Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Sweet Baby

A lot of the action in these parts has revolved around Harper lately, so I feel like Michael has been slightly ignored in this blog. Mostly that's a good thing because it means he is a rather uneventful baby. His constipation issue seems to have abated somewhat and he tested out of his first round of physical therapy (That's my flat-headed boy!). There's a wonderful organization in our county through which we have a care-coordinator to help us keep a close watch on Michael's development and she is so reassuring. I love knowing that we'll likely catch any problems quickly and be able to get appropriate services before little glitches become big trouble. He is right on the bubble, for his adjusted age, for a few developmental milestones. Fortunately we are able to get free physical therapy through the county program, in our house, if we need it. Thank you tax dollars!


Michael is such a sweet baby. Although, when he is angry or uncomfortable or hungry etc., he really lets you know about it. He goes from a whimper to all out red-in-the-face screaming in about three seconds (Soooo embarrassing in public!). Fortunately he calms down almost as quickly. He is full of smiles, which Harper likes to report if Michael is not directly in my line of vision. "Mo-om!" She'll holler, "Michael just had another smile!"

(Well goodness! How can anyone be expected to lift that huge head?!)

Michael is different from Harper in so many ways. He does not consistently nap during the day, although we are working on this, but he sleeps amazingly well at night. We're talking at least 8 or 9 hours a night for over a month. He will not keep a paci in his mouth, which is actually sort of unfortunate because he definitely wants to suck on something almost constantly, BUT he has taken to sucking on his hands. This looks so funny to me, especially because I don't recall Harper every doing that. She did chew her fingers a bit when teething, but Michael takes it to an entirely different level.


Michael continues to be in hate with his car seat. This makes it very difficult to take him anywhere. I'd say he spends between 50 and 75% of his time in it screaming. So we don't do many outings or even take walks very often because that usually just means we'll end up with Michael screaming. I'm hoping all the short trips to get Harper to and from school might help. When Harper was a baby she'd fall asleep in her seat before the car even left the driveway and then just stay asleep in it. It was awesome! Apparently Michael is a homebody.

A great thing about babies is how much they seem to love you. When I go to get Michael out of his crib his legs start kicking like crazy and his face lights up. Next to Harper I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite person and I love it. I could sit and watch him all day. I can't because we'd starve and be buried under our own filth, but if I had all day to stare at him I don't think I'd ever get tired of it. Things are just different than when Harper was a baby (Duh, Kelsey!). I think I appreciate our quiet times more because we are so much busier this time around.


If there's anyone left in the universe wondering if you can love a second child as much as you love your first, the answer is yes. Yes you can.


*****

P.S. You still have a few hours to enter the new contest - do it now!

7 comments:

Erin said...

It's amazing. I think humans have an endless capacity to love. And that is especially true for children. This is a really awesome post. I cannot wait to meet your sweet baby boy! Seriously, I'm excited to see you and everyone, too, but meeting Michael is going to be the best part of the weekend, I am sure of it.

Mommy Daisy said...

What a little sweetie!

Giselle said...

He is yummy! It is hard to imagine how difficult his beginning was looking at him now. What a gorgeous happy kid. And his head does look huge in that one picture...but just in that one shot...is it a weird angle or somthing? Andrew's head was always big, and it took him so long to roll over. Now I look at pictures, and I think, "Well, yea? No wonder!"

Sweet sweet little boy. And trust me...if you wonder if you could love a 3rd as much as #1 and #2...it's true! I'm just as excited when #3 does stuff for the first time...you'd think it would be old hat by now!

Emily said...

I don't know if it's reassuring at all, but David was doing that car seat screaming thing, and just within the past few weeks it's died down tremendously. So since Michael's 6 weeks younger gestationally...maybe he'll hit that point developmentally soon, too? I hope so for your sake, that is PAINFUL.

Also, if you were ever wondering what I do for a living (not that it's that important), but that county program? That's what I do. For a county up here. I'm not doing the direct therapy anymore, now I'm behind the scenes doing funding and scheduling of services, but anyway, yeah, it's a great program - thanks tax dollars, indeed.

MamaK said...

Michael is really adorable! Following in Harper's footsteps in that way, at least!

I'm less sure of my ability to love a second child as to birth/care for her! Kaden's doing the same "in hate" thing with the car seat (I love the phrase!). It's great to know there's others out there, b/c we thought babies were supposed to love car rides! Even better to know he might grow out of it- thanx, Emily :)

Jen said...

We also benefit from the county program. We've been in a year and a half and I've been happy with it for the most part. They were a little offended when we started weekly private PT, but it has made a world of difference in Emmaline's gross motor skills.

Michael looks so sweet and content in the pics. Hopefully his carseat troubles will end soon.

After having Jacob, I always wondered how I could love another baby as much as him. Our hearts must grow with each one though because I've done it two more times and love the girls just as much.

CARRIE said...

I love the pic of him lifting his head!

My boy is now clapping his hands, which is absolutely delightful to watch---seeing him do new things makes me want a 3rd so I can watch him/her do new things. Oooo, Mother Nature and genes are sneaky. And relentless.