2 Month Stats from today’s appointment:
Height: 22.5 inches
Weight: 13 lbs 7 oz
Head: 41 cm

I went to find the milestones from Caroline’s 2 month post so I could use it for Linc, and then I ended up in a blog hole of NO STOP TIME SOMEONE SLOW IT DOWN HOW CAN MY BABIES GROW UP SO FAST??

Which means it’s time for a side-by-side-by-side.

The Evan picture isn’t great (I lost all the photos on my external hard drive and apparently didn’t post many pictures on the blog back then) but I think he wins in the “Who does Linc look like?” game. Although all three of my babies seem to have a serious case of the chunks around 2 months.

CLEARLY all you people saying he looks like Caroline have forgotten what Evan looked like, because DUDE.

Linc is still good at being a baby. He likes to eat and sleep and be held and tickled and smiled at. He had to come with me to a newborn photo session last week and he showed that newborn how it is DONE: sleeping like a rock the whole time. He was also literally twice the size of the newborn, mostly thanks to his mad nursing skills. I don’t exactly know how much he eats, but I can pump more than ten ounces in 5 minutes and he’s eating way more than 5 minutes at a time. I’m guessing he’s going through a growth spurt, based on my slightly sore nipples and waking up in a puddle. Motherhood is super glamorous.

Speaking of glamorous, I’ve probably said “It’s totally normal for breastfed babies not to poop every day” to other people a million times but until Linc I didn’t really believe it. It’s just one of those things you say to people. But my baby likes to save it all up for the worst possible moment (like as soon as I take off his diaper). Honestly, if that’s my biggest baby complaint, we’re doing well.

He had three shots today, which he did NOT enjoy, but I bought extra swing batteries and baby tylenol so I think we’re going to survive.

Likes: smiling, laughing, animals, white noise, nursing, sleeping, cuddles, being wrapped, the swing, the rock-n-play, the car seat, water.

Dislikes: gas, being constipated, when the batteries on the swing die, tummy time, shots.

2 Month Milestones (Originally from BabyCenter, now copied from previous updates)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Vocalizes: gurgles and coos – Says “goooo” and giggles
Follows objects across field of vision – Moooostly? His eyes are still a little prone to crossing and unfocusing
Notices her hands – Not in the stoner way (Whooooa duuuude my hands are so handy) but he likes to wave them around
Holds head up for short periods – Killer head control, although I still have a bruise on my left jaw from when he suddenly loses the ability to control his huge noggin

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Smiles, laughs – So smiley, so laughy.
Holds head at 45-degree angle – From…the ground? Probably not, I never put him on the ground. LOLZ poor third baby ain’t never going to roll over
Makes smoother movements – Still has a crazy startle reflex but isn’t as flail-y as before

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Holds head steady – Mostly
Can bear weight on legs – Ehhhhhh. It’s not his favorite. I remember Evan trying to stand almost from day 1 but Linc likes to be carried
Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy (mini-pushup) – He mostly supermans it (head up, legs up) but his arms aren’t involved

Yesterday was Caroline’s 15 month well-baby check-up. She got a finger poke and two shots and was pretty pissed off about it for about 20 minutes but forgave me thanks to chicken nuggets and some fruit snacks. She is willing to forgive almost ANYTHING for fruit snacks. They didn’t mention anything about her lead test results so I’m guessing they came back fine, although I’m kicking myself for not ASKING. Lead poisoning isn’t something you want to screw around with. I don’t have a specific reason to be concerned (you know, besides living in a house that’s probably full of lead paint) but I’d rather know YES or NO for sure instead of assuming no news is good news.

15 month stats:

Height: 28 1/2 inches (about the 10th percentile)
Weight: 20 pounds, 9 ounces (25th percentile)
Head circumference: 46.8 cm (75th percentile)

Big head, teeny tiny baby. She continues to freak people out in public by climbing, running, standing on tall things and generally acting like a toddler while still looking like she’s barely old enough to be walking. Evan was 20 pounds at only 6 months (HOLY CRAP!) and 23 pounds and 31 inches at 15 months, so it looks like Caroline is destined to be a gymnast or a jockey instead of a linebacker. Or maybe a rocket scientist, since obviously her brain is gigantic. I kind of love that she’s a peanut though – it’s saved me a fortune in baby clothes.

If I may venture into “horribly braggy mommy blogger” territory for a minute, I was kind of annoyed the doctor wasn’t more impressed with Caroline’s skills. I know there’s a huge range of normal when it comes to developmental milestones, but when I told her my 15 month old can follow directions like “Go find your milk and bring me the cup” she could act a LITTLE bit like it’s a big deal. That’s on the BabyCenter chart for 22 months! Tell me she’s super smart! Encourage me to sign her up for gifted baby classes immediately! VALIDATE ME!!!! The doctor was mildly impressed when after using her stethoscope to listen to Caroline’s heart and lungs Caroline took it from her and tried to listen to her own heart. Maybe she wasn’t impressed as much as she was blown away by the ridiculous cuteness because OMG SO CUTE AND SMART.

Ahem. Sorry. It’s just hard not to do cartwheels of joy when I talk about my kids sometimes. I’m awful.

In other news, the doctor said she’s getting her molars, so this is probably the LAST time I’ll gush about how awesome she is for a few weeks.

At his 24 month checkup yesterday, Little Evan was almost exactly 50% on all the charts.

Height: 34 inches (he’s grown 2 full inches in 6 months)
Weight: 26 lbs 8 oz (up 2 lbs 5 oz in 6 months)

I was concerned his iron might be low because he drinks so much milk (too much dairy can inhibit iron absorption) but it was high enough to be in the normal range, even if it’s in the low end of the normal range. He didn’t cry or protest during the finger prick at all but I explained it to him as a “little poke” so when I told him he was getting one more “little poke” for his vaccine he cried. But even with the sad sad SAD crying he thanked the nurse for the stickers and held my hand nicely to the front desk. Such a big kid.

I did ask the pediatrician about whether she thought he should be talking more and she said the threshold for delay was less than 50 words and not making 2 or 3 word phrases, so as long as I thought he had more than 50 words he was ok. I’m…not so sure. He did talk to her and sign several things – which she was impressed with – but she agreed that maybe it would be worth getting him evaluated and wrote us a referral. Someone from the speech therapist’s office will call me so we can set up an appointment soon and I can either stop worrying about it or actually DO something about his lack of words.

But for now, I’m just thrilled he’s growing and healthy and ready to play outside in the spring weather at last!

Happy very first monthday baby girl! You can expect an update like this every 19th, as long as you and your brother behave long enough for me to write them. For example, today is actually the 20th so it appears I am late with your very first monthday, although it is not my fault because I wanted to include your height and weight stats and your doctor’s appointment was rescheduled because of the bad weather.

And by “rescheduled” I mean “confirmed by the office on Monday so I dragged my tiny baby out into the sleet on Tuesday only to find the building locked and no one there and then I had to call and ask when exactly I COULD bring you in for your appointment because no one from the office there bothered to call and apologize or set up a new appointment but no, I’m not bitter about that at allllll.” But that’s a lot for you to understand right now, so I let’s just call it “rescheduled”.

The first two weeks of your life you didn’t seem very interested in me. Or anything really. You didn’t even like eating that much, which my boobs found very insulting. Luckily you now love to nurse and are still super good at it – even if you keep trying to gnaw off my left nipple. But it’s ok, because Daddy gave you a bottle of pumped milk the other night and you drank the WHOLE THING. Amazing! You’ve started making eye contact a lot more and staring right into your face helps you calm down sometimes. You decided being held is much better than sleeping in your seat or the swing so sometimes I have to let you lie on me for a long time before you’ll fall asleep. When that happens I just remember you’re only going to be a teeny tiny baby for a little while and I should enjoy the cuddles while you still want to give them. You’re a bit of a night owl, preferring to go to bed around midnight, but once you’re down you’re letting me get 4 or 5 hours of sleep in a row before another feeding. I don’t know how I would be functioning at all right now without that sleep so I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for being a sweet, easy-going baby (most of the time). We love you!

1 Month Stats:
Height: 21 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 39.1 cm (75th percentile)

Party baby WHAAAAAAAAT??!?!

Showing off her guns

I am suspicious of you and that black thing you always have attached to your face

Oh great, this thing again

Baby head!

Baby feet! (Totally better than baby head amirite?)

I know the tutu is sort of ridiculous now, but when she's 8 months old it's going to make for ADORABLE pictures.

Monthday onesie stickers by PurplePossom on Etsy. I’m not doing as well with the weekly pictures as I did with Little Evan so I’m dedicated myself to special monthly ones. Next month I’ll try to take them BEFORE it gets dark out so they don’t have the weird indoor lighting shadows.

1 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usually)

(How weird is it that there are levels of milestones for ONE MONTH OLD BABIES???)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Lifts head when lying on tummy – Yes, she’s always had a really strong neck. The better to smash you in the face with when you try to hold her on your shoulder.
Responds to sound – Well, she no longer sleeps soundly through the toddler SCREAMING IN HER FACE.
Stares at faces – Loves faces!

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Follows objects briefly with eyes – Maybe? It’s hard to tell.
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs – Eh, still mostly just baby sounds. She’s got the eh-eh-eh-eh-eh while she’s hunting for a nipple down pat though.
Can see black-and-white patterns – Oh sure, she told me she likes the squares but the star shaped ones are a little too busy for her tastes. WTF BabyCenter?! How am I supposed to know what the baby can see??

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Smiles, laughs – Still just gas smiles but they’re still cute!
Holds head at 45-degree angle – Angle from what? When you prop her up she can hold her head straight for a good period of time but I don’t think she could hold it up from lying flat.

Little Evan had his 18 months check-up yesterday, and since this blog is my baby book I should probably record his stats here, rather than lying to myself and pretending I’m going to hold onto this “Baby’s Health and Growth Record” they gave me at his first visit and I shove in my purse before each appointment.

Height: 32 inches
Weight: 24 lbs 3 oz
Head circumference: 47.6 cm

All of that puts him somewhere between the 25th and the 50th percentiles and back on the kind of “healthy curve” the doctor is happy with and doesn’t require coming in every freaking month to make sure I’m not starving him to death. They made me schedule his next appointment on the way out, which is his 2 YEAR CHECK-UP. I was not only mentally unprepared to think of him as being 2, I am incapable of picking a “good” time and day for an appointment in April, when I will have 2 babies. My day planner doesn’t even go past December, because that’s when I figure my whole life will just turn into chaos and won’t ever leave the house anyway.

In “things that make my life easier news”, we also went to Best Buy and bought this:

HUGE. But useful.

Our current TV stand (which, if you REALLY need to see it, is the in background of 85% of my pictures) has solid wood doors, which means when you close them you can’t control anything with the remote. Design FAIL. We took one of the doors off a long time ago and that was a workable solution for a while…until we had a kid. A kid who likes buttons. And knows which button turns the TV on and off. And thihks pushing it is HILARIOUS. Our new stand will prevent the button-pushing and cord-pulling, as well as give us a lot more storage for E’s giant electronics collection and free up space on our bookshelves for, you know, those things with the pages and the words. Oh yeah, BOOKS.

We also ordered this:

Nursery Glider

It’s the Newco Serenity Classic Glider to go in the new nursery/playroom. You can’t see the fabric closely in the picture, but it’s a chenille corduroy that is very soft AND very stain resistant. I was torn between buying the chocolate brown and ordering it in the green version, but when the sales guy said the green was “special order”, which meant it would take 10-12 weeks AND I couldn’t use my BRU 20% off coupon, the brown won. Easily. It will work just fine with beige and orange and if I end up hating the color I’ll just throw a blanket over it.

Also, if you read all the reviews of the chair they’re split between people who love it and people who hate it because it squeaks, and although squeaking is annoying the cheap Target glider we have already is INCREDIBLY squeaky and it never ever bothered Baby Evan. Comfortable is really my only concern.

Next weekend starts our new master bedroom renovations and also the start of fourteen bazillion posts featuring MORE crap I want to buy. I know you’re already excited.