Weight: 27.2 lbs 39th percentile
Height: 36.5 in 96th percentile
Head Circumference 19 in 39th percentile
BMI: 14.3
Wow, I can't believe my baby boy is 2 years old! Where has the time gone? Time flies when you are having fun, I guess :)
Let's start with Rhett's 2 year old appt. In the months leading up to his appointment, I had concerns that Rhett's expressive speech might not be where it needs to be. Thankfully starting in January he started to progress quickly. At the time of his appt, he had over 100 + words. Well at his appointment he was super chatty. When Dr. Domm came into the room, he started saying "doctor! doctor!" over and over. Then he started counting to 10 unprompted. At the end of the appt, I brought up Rhett's speech to the dr. and she was surprised that I had any concerns. She said that although he may not be where Jackson was at his age, she would consider his speech advanced and that we had absolutely nothing to worry about...music to our ears! Good job buddy!
Everything else looked great and Rhett was a champ, even when he had to get a shot! They did test his hemoglobin again and as per usual, it was on the low side of normal (10.8). This makes sense for a child who RARELY will try any kind of meat and who is very fair skinned with light eyes/hair. We are going to put him on an iron supplement again in hopes to get him more in middle of normal range. I can't wait until this boy starts eating more variety of food, including meat!
One of the things that I am most excited to type is that Rhett is sleeping in his own bed through the night! He does occasionally cry out or wake up from a bad dream, but we have had many nights of sleeping solid straight through the night. Hallelujah!! I always said I knew that when I weaned him, he would sleep better through the night and it happened right on cue, just like Jackson did. He did also fall out of our bed one night after coming in around midnight (again-JUST like Jackson did) so I had a few grueling nights of putting him constantly back in his bed before he resigned that he would just have to sleep there. It was crazy-this wild boy actually rolled over the top of Justin's whole body and fell over the side. He landed on his knees and was not hurt in the least bit but it was a wake up call that things would have to change soon! It is never fun to wake up to things going bump in the night especially when it is your child.
On a related note, I had an issue in late March where I began having these weird feelings of my eyes feeling like they were trying to cross for second with a strange feeling of being tired after each time. It started happening many time throughout the day every single day. It wasn't blurry or dizzy...just a strange feeling with my eyes and a little bit of nausea. I went to the eye dr. and had an eye exam, but found that my vision was great..20/10! I had a head CT, which thank God was clear. The last resort was a visit with an ENT. I had a hearing test, which I did great on. The ENT came in to talk to me and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it could be. He is a friend of ours and I happened to mention how I have been nursing (through the night) or pregnant for 5 years in a row, but that the last 2 years had been brutal on my sleep due to Rhett being up constantly. He then said he had a hypothesis: that I have been sleep deprived for so long that my REM sleep is severely lacking and out of whack. He suggested that my body was trying to go into REM sleep while I was awake to overcompensate, but my brain was stopping it immediately. He said it is in the same family as narcolepsy, but not near as serious as that. It was like a light bulb went off...It was exactly what it felt like to me! His prescription...cut out nursing through the night. I did just that and within a few days, that strange feeling was gone after having had it for several weeks. Bada bing!
This brings me to....the end of nursing :( . It was sad for me an I drew it out a few weeks after he turned 2, but it went better than expected. He didn't cry or fuss but did ask for "boo boo" several times and I had to tell him no. The nice thing is that we were able to talk about how he is 2 and a big boy who didn't need it anymore. He accepted that and that was the end. So there you go. I nursed both boys exclusively without ever having to give them a single drop of formula at all. Neither has had a single ear infection ( of course that involves a lot of luck as well!) and have had very few antibiotics in their lifetimes. I will always cherish that sweet time nursing my boys and it was a huge bonding experience between us. I passed on my breast pump to a friend and had Justin take a few pictures of me nursing Rhett for the last time ever. Ahh so thats it...4 plus years of nursing babies and the "girls" may never be the same..haha! Jokes aside- It was worth every single second of sleep that I lost, every plugged duct/case of mastitis, every bite that I got (thank you Jackson!), every meeting that I flew home from to feed my babies, every alcoholic drink that I declined, every time I had to pump in the car in between work meetings, etc. I am sad that it is over, but proud of my body and mind for sticking with it for so long.
Let's see...what else can I add? Well the terrible twos officially hit just days into him turning 2. I'm talking full on tantrums. We did not experience this with Jackson so much. Rhett is a feisty fella. Thankfully they don't last long but this boy can get nasty! Usually they are followed by a lot of love from him. It's almost like he feels bad for acting up. :) What an angel.
He's sticking up for himself more with Jackson. We have had a few light shoving matches, but nothing too crazy. His favorite word right now is a very loud and defiant "NO!!!".
He loves to watch Disney's Octonauts and Nick Jr's Paw Patrol. His favorite toys are dinosaurs, trains, and cars.
He really enjoys outside time, especially in the mornings with Ashley, or as he calls her "Ashy". He pulls all of his vehicles and toys out each time and also enjoys pulling out the hose, baby pool, and sprinkler. He knows to get his helmet when riding his scooter.
He really needs to try new foods...He wont touch fruits, vegetables, or meats. I have to hide all three in carbs like bread, cheese quesedillas, and biscuits, as well as yogurt. It gets exhausting making special meals. I still put some fruits/ veggies on his plate with each meal in hopes that he will decide to try them. Also, he won't touch milk anymore. He only wants water. We give him DHA, a daily multivitamin, and now we started some calcium supplements. He brings picky eater to a whole new level.
He uses his right and left hand equally. I have no idea which one will be dominant anymore. He might still favor his left , but switches which one he eats with and colors with, almost daily. We have noticed that he walks down stairs with his left foot first, so that's why we think he may be slightly more left dominant.
He will not stay in time out when he is upset. He runs out screaming and usually falls on the ground in a dramatic expression. On the other hand, if he refuses to let me change his diaper or brush his teeth, I will give him the option of letting me do it or he can go to time out. Of course, he says "time out" and calmly walks to time out, stands there and looks at me with a smile, calling my bluff.
He still dances all of the time and now has been singing a lot. He and Jackson loved the movie "Frozen" and Rhett knows most of the songs. It is adorable to hear him sing and even try to hit the high notes! He still hasn't met a beat that he doesn't like and is always breaking it down to dance, even if he is strapped in a car seat. He also wears sunglasses regularly and loves them.
Some of his new favorite words/phrases: Corvette, "show daddy", Jack Jack (what he calls Jackson), "oh no!", "my turn", "one more", "go sleep", "snacks", "orange juice" (that is what he calls his multivitamin), "poo poo" (what he calls pee pee), "night night", and "myself" (as in I can do it by myself!)
He is very particular about how his socks are on. He always says "too tight!" and makes you readjust his socks about 2-3 times before putting his shoes on. We can't figure out what that's all about. I don't think he likes his toes squished together.
He loves to read books, but his favorite right now is a book about Space. He points to all of the pictures and yells "Moon!, Earth!, Saturn!, Moon Rock! Sun!, Stars! Jupiter!" He also loves to show us that he knows the astronaut and the satellite. We make over it and clap for him. He gets a huge smile and starts all over again.
He denies pooping in his diaper. We can always tell and we will ask him "Rhett, are you going poopy" and he will yell "NO!". Then when he's ready for his diaper to be changed, he'll finally come around and say "poo poo". We put the potty out for him to start trying. He has peed once and we made a huge deal out of it. He hasn't gone since, but does sit on it with clothes on a lot of the time.
Rhett: you are an absolute joy to be around. Your smile is so big and bright and you are a snuggly and loving boy. I love your feistiness and your strong will, although these qualities can be a challenge to deal with at times. I love the way that you love, look up to, and imitate your big brother. You have a great sense of humor but you do make people work for a laugh from you most of the time. You are a very social guy and will start dancing and jumping around to entertain anyone who steps foot in our house. You are such a blessing to our family!
We had his party at The Little Gym, and he had A BLAST! I don't think he stopped smiling the whole time. He knew this party was for him and he soaked it up. He loved all of the kids that came and enjoyed the big parachute, balls, bubbles, party songs/dances, and blow up trampoline. Our friend Lauren did an excellent job (as always) on the cake. The theme was Thomas the train. Jackson was such a big helper and went to the party early with his daddy to help set everything up. Jackson also had a lot of fun at the party and followed my friend Ashley's daughter Madeline a lot of the time. (He has been a bit girl-crazy lately and keeps talking about wanting to kiss his many girlfriends...yikes!) Anyway, the party was a HIT! Justin and I were talking later and it is honestly probably one of the best times that we've seen Rhett have. It was a great way to celebrate our baby turning 2! Here are some photos from April and Rhett's party:
