Walker is 2 Months

Little Walker has been exclusively breastfeeding this month! He’s grown out of his newborn sized diapers, too! He smiles after he’s had a good fulfilling meal, and clings at the breast with his sweet little hand. I love being able to feed him without preparing, fortifying, and sanitizing a bottle. My favorite way to show him affection is to stroke his perfectly irresistible cheeks with my cheek.

​He passed his oxygen test at the doctor’s office and we’re just waiting for a reading from the neonatologist that there’s no apnea or murmurings going on at night. Bath time has become more frequent now that the equipment is not so cumbersome, about 2-3 times per week or however long the towels last. No wires and tubes also means more outfit changes! There were too many newborn sized onesies that he outgrew at the head or thighs without even getting to wear once, so I decided to change him as soon as one got dirty. I’ve found that my little boy likes to be clean, so when he’s grumpy or can’t sleep a good diaper change or bath will usually put him back in a good mood.

Walker still has acid reflux, so we try to burp him and hold him upright for 25 minutes after he eats. It’s a long time commitment especially at night when you’re dead tired, so I’ve resorted to watching Gilmore Girls episodes silently on subtitles during our late night feedings. I find he stays asleep longer in the Rock N’ Play than the crib, but he sleeps his absolute best in the car seat on a trip or on my belly on the couch.

He’s active and awake for a good 2-3 hours during the day now, so we’ve been trying song time (he seems to loves music and Mommy’s singing), tummy time with rattles and other toys (although he doesn’t seem to like to hold on to objects), and generally exploring the house, looking out the window, or holding Lily’s hand. He really enjoys Lily, and she is quite attentive to his needs. She is on point about whether he’s hungry, wants to be held, or needs a diaper change—it’s uncanny for a 6-year-old to be so in tune with a baby’s cries! Walker is my only baby that hasn’t been totally obsessed with his pacifier. As a matter of fact, he gags every time you introduce him to one, even if it’s brand new and washed so there’s definitely no weird taste. I’ve had to kind of leave it in his mouth for a while so that he gets past his gag reflex and maybe gives it a chance.

One of my many concerns has been protecting Walker from exposure and illness. We had a lot of people over for Lily’s birthday party, but we kept the baby in his room and if he ever needed something I disappeared from the party to take care of him. Ashley held him before everyone arrived, and then Walker had some visitors during the party including Monica, Kash, Wilee and Chalia with Aria. I stepped out to watch the kids play on the slip n’ slide that the boys created, and Wilee was the only one left in the house so he also took care of the baby for a few minutes. Victoria held him after the party, and Walker seemed to really be comfortable with her. Then the inevitable happened and a week later Jeremy, Fletcher, and Lily all got sick with fevers and lethargy within hours of each other at the worst possible time—on my birthday. We separated and ultimately Jeremy and the kids got the front room while Walker and I got my bedroom and Walker’s nursery. It allowed all the sick little ones to watch movies and for me to prepare snacks, food, and drinks for them away from the baby. It also meant we were all kind of trapped in our respective corners of the house until I felt the illness had blown over. Lily took it especially hard since she was very diligent with helping me care for the baby, and all of a sudden was not allowed to touch or see him. I did my best to care for everyone without cross contamination. Thankfully, neither Walker nor I got sick after that.

We’ve been venturing out and taking Walker to places as often as we can to avoid cabin fever while the weather is still nice and warm. On Jeremy’s first day back to work full time, I was going to take the kids to the park in the morning and give us a good start of the “back to school” year so I didn’t get stuck in a rut of keeping them home. Fletcher especially needs to play and be outside, so I figured I should do this for him. We packed up and I got everyone in the car including Walker with all of his equipment to pick up the giant stroller from the storage but it was missing. Instead of bringing everyone immediately back inside and calling it quits for our plans, we drove all the way to Salem to grab the stroller from Jeremy’s trunk and took a walk until Walker started fussing and needing to be fed. We didn’t get to meet with Jeremy because it was kind of an awkward time of day and he was stuck in a meeting, but we left him a message and a photo.
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The next day the kids and I missed Jeremy, so I got them all packed up in the car and we visited him for lunch. I took them in the stroller, and Jeremy convinced me to go into the school because they had just sanitized the place doing the yearly cleaning and there would be a minimum number of people there. Everyone we passed who saw us wanted to have a peek at the baby, though! I didn’t object since they weren’t going to touch him and didn’t seem to be unwell. We went to Travis’s homecoming in Herriman. I fed the baby in the car at Cafe Rio while Jeremy ordered the food, and then we went to Monica’s house just a couple minutes away where I left him sleeping in the covered car seat until it was near time to go home. Then we went to the Friday Food Truck event at the library a couple days ago. I brought the baby monitor and had it on while we ordered food, then the kids and I went back to the car and took Walker to a secluded bench at the neighboring park. Jeremy met us there with the food, and we were able to eat without ever taking the baby out of his seat or exposing him to a bunch of strangers. He was still able to get some fresh air, the kids got to play outside, and Mom and Dad enjoyed fried chicken and onion rings! Then Travis gave his homecoming talk today so Monica opened her room to us and that allowed him to be somewhat separated from all the visitors. ​

I’m so grateful for this little boy!