Michigan and the 2 month mark

I'm happy to report that Michigan was a success.  Rudy was very well-behaved, for the most part at least. We left at 4 am on the way there and 2:30 am on the way home, which worked out great.  He was asleep most of the trip, both ways.

I had to hold the mobile over his head to get him to sleep and keep the sun out of his face at the same time.

Our car was PACKED with all of his things!  Friday night John and I went to the cocktail party and Rudy stayed home with Ray and LeeAnn.  He had one of his freak-outs, which makes me feel awful for them and also sad that I wasn't there when he was upset.  Saturday he came with John and I to the rehearsal and brunch.  I missed him too much to leave him again.  We all went to watch some football and then I took him home to eat and Ray and LeeAnn stayed in with him for a couple hours while I went back to the bar to hang out with John and his friends for a little bit.

We got back home and Rudy went to sleep so we decided it would be ok to leave him to go to dinner.  Most of John's friends there were not from Springfield so we wanted to be able to spend some time with them.  It was so hard though.  We kept being so torn between staying with Rudy and leaving him.  And then when we were out, we would be like, "I wonder how Rudy is doing.  I wish we were home with Rudy."  We hung out with him all day Sunday and during the beginning of the wedding.  He got passed around for awhile until LeeAnn and Ray took him home.

We couldn't stay much longer after they left.  It had been a long weekend with too much time away, that we were anxious to just be with Rudy and get home.  Ray and LeeAnn were a HUGE help, though.  We wouldn't have been able to do a lot of the things we did had they not helped out.  Everyone wants Rudy!  He is just so sweet.  He is more playful every day and getting more personality all the time.

The only major down-side to the trip was all the breastmilk I had to throw away when we got home.  I packed enough for 4 bottles, just in case.  Well I only ended up needing one bottle, and I pumped that one while I was there.  The milk I packed unthawed in the car ride home so it all had to be thrown away...for anyone who has pumped and knows how much of a pain it is...throwing away 24 ounces of milk was excruciating!  But that being the only major down-side, I'll take it!  That I was able to feed him all but one time, really made a difference.  It is so much more convenient than having to pump!

He has still been having his freak-outs, which is hard on anyone who is with him.  I'd do ANYTHING to help the poor guy, if I only knew what to do!  Most of the time, it just takes time.  Some are easier than others.  Two nights ago I put him in the stroller and walked around the block to try and calm him down.  It worked for about 1.5 blocks until the screaming began again.  So then John, Rufus, Rudy and I all packed in the car to drive around until Rudy fell asleep.  Worked like a charm.  We almost did it again last night but John "doesn't want to get in that habit" so we decided to just keep trying things around the house.  He eventually fell asleep, as he always does.  Poor baby.

We had Rudy's 2 month check-up yesterday.  He weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 3 ounces and is 24.5 inches long.  That puts him in the 84th percentile for weight and 94th percentile for height...our cute, chubby baby!

He is getting better and better at holding his head up and he loves being held sitting up, facing out.  I got out the bumbo seat when we got home from Michigan to see how he would do with that.  He did surprisingly well.   I was cracking up at him.  He just looked so big!  His head still wobbles around, but it is good practice/exercise for him.  We can't wait for him to be able to sit on his own and play with toys.  He still hasn't really started "playing" yet.  He has grabbed on to a couple things if they are placed right by his hands and he has smacked around a toy here and there, but not consistently.  And it will be nice for him to be able to entertain himself for a while, too.  He is pretty needy still.  He gets bored or uncomfortable in the same position after about 10-15 minutes so if he is awake, he pretty much requires your full attention!  But that's ok, he is a lot of fun :)