Emma: 2 Months Old

 

Emmie,

2 months ago we were welcoming you into the world and now we are more in love with you than we could have ever imagined possible. You really came alive this month, which has been so fun!  We have loved getting to know your personality and watch you learn something new everyday.  Your sleep has started to straighten out, which is a very welcomed change!  As much as we love you, we prefer to love you during the daytime hours!  You remain a very relaxed and easy going baby with very minimal fussing.  You also are not a very smiley baby, but more on the serious side, really making us work for those smiles.

I kept pretty detailed notes each week during this month because I wanted to remember every little detail.  So while this may not be exciting for anyone else, here's what you were up to each week during your second month of life:

Week 5 (July 20-26)

• Diaper size: 1, Clothes size: Newborn
• Naps were very tough this week!  You only slept in the swing or the car seat while we were out and about.
• You needed the pacifier a lot to be able to fall asleep, but you were horrible with it.  You spit it out constantly!
• Bedtime was awful this week.  I would feed you at 8pm but you wouldn't end up falling asleep until 10 or 11pm every night (after an extra feeding, rocking and usually with the pacifier).
• You slept for 4.5 hours straight a few nights this week!  Progress!  Thankfully you didn't have any long wake periods in the middle of the night.
• You started spinning around in your crib this week.  We would put you down facing one way and you would turn yourself completely around. 
• You still hated your crib this week.  Whenever I would put you down in there you would immediately start fussing (even if you were sound asleep before).
• Continued to nurse on one side only (10 minutes tops).
• Tried doing the dream feed again, but it still doesn't work well for you.  You wake up more in the night.
• You went to church for the first time this week.  Unfortunately Mommy missed most of the service because I had to take you to the nursing room for your 11:30am feeding.
• Mommy had her post-partum obgyn appointment this week.  Everything was fine.  I still had 15 pounds to lose.  But thankfully all the bleeding has stopped!

Week 6 (July 27-August 2)

• Diaper size: 1 (day) 2 (night), Clothes size: some newborn and some 3 months
• One night this week you slept for 5 hours straight!
• For 2 days during this week, I stopped nursing you and switched to all bottle feedings (pumped for every feeding, so you were still drinking my milk, just from a bottle).  This was a test run to see if it was my fast flow that was causing you to be so fussy while eating.  You would eat 3-5 oz per feeding and did pretty well with the bottles.  However, I hated the pumping!  It made me so sore and was exhausting to have to feed you a bottle for 20-30 minutes and then pump for 10-15 minutes.  I spent my entire day feeding or pumping.  No thanks!  Not to mention that I really missed nursing you.  There is definitely a special bond that can only be satisfied by nursing (at least for me!).
• Unfortunately, you had another all-nighter this week, wide awake from 2:30am-5:30am.  You finally fell back to sleep in the swing downstairs.  Ugh!
• Naps were rough this week.  Lots of crying.  :-(  You continued to do the majority of your napping in the swing or rock n' play.
• I read you your first book this week.  :-)
• You continued to only nurse on one side for 8-10 minutes total

Week 7 (August 3-9)

• Diaper size: 1 (day) 2 (night), Clothes size: 3 months
• This week we started letting you cry it out for bedtime (after the 7 or 8pm feeding).  It only worked one night this week, with all the rest ending up with us caving and bringing your down to the swing to fall asleep.  But at least we tried! :-)  We also started cry it out for nap time this week.  This was a little more successful, but still rough!  You still ended up napping in the swing a lot.
• You slept for 5.5 hours straight one night this week!  YEAH!  You were consistently waking only once per night (between 2-4am).  This is definitely a step in the right direction.
• Evenings continued to be your work time of day.  You would cry a lot and be wide awake from 6-10pm most every night.  You would usually fall asleep after I fed you again around 10pm, but even that didn't work every night.  
• Continued to nurse on only one side per feeding. 

Week 8 (August 10-16)

• Diaper size: 1 or 2 (whatever is in the room), Clothes size: 3 months
• You gave us your FIRST SMILE this week!!  It's about time! :-)
• You went to church for the second time.  You were so noisy while I was trying to feed you (from a bottle) that I ended up spending the majority of the service in the hallway with you.
• One night this week you actually slept after the 7:30pm feeding!  You slept from 8pm until 12:45am.  It was so nice to finally have an evening to ourselves!
• You continued to only have one middle of the night feeding every night this week (between 2-4am).
• You continued to eat from only one side per feeding, but on a rare occasion would eat a little from the second side this week.
• Your eyes are still goopey and watery (have been since birth).  This is from blocked tear ducts, which your big sister had as well.  Nothing to worry about, just an annoyance. 
• You continue to struggled to keep the pacifier in.  You love it when it's in, but you can only keep it in for a few minutes before you spit it out.  
• The swing stopped being a fool-proof way to get you to sleep this week.  You were content in the swing, but you spent more time wide awake in it then sleeping.  Not good.
• Your wake time ranges from 45 minutes to 1 hour throughout the day before you are ready to go down for another nap.

Week 9 (August 17-23)

• Diaper size: 2 but sometimes a 1 because we still have some laying around, Clothes size: 3 months
• The evenings continued to be a struggle this week.  You were not eating well for the 7pm feeding (constantly pulling off, fussing, gagging, choking, fussy).  Then when we would try to put you down you would start screaming.  We ended up putting you in the swing where you would often fall asleep and then we would move you to your bed, praying that you wouldn't wake up.  This work most of the time, but not always.
• You started "talking" a lot this week with coos and gurgles.  Adorable!
• We took the sling out of your bathtub this week and gave you your first bath all the way submerged.  You loved it!
• You were waking 1-2 times per night for a feeding this week.
• Naps were better this week, with more good naps then bad.
• You had your 2 month well visit on August 23.  You weigh 12lbs. 1oz. and are 23 1/4" long.  We scheduled an ultrasound for your spinal cord because of your curved butt crack (that's the medical term, I'm sure).  The pediatrician isn't really concerned, but it's better that we get it checked out now with an ultrasound instead of waiting until you are older and an MRI would be required.  You also got your first vaccinations at this visit.  You did NOT like those!  You were hysterical for several minutes afterward.  Then for the next 24 hours you were VERY sleepy and feverish.  It was so sad to see you so miserable.  Thankfully you slept for nearly the entire night and next day, but when you were awake you just looked so sad.  Broke my heart!
• As a result of the vaccinations, you slept for 9 hours straight over night on August 23!  What a welcomed treat that was!!  I woke up soaking wet (leaking) and scared that something was wrong at 4am and didn't know what to do.  I decided to pump and then of course you woke up right when I finished.  Thankfully I had only pumped on one side, so you ate from the other and went right back to sleep.

This is the schedule that we have settled into this month:
Schedule:
7:30am - Wake, Nurse, Play
8:15am - Nap
10:30am - Wake, Nurse, Play
11:20am - Nap
1:30pm - Wake, Nurse, Play
2:30pm - Nap
4:30pm - Wake, Nurse, Play
5:30pm - Cat Nap (usually in the swing or car seat if we are out and about or even in my arms)
6:30pm - Wake, Bedtime Routine, Nurse, Right to bed (around 7:45pm) - but this rarely happens since this is your fussy time
10pm - Feed (since you are usually already awake at this time, I end up feeding you and then putting you down for the night)
**You then wake between 3-4am for a feeding and then go right back to sleep until 7 or 7:30am

2 Month Stats:
- Diapers: Size 2 (but we are still using size 1 from time to time since we have a few laying around)
- Clothes: 3 months
- Shoes: Size 1
- Weight: 12lbs. 1oz.
- Height: 23 1/4"

So much changes in one month in the life of a newborn!  You are so much bigger now (you've gained 5 pounds since you were born!) and much more alert.  You love to "talk" to us and love starring at lights and your sister! :-)  We love you little squishy!