2 Months

Dear Emma,

Today you turn 2 months old, and wow! What a difference a month makes! In the last month you’ve gotten bigger, stronger, and even cuter — although I didn’t think it was possible for you to be cuter than you already were.

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This month you got to spend lots of quality time with your family, and I don’t just mean Dad and me. Grandma R came to see you again, and only a few days after she left, Aunt Katie and Uncle Joel flew all the way from Seattle to meet you. They heaped all kinds of love and affection on you, and you soaked it up — when each one of them left, you got fussy! I assume this is only the beginning of years of you thinking that your grandparents, aunts, and uncles are WAY more fun than mean ol’ Mom and Dad.

Your second month of life was pretty busy for a little baby. We’ve taken you out into the world a lot more than we did in the early weeks. You’ve “eaten” at Panera, Chuy’s, Spring Creek BBQ, Rudy’s, Mediterranean Chef and Cuisine of India. You’ve been to Target several times. We went to Joann’s with your Grandma, and since we both love that store, you might as well get used to it. And you even saw the space shuttle!

We’ve also started going for walks several times each week. I’m not sure how often we’ll be able to walk once my maternity leave ends and the sun starts going down early, so I’m making sure to enjoy it now while I can. I also started running again a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I can’t take you along just yet, but that may be a good thing — I need that time for just me, right now, I think. We’ll have plenty of time to run together in the months and years to come.

Post-bath hairdo and a grin

This week you had your two-month checkup at the doctor. You clocked in at 11 pounds, 14 ounces and 23 inches long — that’s 75th percentile for weight and 90th for height. You’ve gained more than 5 pounds and grown 4 inches since birth, which explains why you get so hungry all the time I suppose. I had actually expected you to break 12 pounds — and I think you would have if you hadn’t pooped right before we left the house.

I suspect that your rapid growth rate may be slowing, because this week you’ve been eating a few ounces less per day than you were previously. Still, you’ve now outgrown all of your newborn outfits — even the really big ones — and are firmly in size 1 diapers. Heck, you could probably move on to size 2 if not for the fact that we still have a lot of gifted-to-us size 1s to use up! (And speaking of diapers, we’ve learned that one of your favorite places to be is lying on your changing pad. I don’t get it, but hey, if it makes you happy, I’m happy.)

You also got your first round of shots and though you understandably started crying when the nurse stuck the first needle into your chubby little thigh, overall you took those vaccinations like a champ. In fact, the night after your shots was your best night of sleep ever! If that’s a side effect, perhaps you’d like to get shots every day?

Sleeping in general has evolved this month, especially in the last week. You eat “dinner” sometime around 7:00 with bedtime shortly after, and your longest stretch of sleep is always the first chunk. For a few weeks, you’d fallen into a (somewhat) predictable pattern of waking up to eat 4-5 hours after dinner, and then again 3-4 hours later before waking up for the day around 7ish. But on Sunday and Monday nights, you suddenly started going 6 hours before waking up hungry, and another 4-5 after that. And last night? Last night you ate at 7:00 and finally fell asleep around 9:00 after a little more fussing than usual…but you didn’t wake up again until 3 am! Eight whole hours between feedings! This is HUGE as far as I’m concerned — going from two night feedings down to only one.  I know we’ll surely have some regressions but for now, Emma, you are awesome.

You are also spending more time awake during the day now, which has its pros and cons. Sometimes you are fussy, and then we just have to sit together while I try to reassure you that everything is ok. Those days are not the greatest, I have to admit. One thing leads to another and before I know it, I’m crying because you’re crying — and also dwelling on everything else that I suddenly find annoying, like the fact that the house is a mess, and that I have no time to myself. On those days, I wish I was back at work already, mainly because that would mean you’d be at daycare, where someone else would deal with you for a while.

And then, of course, I feel horribly guilty for even thinking that.

But sometimes — and these times are becoming more and more frequent — you are utterly happy and content! And when you are, it’s so great! I talk to you, play music and sing, dance around the living room, and do tummy time on your playmat. Then, as you get sleepy, you quietly sit in your bouncy chair or swing looking at the toys hanging above you. (Or at the ceiling fan. Who knew that thing could be so fascinating?)

During those times, Daddy and I have started to see glimpses of the little girl we know you’ll turn into soon enough — one who coos and tries to babble, who takes everything in with wide, bright eyes, who breaks into a huge grin when we smile at you. We can’t wait to see what you do next.

Love,
Mama