Since Keith is a pastor, he chose All Saints Day (11/6) as the day to baptize Elliot, who was almost 6 months old at the time of his baptism. Our campus ministry pastor, Rev. Dr. Michael Collins, did the baptizing. I’m sure he was happy doing an infant baptism rather than the toddler one he performed on Henry at age 1 1/2.
We loved seeing both sides of the family come together to celebrate Elliot being officially named as a child of God. Elliot’s Godparents – Aunt Amanda and Uncle Brent – promised to communicate their faith and values to him, and they have definitely been a special presence in his life so far. And I can’t wait to see their relationships deepen further with our littlest.
We have a three month old, who Henry affectionately refers to as “His baby!” All of us love Elliot so much – it would be impossible not to, since his go to mood is smiley and calm. This kid really cannot stop smiling – he interrupts nursing sessions to smile up at me like I’m the best person ever, he smiles at his brother getting in his face to play with him, and he smiles at everyone who makes goofy faces trying to get him to smile.
He is up for 1.5 to 2 hours at a time during the day, followed by naps 30 minutes to three hours long. Currently, his longest nap is in the afternoon, and I’m always thankful when it occurs during Henry’s afternoon nap (so I get a nap in, too!) He falls asleep for the night between 8:30 and 10, and then gives us an awesome 5-6 hour stretch of sleep, followed by a couple more three hour blocks. I’m getting up to nurse him 2 to 3 times a night; it’s nice to have predictability (I know it’s only a matter of time before it all changes, haha, so I’m embracing the moment!)
Things He Loves:
Looking at his reflection in the swing’s mobile – he literally laughs out loud and can’t get over his reflection
Intentionally reaching for and grabbing objects like his plastic rings, Oball, and Muslin blankets
Tummy time – he easily raises his head 90 degrees and holds it steady (he’s very strong, maybe because he really wants to play with Henry)
People’s faces
Being held and loved – this is his favorite; he loves cuddling
Things He is Not Wild About:
Henry screaming in his face
Baths (sometimes)
His car seat
Other motor milestones include him rolling from front to back (only twice, by accident), rolling from his back to his side (his preferred sleep position), talking by saying “ah-goo”, and bringing both hands together before cramming them in his mouth. He is a healthy and fun little guy!
Well, I survived my first day with two kids on one parent. It went smoother at times than I thought it would, but also was more overwhelming at times. Elliot did a great job napping in his crib in between nursing sessions. He would wake up, eat, be quietly alert for about 30 minutes, and then fall back asleep (sometimes doing another nursing session). This allowed me time to play endless board games with Henry. We also put together a jumbo fire truck puzzle and played in his darkened tent with glow in the dark bracelets, which became a parking garage and later became one giant circle. It was fun, but exhausting on only a few hours of sleep.
Henry gave me time to clean the kitchen and make our lunches for later. We decided to bring one to Keith since we couldn’t be apart from him all day long. It was difficult figuring out how to get two kids into car seats and into the car (fruit snack bribes for one to prevent excess rocking of the other’s infant car seat), but we managed fairly quickly. It was really nice lunching with Keith, and Elliot got to meet some of the office staff.
Naptime was horrible, I’m not going to lie. Both kids needed me at the exact same time, and I’m not great at nursing while doing anything else. So I attempted to comfort the baby while changing Henry into his diaper, reading, and tucking him in. Just when I thought I could feed Elliot, Henry needed me two additional times. I went in once, and he managed to self-settle the second time. Of course, Elliot didn’t nap when Henry did (until the last 30 minutes ore so) so I only got a 20 minute nap. Better 20 minutes than nothing (I had time today to catch up).
tackle hugpoop face
After nap, we settled into our normal routine, pre-baby: watch a few shows, get dinner ready, and eat with Keith. We had an after dinner adventure – I took a 2-mile walk at Lake Seminole with Elliot while Keith played with Henry at its two playgrounds. It was really nice to have some quiet time at sunset. We got both boys ready for bed afterwards (well, Elliot ready for his next round of eating and sleeping and Henry into bed), and then I was ready to crash and burn at 9:30. I can’t remember the last time I was in bed so early, but I made it (not asleep, because I knew Elliot would be eating again around 10 but close enough).
