Today Connor and I spent the day together.  Victoria took the day off from breastfeeding (she pumped of course) and Connor and I hung out.  We watched the Lady Monarchs (ODU) lose to Connecticut in women’s basketball.  We also watched the men’s NCAA basketball tournament as well as a little golf.

I also took Connor out with me as I ran some errands.  I try to take Connor with me when I have to run out to the store.  I figure it is good for him to see something other than our family room and it is also a good way to wear him out.  So, on today’s to-do list was a stop at Pet Smart, Home Depot, Farm Fresh, and Babies R Us.  Of course, the only one Connor was remotely interested in was Home Depot, oops I mean Babies R Us.  Come on, aren’t all males born to shop in Home Depot or Lowes?

Last night I decided to break tradition and I did not swaddle Connor when I put him to bed.  Well, as I have mentioned before, Connor is a pretty good sleeper and can get 7-8 hours a night without waking or stirring at all.  Last night (the “unswaddled version”) was not nearly as good.  I put Connor to bed around 9pm and he woke up at 11:30pm crying.  So, Victoria fed him.  He fussed 2 or 3 more times but managed to fall back to sleep on his own.  He woke again around 4am for another feeding.  And then again around 7am.  Hmm, that might rank up there as the worst night yet.

My best guess is that  Connor was probably startled a few times last night.  He is probably less likely to be startled when he is swaddled, thus the extra fussing and wake up calls last night.

So, our game plan is to swaddle during the week (so I can get some sleep before I go to work) and then to “unswaddle” him on Friday and Saturday nights so he can get used to sleeping without his “cocoon” (as Grandpa calls it).

After this experience, I am even more of a believer that swaddling is “baby magic”.

Tonight was a “routine night” for Connor and I.  He is currently swaddled and asleep in his crib.  Hopefully, it will be an uneventful night.

Connor (ok, maybe it was Daddy) wanted to show his enthusiasm for Opening Day by wearing his baseball uniform that Grandpa bought him.

Playball!

Check out the photo gallery for some more of the baseball star!

I finally got the elusive smile on camera during our diaper change this morning.

This is what makes my day!

ENJOY!!!

We took Connor to church for the first time today (Easter Sunday).  I suggested we sit in the back row (normally Victoria likes to sit up front) in case we had to leave if Connor began to fuss.  Well, Connor slept for the first 30 minutes of the service and then he began to squirm and turn red.  I was sitting back, pacifier in hand, waiting for the moment to pull the “trigger” to preempt any crying session…

Then there was a significant sound that came from his little rear-end — it was loud enough that the woman in front of us briefly turned around to see what was going on.  (She has kids of her own and had asked how old Connor was, so I don’t think she was offended.  I just think she knew that was a “code red” bowel movement.)  I did not think much of it, because I have heard those before and sometimes it is just gas.  About 5 minutes later, Connor was ready to be fed so I left just as the choir began to sing.  I figured I could feed him and then change him…

I relocated to a classroom down the hall and was getting ready to feed him.  Mimi came down to check on us and at that time, I picked Connor up out of his car seat and sat him on my lap.  Disclaimer:  if you are eating a meal right now, come back and read this when you are done.  I noticed my hands were a little sticky and wet.  I looked in his carrier and noticed it was soiled in.  I then picked him up to see how bad it was.  His nice little Easter Sunday outfit, that his Great Grandmother from Florida just bought him, had changed from a nice light blue to a yellowish/greenish tint (pants and the back of his shirt).  It was all over the place and better yet, it was on my brand new pair of pants and brand new shirt.  Thanks Connor!

I asked Mimi to go get Victoria so we could head home.  I washed up the best I could.  Victoria soon found us and we headed out of the church.  I held the carrier in front of me so no one would see the lovely green stain on my pants and shirt.

So, to make a long story short…

There are no pictures of Connor in his Easter Sunday attire because of his little Easter Sunday surprise he delivered to Daddy.

Happy Easter!

Love,

Daddy, Mommy, and Connor (a clean Connor now)

Connor got 4 shots on Friday and was not thrilled to have it done.  He gets that from his father because I hated getting shots as a child!

Well, Connor was pretty sore Friday evening and was crying and fussing quite a bit.  The only time we had heard a “pain cry” from Connor in the past was when he had the diaper rash.  So, listening to him cry during the shots as well as later in the evening just broke our hearts.

Friday evening, I held him quite a bit and tried not to move around too much.  Victoria fed him around 4pm and then he was not interested in eating again until 2:30am the next morning.  We gave him some children’s tylenol (Dr.’s recommendation) and that seemed to help a little bit.  I decided to sleep on the couch with Connor and I fed him at 2:30am (when he woke up hungry).  At that point, he seemed to be feeling a little better — still a little tender, but he was not nearly as fussy as he had been.

I took him upstairs to change his diaper, swaddle him, and put him in his crib.  I wasn’t too sure he would want to be put in his crib since he had not been feeling good.  (I think he liked sleeping in Daddy’s arms.)  Well, I knew he was feeling better because I got two smiles out of him while I was changing his diaper!  Believe me, having those two smiles at 2:30am, after he had been in so much pain, was great to see.  I laid him down in the crib and off to sleep he went.

I went golfing with Uncle Danny Saturday morning and Victoria sent me a text message saying, “Connor is feeling better.  He smiled at me.”  Again — another sign he was improving.

Connor and I took two naps (2 hrs each) this afternoon and evening.  He seems to be a little tender still, but has been sleeping most of it off.  Something the doctor said would happen.  Hopefully he will be back to himself tomorrow.

Get well, Connor.

Love,

Daddy & Mommy

Connor has been interacting with Victoria and I much more now and we can get him to smile quite often.  His biggest smiles are usually when he is on the changing table getting ready to have his diaper changed.

Well, Connor was very alert when we went to his 2 month checkup.  Dr. Baust “talked to Connor” today.  The two of them were cooing back and forth.  It is nice to have a doctor that takes interest in his patient and just does not shuffle the patient (and their parents) in and out.

At one point, Dr. Baust picked Connor up and started to talk and smile at Connor.  Then Connor let loose on one of his huge smiles (gums and all showing) and that made Dr. Baust’s day.

His smile is instant joy for anyone to see.  If Connor is awake before I go to work, I try my hardest to get a smile out of him.  What a way to start my day!

Here are Connor’s stats at 2 months:

weight:  10 lbs 3 ozs

length:  22 3/8″

head circumference:  15 3/4″

Grandpa started to call Connor Mr. Hurricane about 1 month ago. Here is the story behind the name…

We were over Grandpa and Mimi’s house visiting Victoria’s family (her Aunt Lizzie and Grandmother were visiting from Florida). Brenna, Chad, and Catherine were visiting as well. There were a few times that Brenna began to cry and Connor just slept right through it. He pretty much slept through everything that day. Grandpa said Connor could sleep through a hurricane and then began to call him Hurricane and then it transformed into “Mr. Hurricane”. Grandpa has continued to call him this especially this weekend when he stopped by and spent time with me and Connor. “Hello, ‘Mr. Hurricane'”, Grandpa would say. Of course Connor just continued to sleep. I was using an impact wrench (loud noise) to remove the tires from our SUV and it didn’t phase Connor one bit as he lay asleep in Grandpa’s arms.

Well, Victoria and I took Connor out to the mall tonight. Victoria and I were shopping for clothes (for ourselves, since Connor owns half of all the clothes in Babies R Us). Well, we walked all over the mall for a good two hours and he was asleep in his stroller the entire time. We then went over to have dinner at Red Robin. Red Robin has got to be one of the noisiest restaurants I have ever been in. Connor just slept away. So, now I can understand why Grandpa has nicknamed Connor “Mr. Hurricane”.

As long as “Mr. Hurricane” continues to sleep peacefully and does not become a terror (like a hurricane), I think the nickname can stay.

Thanks Grandpa!