We’ve had 2 kids for over a month. It has totally flown by.
I’ve always been pretty proud of how go-with-the-flow we’ve been as parents. As much as I love a schedule, C taught me that kids don’t really care about your perfect timetable, and I followed her lead as much as possible. Having a second kid has made me even more lax about a schedule. We’re just trying to meet the needs of two tiny people as much as we can when they’re awake, and maybe get a little sleep and downtime when they’re not.
It’s chaotic, but it’s good! Z is a cuddlebug, and it’s so cute to watch C love on him.
Z at 1 Month
Most of the first month, Z was just a sleepy newborn. He started to wake up right around the 1-month mark, though. He eats all day long, especially in the evenings, sleeps okay at night, and spits up way more than C ever did.
Z loves looking around, especially at lights, windows, your face, and high-contrast things. Usually he likes tummy time or falls asleep when we try, but it occasionally makes him mad. The car can go either way. Sometimes he’s completely chill, and others he screams the entire ride. As I alluded to, he reeeally likes milk. He hated his first bath at home and slept for his longest stretch ever afterward, presumably due to the stress, but he hasn’t minded others. I pulled out his 3-month clothes this week because he’s getting too long for all his newborn stuff.
He’s definitely fussier than C was and he loves to be held, especially by me. Setting him down for long is a very good way to get yelled at. I hold him as much as I can, but I’m also trying to be sure to give C the attention she needs.
Sleep
I think we’re pretty lucky here, so far. Z sleeps pretty well at night. I feed him practically every hour from 3pm to 8pm, including a few ounces of pumped milk around 8. And then he passes out and sleeps till somewhere between 1am and 3am. He takes nearly an hour to go back down, but then he usually sleeps till whenever I get up or later. Around 5am, Jack and I get up and go downstairs with Z. Sometimes I feed Z then, and others he keeps sleeping for a few more hours before he wants to eat.
I’m hoping to head toward a little more of a nap schedule soon. For now, he pretty much falls asleep whenever he feels like it throughout the day, usually around eating. It’s usually on me, and sometimes it’s in the podster, in the pack ‘n’ play, during (closely monitored) tummy time, or in a carrier/wrap.
I’m definitely tired, but not miserably so most of the time.
The Sibling Thing
C adores Z. She gives him a thousand kisses, leans in and says, “awww,” about a hundred times a day, and has a lot of opinions about what Z should be doing at any given time.
We have encountered only the smallest bit of sibling jealousy, and it has been pretty easily managed. If she wants the attention of whoever is holding Z, we try to pass him off or set him down and respond to her. We try to give her 1×1 time with each of us. And we try to give her lots of time on her own and with her friends rather than including Z in every single outing.
Schedule
I’ll do a day in the life pretty soon. But as an overview, right now, Z eats about every 1-2 hours during the day and is awake for 1-2 hours between naps. I couldn’t tell you how long he sleeps for naps, mostly because I rarely put him down for a nap, but I want to start trying more often. He doesn’t fight sleep as much at this age as his sister did, but we’ll see if that continues.
We try to leave the house in some capacity every day, often for a walk or some time outside, but he runs errands with us and tags along to C’s social events, too.
He’s rather crabby in the afternoons, generally because all he wants to do is nurse. I’m hoping this calms down in the next few weeks, especially with holiday events. And then sometime between 7 and 9, he calms down and passes out.
Things We Use and Love
- Copper Pearl swaddles, burp cloths, crib sheets, and knotted gowns. All these are so soft. And we have found that a lot of swaddle blankets don’t have much stretch, which does not work for our second very-wiggly baby. He needs to be able to kick and squirm without the whole thing coming undone, and these allow it (most of the time).
- Leach Co Podster. Z doesn’t like this as much as C did, but it’s still nice to have a place to set him down on the couch, or put him briefly while I shower, cook, or we eat. Obviously meant for use with supervision, etc., but it has still been useful this time around.
- 4moms breeze plus playard. This has been another safe place to set Z and a great place for diaper changes in our living room. Occasionally, he’ll nap here. More often, he sleeps here for a couple hours in the evening before I go up to bed.
- Yoga Sleep Rohm Sound Machine. We have two of these, and we use one at night and during any naps Z takes in the bassinet. Having two helps ensure there’s always one charged and ready to go.
- BabyBjorn Carrier Mini. We had the Colugo carrier for C, and I ultimately realized I couldn’t get it tight enough around my hips to work as she got heavier/my weight redistributed after pregnancy. I like this better, find it more secure, and it gets a little tighter than that one did. Z seems to prefer Jack uses this carrier rather than the wraps.
- Solly Baby Wrap. I’m finally getting comfortable using this, and we have two. I love it so much more than a more structured carrier, except I can’t confidently get his head to stay in it for long. I’m sure this is user error rather than us having an abnormally wiggly baby, so I’m working on it.
- Mockingbird stroller. This stroller is lightweight, has good storage, opens and closes with one hand, and has adapters for different car seats. It also adapts to become a 2-seater, so C can still use it.
- Wubbanubs. Pacifiers are hit or miss, but Z does take them sometimes.Sometimes I think the animals make it easier for him to knock these out of his mouth than just a pacifier, but it also makes it easier for him to hold. And they’re cute and help make these easier to find.
