Over the course of this month, our little baby has grown so much, it is hard to believe he was born just 2 months ago. Click HERE for pics and HERE for added videos to his video archive. But he still is my little baby and we share little moments that I will treasure the rest of my life. My favorite moment I share with him everyday is when I burp him after he nurses. I hold him up on my shoulder and he either rests his sweet head there and sighs with a satisfied contentment while I rub my cheek on the back of his head and smell and feel his soft hair as it brushes my skin. Or he is very alert and so excited to see the world that he tries to climb up higher on my shoulder and he looks out behind me with big eyes, flared nostrils, and pursed lips. I feel his cute little feet push against my lap or my stomach as he tries to get a better look at the pictures behind me on the wall. And I can hear his breathing pattern change to a rapid, excited one.

I also love how sometimes when he nurses, he reaches up with his free arm and tries to touch my face or my necklace or my collar bone as he stares into my eyes and sighs. I realize that I am his first love and I am honored to be that special person and cherish my role greatly as I know there will be a time when he no longer loves me in that same way and yearns to leave my arms and see the world without me.

We also share a special time when he gets his diaper changed. We hang out at the diaper changing table for a good 5 minutes because he enjoys it so much. In the morning, I will change his diaper, dress him in his day clothes, wipe his face and neck, and brush his hair. He cooes and squeels and smiles through out the process and I kiss him and tickle him and sing to him. Mike began hearing all of this activity a couple of weeks ago and now likes to volunteer to give a diaper change because Kanan will interact with him in the same way and I think he gets a great satisfaction from those moments. Mike noticied that when he gets fussy in the late afternoon, he will take off all of Kanan’s clothes and let him hang out naked on the changing table. The crying stops for a little while and Kanan gets a good fresh feeling downstairs. We have to watch out for a fountain spray though.

Time has been flying by and Kanan amazes us everyday with new milestones that he has reached. Here are a list of his great achievements and a few of his challenges.

week 5

1. Breastfeeding amazingly well and much less fussy after feeding time.
2. Gets a one month well check up and is in the 95th percentile for his weight and height. He weighs 12 1/2 lbs (with a belly full of milk) and is 23 1/2 inches long.
3. Lifts his head high during tummy time

week 6

1. Starts smiling
2. Staying up for longer stretches of time without getting fussy
3. Finally finds a bottle he will tolerate so Mommy can get a break and hit the gym while Daddy feeds him.
4. Finally accepts the pacifier when I’m trying to wind him down
5. Discovers his hand and stares at it
6. Starting to grasp and reach like trying to hold his pacifier while sucking on it (only to accidently pull it out)
7. Lets us know that he likes his baths much better if he can sit up instead of lying on his back, but he still HATES having his hair washed.

week 7

1. Falling asleep for his day naps much more easily and quickly
2. Laughs and squeels
3. His quiet alert time stretches out to a good 20 minutes after a feeding
4. Sleeping a good 4-hour stretch before waking up for his middle of the night feeding (and then waking me up again 2 hours later :o( )
5. Speeds up his breastfeeding time to 8 1/2 minutes and drinks a full 4 1/4 ounces in one sitting! (the lactation consultant weighed him before and after.)
6. Weighs 12 1/2 lbs on lactation consultant’s scale (before he eats).
7. Learns cause and effect by kicking his play mat arches to get the star dangling in the center to play music.
8. Goes to his first Padre’s Game (and sleeps right through it only to wake up for Trevor Time)
9. Finally learns how to keep his pacifier in his mouth for longer than a minute.
10. Hits a growth spurt toward the end of the week and wants to eat 10-12 times a day.
11. Gets to visit with both sets of his grandparents

week 8-9

1. Week begins while Kanan is still in his growth spurt and wanting to eat constantly.
2. Growth spurt is making Kanan quite fussy and gives him a bad case of the “Mamitas” in which he only wants Mom, but is also harder to put down for naps
3. 2 days after growth spurt, Kanan still barely sleeps in the day and I begin to suspect my morning coffee rather than the growth spurt.
4. Kanan holds his first toy–a plush fish that rattles at the end of a soft stick (Kanan’s little hands can grasp the stick handle).
5. Reaches for his first toy during tummy time and caught on camera!
6. Will only drink 2 ounces out of the bottle again and refusing the rest (I think because it takes him 30 -45 minutes to drink 3 oz!).
7. Mom tries a fast flow nipple again and Kanan guzzles 3 oz in 3 minutes!
8. Sleeps from 11pm to 5am on Thursday night! 🙂 Mom prays, it will happen again soon.
9. Goes to Ruby’s by the pier again with his daddy, mama, Grandma Velma, Aunt Barbie, and his cousin Harley
10. On Cinco de Mayo, he took a 3 hour walk around sunny and busy Oceanside in his stroller in order to get him to sleep but he slept only 45 minutes of the time.
11. Turns the silky blanket I rub on his skin into a security object during his hated car rides.
12. Weighs 13.5 lbs at his doctor’s appointment! That is a one-pound growth from the previous week—that sure was a growth spurt!
13. Likes his bath now and getting his hair washed and cries when we take him out! We moved him to the kitchen sink 🙂
14. Has his ultrasound done on his belly and Mom and Dad should get results in a couple of days.
15. Falls asleep on his own for the first time on Thursday night (with the help of his pacifier).