One month!

Will hit the one-month mark on Sunday. He is starting to stay awake a little longer during the day. He sleeps from about 8 p.m. until 10 or 11 when I wake him him to nurse. I'm not sure if waking him for the so-called "target feeding" is actually stretching his nighttime sleep, but I'm going to keep trying it for a while. Typically, he then sleeps until about 2:30 a.m. for a feeding and wakes again at 5, going back to sleep after a feeding until about 7 or 8. 

He has some nasty baby acne that gets worse with heat. 

Here's a picture of him and a picture of Elliott at the same age.

Elliott at one month:

William at one month:

A word to the Baby Wise

With Elliott, I wasn't keen on the idea of scheduling feedings. In many ways, I'm glad that I didn't. I think that I would have been too overwhelmed at first to have to tried to follow a plan. Nursing on demand worked well for us in establishing a good nursing relationship. However, it also likely contributed to some of the sleep issues that carry on with Elliott to this day (not the sole cause, but a contributing factor). 

So, with William I turned to the dark side and read "Baby Wise." I find some of the book just as ridiculous as he seems to find the Le Leche crowd. But I really believe that his feed, wake time, sleep routine is a wise one. It separates eating from sleeping, which is key to teaching a child good sleep habits, particularly how to self-soothe. 

I am trying to nurse William no sooner than 2.5 to 3 hours during the day and evening. Later on I'll work to help him eliminate his one evening and two middle-of-the-night feedings (usually around 10 p.m., 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.) By separating eating from sleeping during the day, I think it will be easier to help him get back to sleep without eating. In fact, if Baby Wise is to be believed, he should just start sleeping through the night on his own around two months without me working to eliminate the feedings.

The other lesson I've drawn from Baby Wise is to try to make sure he gets a full feeding, not a snack. This is harder during the day when I'm alone with him and Elliott. But I try. And during the morning and evening feedings, I make sure nurses as long as he can. Elliott was a snacker, and I believe that he nursed more often because of it.

Boonshoft!

We bought a membership to Boonshoft. So any of you who read this, let me know if you ever want to go. It's a fun way to let the kids burn energy!

Overheard in East Dayton ...

Heard a young boy singing on his porch "Carry on my wayward son/there'll be rest when you are done."

Fall!

I used to love summer, but now I find it a bit of a disappointment. Fall trumped summer as my favorite season some time ago. (The dead of winter — January through March —falls solidly in last place).

So far, here's my fall to-do list:

* Hazard trip to Black Gold Festival. My hometown festival, which celebrates coal mining, is every September. Lots of mullets, lots of old friends (none with mullets, though). 

* Spring Valley's Potato Festival. We were introduced to this gem of a festival by our friends the Hickey family. Potato everything. Any festival where I can get a fried bologna sandwich is tops in my book.

* Apple Fest at Aullwood. Apple cider, apple dumplings, apple butter, plus a rooster calling contest.

* Taste of the Miami Valley. Next weekend at Riverscape ... a fun way to sample local restaurants and mix with other Daytonians. Held in conjunction with Urban Nights.

* Pumpkin picking at Young's Jersey Dairy.

* Corn maze. 

* Halloween. Much more fun now that I have two little boys to dress up, especially since I can still choose their costumes.

* Keeneland fall meet. We probably won't make it this year, but I had to add it to the list anyway.

More Pictures of William

Here are some photos we took of William the other night. He's a very cooperative model.

Two weeks!

Will marked the two-week point today with a trip to the pediatrician. He weighed in at 10 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 22 inches, putting him at 90th percentile for both. Looks like we are going to have a big baby boy if he maintains this kind of growth.