Oh brother!

Bryce had his 4 month appointment last week.  Reed was performing the whole time, saying hi to “Doctor Mike” and showing off with is look and find book.  He was very charming and I think he likes the appointment much more when the doctor is poking and looking at Bryce rather than him.  However, he is the ever protective big brother and doesn’t like anyone else picking on Bryce and making him cry.  It’s perfectly fine if he makes him cry, but heaven forbid if anyone else does.  Bryce is perfectly healthy and impressively strong (good genes!) so the only concern is the flat head that he’s developed, which is more of a concern on my part than it was for Dr. Garrison.  He said he’s seen worse and that it wasn’t too late.  By the way, it’s really no comfort when a doctor tells you they’ve “seen worse” because, of course they have- they’re doctors!  I don’t know why they think this is supposed to be reassuring.  

Regardless, Mike and I have made such an effort to not leave Bryce lying around because I really didn’t want him to have a flat head. I was aware of it since before he was even born and swore that I’d carry him and hold him jus t as much as I did Reed.  I feel so bad for second babies who get left lying on their backs.   I’ve tried to hold him as much as I can with a toddler running around my house.  It’s been much easier over the past month or so that he’s strong enough to sit in the walker or bumbo seat, so he’s off his head more during the day.  The culprit is the fact that he sleeps on his back and I mean flat on his back.  Reed never did- Reed was a tummy sleeper and would sleep no other way, so he has a beautifully round skull in the back.  Poor Bryce, I don’t want him to think that he has a flat head because we don’t love him as much!  Maybe I can massage it and get it to round back out.

I even tried to get him to sleep on his tummy for naps, but he never liked it.  You can only do so much. I know you can’t put a whole lot of merit into their measurements as babies besides to check on growth and consistency.  There’s really no direct correlation to their height and weight as adults, but so far it looks like Bryce could be bigger than Reed.  He was a pound less and almost an inch smaller at birth, but since then he’s grown more rapidly than Reed did at his 4 month appointment.  Bryce is 16lbs and 26.9 inches.  Two pounds more and an inch longer than Reed was.  This is to his advantage if Reed continues to brutalize him- at least Bryce will catch up faster and be able to hold his own ground around his big brother!  I’ve been told they will fight, I’ve been told they’ll be best friends and worse enemies.  I know it won’t prepare me, but I’ve been told, so at least I’ve been warned. I’m a girl so it’s going to be hard for me to relate, their childhood will be vastly different from mine.  Don’t worry, I’ve got two books on raising boys so I plan to be well read on the subject and braced for the impact.

I’ve read a few chapters; let’s just say I’m buying stock in Band-Aid.

Bryce still likes the Soothie pacifiers, they’re the big, round, gummy kind. He hasn’t yet transitioned to the plastic kind with the handle on them.  The problem is that as soon as he loosens his suction, that thing will bounce all the way across the room and out the door before you can blink.  So, we’ve been using this “wubbanub” pacifier (can you believe they named it that?) that we actually received as a gift at my baby shower for Reed. It has a little stuffed animal attached to it, so it looks like he’s cuddling with this little blue pony on his chest. 

We’ve come to rely heavily on it, especially at night and in the car.  

The one on the left is my creation!

I’m sure you can guess what’s coming, yes, we lost it.  It took one day of searching all over the house and retracing my footsteps leading up to the disappearance before I broke down and “popped in” to check BabiesRUs for a replacement.  I say “pop in” because there is no such thing when you have two littles.  Hauling them in and out of anywhere is a chore and must be made worth it! Much to my dismay, I found the display of pacifiers utterly disappointing.  Right there in the middle of the wall, almost swallowed by the rest of them was the lone hanger- empty from tip to end.  The tag above it was labeled, Wubbanub (what a ridiculous name).  Of course.  I felt defeated.  Of course they were out of stock, it was only the ONE thing I needed. I had a fix when in mind when got home.  My remedy was a quick sew job with a Soothie and a palomino horse beanie baby.  It’s a much larger animal than the one that comes on a Wubbanub (for crying out loud, could they have come up with a better name?) but it was a much cheaper option! The best part is that I’ve been receiving compliments on it everywhere we go.  People point to it and say, “is that one of those Wubbanubs? It’s so cute! I’ve never seen one like that!” to which I admit, “Nope, I made it myself.” Mommy MacGyver style!

The original has since been found. But of course!