Rocking 9 Weeks

 Weeks and months are kind of strange - Gabriel is 9 weeks now but just hit 2 calendar months 2 days ago!  It has to do with the 28/30/31 day month changes (and is what messes with the determination of weeks vs months of pregnancy as well).

• Gabe had his 2 month pediatrician appointment this week.  He got 3 injectable vaccines & an oral vaccine; he gave one of those after-the-fact delayed cries once all 3 were done, haha.  I made Craig come to this appointment (though he had planned to anyway) because I didn't know how I'd feel if Gabe cried with the shots!  (I myself don't mind needles, but if he cried, I thought I might cry too!)  We both survived though!  He was a bit sleepy after the appointment, and so we gave him a preventative dose of tylenol before bed, just in case.
• We were anxious to hear how his weight gain was progressing.  (On the makeshift "scale" we created at home with a baking pan and a food scale - some of us might call this a "Polish baby scale," haha! - he was at 8 lb 13 oz on Christmas Day.)  I knew he was at least getting longer because I've had to retire several newborn-sized footie pajamas.  Turns out he weighed 8 lbs 15.5 oz (I was so hoping the scale would pop up to a full 9 lbs!) and measured 22.5 inches (an inch longer than last month!).  His head circumference was 15.25 inches, which was also up from last time.  All of these measurements put him at the 25th percentile for his age, which greatly relieved me especially (I think all breastfeeding mommies worry that their babies are not getting enough!).  The doctor was happy with his progress and even noted how well he was doing pushing himself up on his elbows when she flipped him onto his tummy.  Next regular appointment isn't until 4 months of age.
•  Our week of 10:30am bottles went well.  I am not looking forward to this upcoming week with the addition of 12:30pm bottles (both feedings performed by Craig & replaced with me attached to the pump) because I like nursing; it's great bonding time with my son where there is no substitute for me (ok, that sounded kind of selfish!).  But, we have to see how things are going to go starting next week when I head back to work, so it must be done.
• I forgot to mention how Gabriel's night stretches are now allowing me to wake to pump and bank some more frozen milk.  I'm happy to have a little stash to rotate through, because if I ever have problems with my milk supply (I hope not!), the frozen milk is good for up to 6 months.  My stash is currently not enough for more than a week of feedings, but it should increase fairly quickly now that I can bag more during the night.
• Amazingly, last night, Gabe slept 10 hours and 50 minutes straight!  I woke to my alarm at 6am (after sleeping since the last pump episode at 3:30am) and realized that he was still asleep!  He slept until 6:50am, after I'd gotten up & dressed & even had time to go downstairs and put away the pumped milk.  Of course, then he gorged himself on breast milk for breakfast and spit up a bit, but that's ok - he was very happy after having slept well, all smiles!

Short time between posts, so here are only two pictures from that last few days:

Checking out his reflection during tummy time - *maybe* he can see it from that angle?

"Whoa!  Who's that baby in the mirror?" when I held the mirror up to him later.