February 2011

In February we continued in our pattern with a lot of sleeping. Again, this was more you guys and not so much daddy and I. You both had terrible reflux and our house was filled with burp cloths. Wherever we laid you, we put a cloth diaper under your heads. In your crib we had a felt pad, a mattress pad and a cloth diaper. And trust me, we needed all three.

By the time you were a month old, you both decided you were done with swaddling. You loved sleeping with your arms above your heads and being able to wiggle around. Right around the time you were five weeks old, we moved you to your cribs for sleeping. I'd like to say it was for some altruistic purpose, but really it was because Ryan moaned and groaned and grunted in his sleep, making it really hard for me to stay asleep overnight. Every little noise you made, Ry would make me jump to check on you. But you guys did great in your room.

Aside from moving to the nursery we had two major milestones in February. The first is that you both lost your umbilical cords! What a yucky thing to accidentally discover. Thankfully yours fell off when daddy was on duty Reese. But Ry, yours fell off in my hand. First I thought I broke you (well, broke your cord anyway) and then I realized the time had come for it to give way. There was a few minutes of panic there though, I won't lie!

The second is that you both outgrew the clothes we took you home from the hospital in. My heart broke just a little the night I put you in those jams for the last time. Especially because when we took you home in these pj's we had to roll up the sleeves and fold the feet up to get you into your winter bunting. You were growing so quickly.

Since you both were still nursing back then, your weight was something I was always worried about. I probably drove your daddy (and everyone else too) nuts with all of the logs I kept of your feeding times and diapers. Daddy supported my craziness and even tried to help me weigh you guys at home.

I tried to make a routine and get us out of the house as often as possible back then, but it was winter and I was alone with you both all of the time. Just getting the three of us ready to leave for a quick walk around the mall or a store would take five hours. You were such good sports, letting me sponge bathe you and dress you and schlep you outside. I like to think that you enjoyed the fresh air too.

Since we were limited by your feeding schedule and the weather, I spent a lot of time dressing you up in clothes that people sent us and staging photo shoots. We killed a lot of time playing dress up in those days.

Daddy went back to work full time at the end of January. All three of us really looked forward to him getting home and each night he came home he took advantage of snuggling with you both. You guys are still the first things he runs to when he walks through the door.

Reese, you were still struggling with colic and much like Daddy's ingenious ideas for weighing you, he also came up with a good idea for helping to settle you when you were upset.

Right around this time you started being much more alert and aware of your surroundings, Ry. It was a lot of fun introducing you to your bouncy chair and the lights. The first time I strapped on the activity bar you spastically swatted at the toys and lights. You were only able to sit in that chair with the lights for a few minutes at a time, but boy did you love it.

I remember sitting down each night and looking through all of the pictures I took that day with your Daddy and marveling at how BIG you were getting. Now, looking at you, I can hardly remember you being that tiny. 

We had just started to get to know you as people. Know what each face and noise meant, how you liked to be held and when you liked to be held. Where and how you liked to sleep. By February we had hit our stride and we felt like we had this parenting thing figured out, and each and every time we figured something out you guys grew and changed and kept us on our toes. But each new change meant we got to know you a little more. I'm amazed at the little people you have become, and I know we haven't even scratched the surface yet.