2 Months Old

When Stockton turned 1 month old we had just figured out nursing and got him to latch. But... We didn't even make it a whole week. Feedings were taking about an hour and I was in so much pain! One time when he latched it hurt so bad I cried out in pain and burst into tears. Nathan was ready to pry our little boy off to save me. 

We decided to go to a different lactation consultant that Nathan's mom had been referred to for me. After our consultation we learned that Stockton wasn't transferring milk well enough which is why he ate for so long and that he had a tongue tie that we should look into getting revised.  I took the week off of nursing before we were able to go to a pediatric dentist about his tongue tie. It was too painful and I needed to heal. I would try to nurse Stockton every once in a while, but he had lost interest and didn't want to latch anymore...  

We went to Dr. Cameron Quayle and he was amazing. He was so good with Stockton through the whole thing. The hygienist came in and gave Stockton a topical numbing so that when he got the numbing shot it wouldn't bother him. Oh my goodness... Stockton HATED the topical numbing. He was so sad and mad and it broke my heart. On top of that I realized he was also probably hungry. He had the hardest time trying to eat from his bottle with his numb mouth. I felt so bad.  

After Stockton finally finished his bottle and had calmed down, Dr. Cam came in. He was so gentle and kind to our baby boy. He spoke softly to him and talked us through everything he was doing. Stockton was so good for the rest of the procedure. He didn't even cry during the shot or when they used the laser to clip his frenulum.  

Even though Stockton wasn't upset during the procedure I had a hard time watching his little body be on the big dentist bed with hands all around him. I knew he couldn't feel the clipping. But it was breaking my heart that he was being poked and clipped. I tried to hold back my tears, but my eyes watered up and spilled over. It was over in under 10 min and Stockton was as happy and content as can be. What a champ! That night and the next day Stockton was super cuddly. We loved on him like crazy! 

The next couple of weeks were pretty rough... We had to do tongue stretches every 5 hours at least 5 times a day so that his frenulum wouldn't reattach. Stockton was not a fan of them at all. But I diligently did them for 3 weeks and then slowly reduced the consistency over 1 final week.  

I was hoping fixing his tongue tie would be a miracle cure all and that Stockton would love nursing and latch right on. But he didn't... I couldn't get him to latch on. I tried what had worked the first time and he wasn't having any of it. I was pretty devastated. Why did we have his tongue tie fixed and have him go through the discomfort of the stretches if he wasn't even going to nurse? On top of Stockton not nursing he also decided to stop taking his pacifier to soothe himself and he was spitting up like crazy. I mean, I know babies spit up, and sometimes quite a bit, but I swear it was more than normal. Stockton would cry and cry and cry while we tried to burp him and with almost every single burp he had projectile spit up. Nathan and I would be afraid to feed him because we knew it would be sad and messy... We had blankets covering everything for easy clean up and put on a robe to protect our clothes.  

There were a couple of days where I was an emotional wreck! I felt like I couldn't do anything right for my boy. I was barely pumping enough breast milk to feed him. Then we wondered if it was something in my diet that was making Stockton spit up a lot from my milk. So I cut out dairy. He still was spitting up like crazy! Once we switched to Dr. Brown bottles it was a night and day difference! He would still spit up (What baby doesn't?), but it wasn't as much and he wasn't angry when we'd burp him anymore. 

Nathan was Super Dad during this super hard and emotional time for me. He seriously did everything from making dinner and doing the dishes, to feeding and taking care of Stockton. 

We took Stockton on two trips. We went to Idaho Falls where we stopped by my old school to show off Stockton to my teacher friends and past students. It was so good to see everyone again and I got lots of hugs from students who kept begging me to come back. (It feels good to be loved!) We also hung out with our besties the Leavitts and Wetherells. It's always a good time with them. We got to see the Wetherell's new house (It's beautiful!!!!), played games, ate out, and of course had ice cream! 

It was our first trip with Stockton and despite the fact that it was during his crazy spit up, colic phase he was pretty awesome.  I did have a mommy break down while there though... being tied to the pump while trying to have fun and get out, thinking my milk was the problem of Stockton's spit up and colic, and my baby having a hard night was draining on me. I was feeling defeated. Nathan mentioned he could give a blessing to help and comfort Stockton and me and that's when the tears started flowing. I felt so dumb for crying in front of our friends, but they were so good to me and kept telling me I was a good mom and that I was taking such good care of Stockton.  

The other trip we took Stockton on was to Saint George with our friends the Moores and Hawkes. On the way down we stopped to see Nathan's Grandma Kae and show off Stockton. He was so cute with her! He just stared and smiled at his Great Grandma the whole time! It melted our hearts. 

Stockton did amazing with the super long car ride to Saint George and we had a blast down there with friends. We enjoyed the warmer weather, took Stockton to the pool, and on a hike. He was such a good baby the whole trip. And switching to the Dr. Brown Bottles made a huge difference on this trip! 

We were down in Saint George for Mother's Day. The boys made us a delicious breakfast and Nathan surprised me with a Harry Potter book from him and Stockton. It feels so weird and amazing to be a mom. Stockton has only been in our life for such a short time and yet I feel like he's been a part of it forever. I love our boy so much and am so glad he made me a mom!

At Stockton's 2 month check up he was 22.25 inches long (18%) and weighed 9 lbs 10 oz (3%). He's just a cute little guy! But his head was 40 cm (80%), so he needs to grow into it. 

At 2 months Stockton: 

• Loves to smile and coo
• Is awesome at tummy time and enjoys it quite a bit
• Has rolled over 3 times from his stomach to back (probably because he's so long and skinny)
• Now fits in some size 0-3 months clothes (Some of his newborn clothes still fit too!)
• Loves listening to his dad play the piano
• "Lost Boy" is still his favorite song. It calms him right down.
• Enjoys bath time
• Loves to cuddle up with mom with our foreheads and noses touching! (It's the sweetest!)