beautiful and totally contagious. He smiles not just with his mouth, but with his eyes, his cheeks, his whole face. Yesterday, before we headed out to the Zoo, Diego was telling Alejo about the animals we'd see (in Spanish). Apparently Alejo was totally delighted by this, just smiling and smiling and smiling.

Alejo spends a little time each day in the baby gym. It is mostly to by me some time to finish making breakfast/lunch/dinner or to give Luis some one-on-one time. Lucky for me, Alejo seems to enjoy it there. He will now grab on to some of the hanging toys and cling (as if for dear life). He gets tummy time about every third day or so. Just when I feel a bit guilty about not doing it more often, I remind myself that he's had pretty incredible neck strength for more than a month now. Now, when you support his back while sitting, he can hold his head up pretty much on his own. Diego is eager to try out the bumbo, but I think we've got a bit of time before he's ready for that.

[Picture posts to follow in the next couple of days.]