Graham is 14 weeks old

14 weeks old and definitely in the swing of things!!

It seems that in the past week or so we have had consistent smooth sailing.  Out of the past 7 days G has slept through the night all but one night.  He seems to have a pretty good schedule down from his eating , to his playtime and naps.  Graham eats every 3 in a half to 4 hours.  He is then awake for 45 minutes to an hour and then the little guy is ready for a nap.  Most nights before bed , Graham gets a bath and then his "rub down".  Gregg and I aren't sure who enjoys it more, him or us.  Massaging Graham brings out the biggest smiles, and coos of the day.  He loves it!  Shortly after that we swaddle him up in his Zen Swaddle, rock him for a few minutes and he's asleep.  I wake him up for a late night feeding usually between 10:30 and 11pm.  He goes right back down and sleeps until usually sometime between 4 and 5 am.  

I have to admit I was never a fan of rocking a baby to sleep.  We didn't have to with Reece and while I initially said I would have loved to snuggle my baby ( guess I got my wish), Reece was and still is a great sleeper. I was afraid it could become a slippery slope in that if he woke up he would have to be rocked back to sleep.  Well we certainly have tried and still try every night to lay Graham in his bed, letting him go to sleep on his own.  Long story short it turns into a battle of wills because he just hasn't been able to do it.  So, after several conversations with Gregg, we said it is clearly something G needs to settle himself down.  Within 10 minutes tops he is sound asleep for the night, so we are rocking him. 

It has been a week all about the Tigers here at the Matthews house

      

I'm not sure if it just the second child or Graham's personality but he is really laid back and easy to please.  I have gained the confidence to take him just about anywhere, even for a mani/pedi the other day, and he shines!  I do know that the day will come where that isn't possible but I am soaking up every minute of it while I can.  The true test will come this weekend as Gregg and I are headed downtown to watch the Tigers hopefully win their first World Series game.  Graham will have is first babysitter.  Hopefully he will be as laid back and easy for her as he is for us.

As laid back as he is, lets be honest, Graham is still a baby and has his fussy moments.  His fussy times are pretty much only if he is over tired.  As soon as we swaddle him up he settles right down.  G still has a like/hate relationship with the binki.  While I wasn't sure and am still not sure, if I wanted him to have a binki just because of the dependance down the road,  he does have moments when he is falling asleep that he seems to really want the sucking.  If he wakes up mid nap he will try to get his fist or fingers in his mouth to suck.  So clearly he is wanting something to sooth himself.  

Graham has taught me so much already.  I thought having a second baby I knew exactly how I wanted to do things, but I am learning everyday that each baby can be so different and never say never.    If it is the binki or rocking G that he needs to be content, than I am all for it.  

One of our big milestones this week - moving up to the regular seat in the jogger!

(Yes more Tigers gear)

Graham is becoming much more social.  He loves to be talked to and will coo, smile, and sometimes even laugh back.  I can't get enough of this little man!!  

5 days and counting, we are so excited for Halloween