I thought this milestone age would be a perfect time to do a comprehensive list of Max's strides––the good, the bad, and the ugly––so that I can remember this years from now! It's so easy to forget... Check it out!
Eat.
{ Day 2 at hospital }
{ 0 - 6 Weeks }
Every 1.5 to 2 hours: Max was born hungry. In fact, I could never
hold him without the 'lil rascal trying to scooch down lower to get to my boob, even before the 2 hour mark. You knew when he was hungry because he would do "pirate face"––you know, like when a pirate goes "Arrrr" and one side of his lip curls up and one eye winks a little. And if he was sleeping, it never failed to amaze me how he always knew to wake up
crying exactly 2 hours, to the minute! If he last ate at 2:10am, he
would wake up at 4:10am. I even stopped setting my alarm clock after Week 8. Also, am very proud that I was able to get the whole feed/burp/sit upright/change/swaddle/rock to sleep process down to 40 minutes very early on, yea! { 6 - 12 Weeks }
Every 2 hours: Lots of air stomping and arm flailing action to indicate hunger, especially during Weeks 6 and 7. Babies at this age don't have much control over their motions. I believe he was also going through a growth spurt during Weeks 6 and 7 because there were some times he wanted to feed 1.5 hours.
{ 12 - 18 Weeks Present }
Weeks 12-15, every 2 hours exactly / Weeks 15-17, every 2.5 hours / Week 18, 2.5-3 hours: At Week 12, air stomping is replaced by a new, super cute pose––he hunches over into his stomach with two fists balled up, clutching his pants and panting in frenzied anticipation for milk! By now, have sadly realized that Max would probably fail this famous 1960s experiment involving children and marshmallows.
At Week 14, he started attempting to "hold" his own bottle when The Fella feeds him. It's the only thing that makes him keep from fussing. I really gotta video this one night!
Sleep.
{ Day 3, first nap at home }
{ 0 - 6 Weeks }
1 hour 20 minutes, between each feeding: Eat, burp, sit upright, change, sleep. That's it, folks.
{ 6 - 12 Weeks }
Daytime Naps, 3 to 4 every 2 hours, lasting approximately 1 hour in duration: Max takes his first nap after the very first morning feed around 7:30am, and usually stays down for about 1.5 hours, which is longer than his other naps. This gives me time to take care of the essentials: 1) go back to sleep, 2) pump while eating breakfast, and/or 3) shower. These little chunks of naptime don't give me much time to go out and run errands with him even though by now I'm finally feeling a LITTLE more like myself.
Overnight Sleep, 12 hours: Somewhere around Weeks 6 or 7, Max gradually began sleeping for longer periods during the night! First it was sleep for 4 hours, wake once to nurse, sleep another 3 hours. Then it was sleep for 5 hours, wake once to nurse, sleep another 4... until the glorious day of December 29th came around and suddenly we had a precious little baby who slept through the night from 7pm to 7am! No dedicated "sleep training" involved!
I'll always remember that first morning when I woke up with a start to see the clock read 8:32am. Crap, did I sleepily ignore his cries in the night? I raced into the nursery thinking something bad had happened. I saw that he had busted out of his swaddle and it was covering his mouth. I ripped it away, and he woke with a banshee scream. It was like he was saying, Mommy, how dare you wake me! (I've learned my lesson, never will I do that again!)
{ 12 - 18 Weeks Present }
Daytime Naps, 3 to 4 every 2 hours, lasting approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour in duration: Because his naps are typically shorter now, this means there is more time for play! One side note, the present Week 18, Max is uncharacteristically napping for 1.5 to 2 hours... growth spurt??
Overnight Sleep, 11-12 hours: Had a slight sleep regression around Weeks 12-13. Some nights, he would occasionally "sing" or squawk or babble for 30 minutes to an hour. The books say that at this age babies go through numerous developmental changes and it could cause them to be over-excited and wake in the night. Since he wasn't crying, just vocalizing rather loudly, we let him be until he settled down on his own. We lost some sleep considering his nursery is basically in our bedroom!
Poop.
{ 3 weeks old. He might be trying to poop. }
{ 0 - 6 Weeks }
Liquid, orange, poo every diaper change: From the time he was a newborn, Max had a penchant for projectile pooing on us, the walls, and the furniture. It was uncontrollable. All
our best efforts to swiftly remove the dirty diaper and get the new one
on weren't enough. { 6 - 12 Weeks }
Liquid with some mucous, various shades of orange, brown, and at times, bright green. Poopy diapers every change: At Week 6, I discovered that doing "bicycle kicks" with Max's legs would help him poop while still in his diaper, rather than projectile poo while in mid-change. This seemed to work about 95% of the time. At Week 8, the projectile pooing in mid-diaper change finally stopped!
From Weeks 8 to 11, Max now tended to poop sometimes while being held, but mostly during feedings. He'd get kinda vicious during the feeding because he was trying so hard to go, and let me tell you this is not fun when your boob is being used as a vehicle for pooping.
{ 12 - 18 Weeks Present }
Weeks 12-14, firming up slightly, various shades of orange and brown. Number of poopy diapers per day decreasing: Also, poops while being held only by Daddy, he doesn't do that to Mum anymore, yea!
Weeks 14-18, firm, one shade of orange, not a hot mess anymore: Now he only poops while sleeping overnight or napping!
Play.
{ 3 weeks old with grandma and grandpa }
{ 0 - 6 Weeks }
Tummy time: Hates it (see this video), one minute tops!!Physical exercise (Mommy, not Max): It turns out that Max finds this funny, including Mommy on the Stairmaster and Mommy doing situps while baby sits (heavily) on my lap against her thighs.
Fashion show: I liked trying on my old clothes now that things were beginning to fit again, and Max loved it!
Head swiveling: At Week 6 when The Fella was in Pittsburgh, Max took notice of the room. He enjoyed swiveling his head over and over, left to right, right to left!
Reading: Favorites include "Where the Wild Things Are" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
Singing: "Row Row Your Boat," "London Bridge is Falling Down," "The Wheels on the Bus"
{ 6 - 12 Weeks }
Tummy time: Still hates it, but can withstand 5 minutes!!
Name game: "Maxwell. Bennett. Rose!!!" That's basically it, but he gets a giant smile and a twinkle in his eye when I say it.
Looking in the mirror: Max now takes an interest in his reflection. I don't think he knows he's looking at himself, but he's keenly observing by now.
Mr. Robot: His favorite toy from a neighbor is Mr. Robot, and it has a theme song. It goes something like this: "Arigato, Mr. Roboto... dum da dum..."
Changing diaper: Don't ask why, but Max thinks it's fun on the changing station! I think it has something to do with the awesome University of Miami "Sebastian the Ibis" musical mobile overhead.
Reading: Same as above, plus this AWESOME cloth book lined with crinkly tissue paper and attached rings––Max loves feeling it, making the noise, and holding onto the rings!
Singing: Same as above, but my repertoire expanded to include "Pat-a-Cake," "The Wheels on the Bus," and "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." I usually sing this medley to him to keep him from fussing or crying, and I move his hands along with the beat.
{ 12 - 18 Weeks Present }
Tummy time: Still hates it, but can withstand up to 10 minutes!!
Changing diaper: Still thinks this is fun! (Freak)
Laughing: Laughing contests with Mommy, and he started recognizing the dog at Week 15! He actually laughs at her now, rather evilish-ly (see this video)!
Sitting: It is remarkably early for babies to sit at this early age, but Max did it without support! He certainly can't do it all the time and not for long periods. Still, how cool is this??
Bench-pressing Mommy: This game happened kinda by accident at first, when I leaned over him one day on the bed to pick him up, then he planted his feet firmly on my chest and puuuushed! Strongman Max, yea!
Looking in the mirror: I think he gets it now, that it's him in the mirror! He's actively engaging with his reflection and with me, by smiling and bobbing his head. I like the way his eyes always crinkle up and his lips curl into a big, open-mouth smile when he looks at himself!
Standing: He can bear weight on his legs! I help him to "stand" on top of the bathroom counter so he can look at himself in the mirror.
Reading/Singing: Same repertoire as above.
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