Thursday, June 2, 2011

Happy Two Months, Grace!

Happy Two Months, Grace!

We love you more and more with every passing day, which doesn't feel possible, but it is. You bring more joy and laughter into our lives and have taught us so much already about what it means to be good parents. We can't wait to see how much you grow and change during this next month.

Love,
Your Mommy and Daddy


Clothes:Today I packed up her newborn clothes and put all of her 0-3 months clothes in her dresser and wardrobe. She can still fit in about half of her newborn clothes, so I may dip back into her pajama selection if push comes to shove. Most of her 0-3 months clothes are onesies, which are awesome for the heat, but not so awesome for a baby that loves to be swaddled. A swaddle blanket works best if it has clothing to 'grip' onto, and when she naps in a onesie, she breaks out of her swaddle 9 times out of 10.

Food: Grace is still eating every 3 hours, 7 am until 10 pm, and one feeding between 10 pm and 7 am, usually around 3 am. She feeds for 30 minutes solidly, at which point I stop her. I'm not really sure how long she would nurse for if I just let her go on indefinitely. During the school week, if I have class during her 1 pm feeding, I feed her a pumped bottle of about 2.5 ounces, and she takes it like a champ!

I cut out almost all dairy out of my diet, around month one, because I thought it might be causing her some discomfort. Things have calmed down and I am adding dairy back into my diet to see if that is what it was.

Sleep: We rotated her schedule around week five, to have a start time of 7 am instead of 9 am, and it has made all the difference (I'm not sure why, it just has!) Before, Grace would nap inconsistently and scream, every night, from 7pm until midnight, even with a feeding at 9pm! We also increased her "wake time," to one hour and ten/twenty minutes. Her naps have evened out, with her napping about 75% of her nap time.

Her bedtime comes after her 7 pm feeding, bath, and snuggle, and her 10pm feeding is more of a 'dream feed,' where we keep her swaddled, lights low, and sounds low. She falls right back asleep after this feed and sleeps until she's hungry.

Activity: Grace has become much more interested in things hanging above her, and rattles and bright toys attract her attention.

She loves sitting up, and is the most happiest when propped against things so she can look about. I've started tucking her in our bed, propped against the pillows in the morning, while I'm getting ready for school. She'll just sit and stare while I talk and sing to her.

On May 16th, 2011, at 11:29 am, Grace smiled at me for the first time, and completely melted my heart. She smiles a couple of times a day, but we have to really work for those smiles!

Personality: Grace LOVES eating, and is inconsolable before a feeding and happy as a lark after she eats. My favorite time with her is the 20 minutes or so after she eats when she is just the happiest baby in the world!


Miscellaneous:
*Grace had her first babysitter! Our friend offered to watch her during a particularly busy school day, when Ian was away over the border at an embassy. She stayed with Grace for an hour or so and Grace proved herself by peeing and pooping on our friend during a diaper change!
*Grace does great at school. Most of the time she stays sleeping in her infant carrier seat, but the teachers love her so much, they don't like it if I leave her in her seat! Most days, we bring her home smelling like other lady's Arab perfume, from when they held her!
*She LOVES her pacifier now, and we're working hard on not letting her use it too often, or as a crutch to fall asleep. Most of the time, we use it to settle her down when she has spiraled into a full on meltdown.
*She still isn't making many sounds, but occasionally she makes a few sounds!
*Grace had her 2 month check up yesterday, and she's put on 3 pounds in the last month, coming in at 10.3 pounds (25%) 23 inches (50%) and she got 3 immunizations, one of which was a 6-in-1 that isn't offered in the States but saves Grace from 5 extra pricks! She did great, peed on the doctor, pooped on the nurse, and screamed for about 2 seconds after her shots.
*Grace had her first night away from home- an unexpected one, but more on that another time. She did great and we're so glad we have a healthy sleeper! Who ever said "scheduled," babies aren't flexible has got it all wrong!

3 comments:

Tami said...

Happy 2 Months Grace!

Lyndsey said...

Happy 2 Months Grace! Glad to hear the shots went well, sounds like she took them like a champ!

I love that blue outfit so much, I can't get over the ruffled sleeves! Why can't boys wear ruffles? :)

Rachel and John said...

Sounds like Grace is a super happy baby! I'm glad it's going so well for you!!! Happy 2 months!!