Riley is 2 months old!

Riley-boy gets to be more and more fun as he gets older and more interactive. He’s 11 lbs 11 oz and has grown out of his newborn clothes. He’s still sleeping well at night, if I don’t screw up his naps too much during the day (see July 14 blog). He goes to bed around 7p and I wake him up at 6am for his first feed, getting him ready for my return to work at the end of August. J’s nighttime feed now occurs around 11p, allowing us a long stretch of sleep during the night.

He’s still swaddled for sleeping to keep his active limbs from keeping him up. Friday, I tried to lay him down unswaddled when he was tired and calm and he worked himself up to a tizzy within 10 minutes. Swaddled, he was out in less than 5. Go figure. I had to buy a larger receiving blanket so we could continue doing this, since he’s getting bigger and stronger.

Here are some of the things that Riley’s up to:

1. He’s beginning to discover his hands. We’re catching him deliberately putting his fists in his mouth to suck (when he’s not hungry) and doing it repeatedly, instead of accidentally banging himself in the face and taking advantage of the moment.
2. He’s hanging on to toys that I place in his hands for 2-3 min at a time now.
3. He’s turning to look at me when I walk into the room and tracking me as I walk around. Very cool -- makes his mama feel special!
4. He can hold his head up for longer when placed on his tummy. He’s doing better at turning his head from side to side and doing mini-pushups from time to time. He prefers to face out of the baby Bjorn and does well at keeping his neck up in that position now.

1. He gives us smiles and “talks” to us. He's especially chatty in the morning when he gets to hang out with Daddy in the bed while mama exercises.
2. He is a happy and content kid as long as he’s fed when hungry and sleeps when tired. He eats about 5-6 times a day and when bottle-fed mama’s milk, takes an an average of 5 oz at a time.

Lastly, He enjoys watching his mobile when he first gets up:

My accomplishment of the past month is being able to run a full 30 min now without stopping for walking breaks. Saturday I enjoyed my first trail run since last fall. Though the runs are slow and labored, it feels good to be able to exercise vigorously again. Also, J has fixed up my bike so I can add that my exercise routine and give my joints a break. Combined with the resumption of healthy eating, I’m feeling better and more “normal” by the week.

Shelby