8 Weeks Old

William has settled into a routine pretty well. He eats “dinner” sometime after 10:30 pm and then burps and gets a diaper change. After that he's pretty much down for the night. He sleeps at least eight hours. If he eats before ten pm I can be sure he'll eat again before bedtime. In the morning he varies. Sometimes he wakes up starving and crying and sometimes he just fusses. Either way, he is always very happy to get his first bottle of the day! I'm still pumping. He gets breast milk for the most part. I think he may have gotten one formula bottle about ten days ago, but it's not often enough that I even keep track. I get anxious when there aren't several bottles waiting in the fridge, but really I must be doing okay with production or he'd be getting formula more often. He's taking 4 ounces every three to four hours. I don't know if it's wise, but if I cannot get him to finish the bottle, I save it for later. Even if it's only a half ounce.

Once he's had his morning bottle I change his didee. He's often not very wet first thing in the morning. After he's eaten and changed I get him comfy on the couch and he goes back to sleep for a good nap before his next bottle. He's not a morning baby! Later in the day, after his second and third bottles, then he's awake for a while. He kicks and waves his arms and looks around. I placed a checkerboard in front of him this evening and he really liked it! He immediately tried to turn over onto his side while looking at it. While he was on his blanket on the floor with some toys he seemed to be batting at them...so I moved them to his other side and he started batting at them there!

One of my favorite things to do with William is to kiss him about a million times while he's on my shoulder. I love to kiss his left temple. Besides, it's closest to my lips while he's being burped. I kiss his open mouth all the time! I might be imagining it, but it seems to me that when I'm holding him in front of me, kissing him, he aims his face at my lips. Is he trying to suck or is he trying to get another kiss? I don't know really, but it's nice to think that he's trying to get another kiss. Sometimes I make a sucking noise into his mouth and sometimes I do raspberries into his open lips. He is a sweet baby. It kills me when he cries really hard from gas pain. And I still have to sleep with my back to him most times to keep from staying awake all night staring at him. I simply adore snuggling with him for a nap!

William has gotten decidedly more assertive! I'd initially worried that I'd miss some need he had because he's such a calm baby. I really let this thought plague me thinking that he might be unhappy, or in pain, or simply just desire something and I wouldn't know. Not to worry though! He cries when he has gas pain, and now he actually cries when he's poopy. Neither of The Littles would have cared if I'd dipped them in poopy, but William lets me know he doesn't like it! He's always gotten upset since his first week when he has spit up through his nose – he still hates that!

For the most part, I can only see Jack's Down syndrome when he opens his eyes. While he is sleeping he looks just like any other baby. And now and then I can see what The Girlie means when she says, "Mom. William looks just like you!"