Three Months Later...

Long time no type! Sorry for taking three months to post an update, but as you can probably imagine, we’ve been a little busy. Lauren and James are quite the handful! Thankfully, we had a great deal of help from our parents, who alternated weeks staying with us. Even with one mom staying at a time to help, we often wondered where the days went because we were kept busy every second of every day with feedings, changing, entertaining, cleaning, shopping, etc.

Having been two months premature, James and Lauren’s “corrected age” is only two months, so they are a month to two late on developmental milestones typical of newborns. They are eating every 3 ½ hours. They almost sleep through the night, waking up around 2 a.m. for a late night feeding. They are smiling at us and very alert, cooing and trying to talk to anyone who will listen. Lauren and James are on a well established schedule and both seem to have taken well to it. They sleep when they’re supposed to, with the exception of the occasional bout of cries to “Come put my pacifier back in!”

James & Lauren

Their personalities are really starting to show as well. James is highly sensitive and cries very easily. He frowns a lot and I swear is going to have frown lines by the time he’s one. He was diagnosed with colic and reflux and we’ve been sampling different medicines and formulas with the hope of “fixing” him. John and I think he just has a sensitive digestive system and is troubled by gas and reflux. To feed him, we usually have to put him in a carrier and bounce and feed him simultaneously. But he has many happy moments too. He smiles and coos to himself and others. Initially he cried and screamed bloody murder every time he was changed or bathed, but he finally broke down and came to accept it as a part of his day. He even smiles at me while we’re doing it now! He is physically very active and constantly kicks his chubby little legs everywhere and tries to stand up when being held in our laps.

James' Fussy Face

James' Sweet Face

Lauren on the other hand is the most laid back and happy baby I’ve ever seen. She cries only when hungry or in pain. She smiles constantly at everyone and has just started to coo and talk a little. She is definitely going to have her momma and daddy’s sense of humor. She also has a thing with her hands. Ever since she was wheeled out of the operating room of the hospital she waves her hands in front of her face, awake or asleep. She is also Houdini when it comes to being swaddled… she escapes from all swaddling, except when her daddy does it. She always wants her hands out and by her face. Her other claim to fame is “Spit-up Queen.” We and the grandparents have all learned that when she smiles really big, don’t hold her up right in front of your face because she’s about to projectile spit up. I think most all the grandparents have been christened.

Lauren's Smile

Lauren's Hands