baby A--2 months

i keep thinking this little girl is one month for some reason.  but she is now 2 months!  already!  she is such a sweetheart.  so in the past month, hubs went back to work since his paternity leave ended, and we've just been busy visiting with various family and friends and trying to stay somewhat organized and on routine.  miss A is such a delightful little child, and although there are some stressful times with a toddler and newborn, there are many instances when i feel my heart so full of love, and thank God for the blessings He has bestowed.  and then two minutes later i want to lock myself in the bathroom to get away from the screaming, haha.  so is the life with babies.  so anyway.  baby A is a fairly easy baby, definitely less challenging than Z was.  i went back and read the 2 month update i wrote for Z and the situations are so different.  i was really struggling with getting him to sleep and to nap.  thankfully, baby A is not as difficult to get to sleep.  she is pretty easy to soothe.  sometimes she resists sleep and a few times she has kept me up late at night, one night specifically comes to mind where she didn't fall asleep until 3am and was only sleeping on and off until the morning, for some reason.  but generally, it's not too difficult to get her to sleep.  she is starting to come out of the newborn, fourth trimester fog and we are beginning to have more of a schedule and rhythm to the days.  she wakes up, nurses, we go downstairs so me and z can eat breakfast and she chills in the mamaroo, then she nurses, then we all get dressed, and have a few hours of playing and nursing the baby, then lunch, then nap, then more play and dinner, baths, bedtime.  it's good that we are at that point where we can get some routine established.  she is becoming interested in what's going on around her, when i walk around the house and i'm holding her or she's in the carrier, she's constantly whipping her head back and forth to check out her surroundings.  she really enjoys looking at the picture frames above the couch, and i have recently been putting her in the play gym thingy, she likes looking at the hanging toys and listening to the music from the windup toy.  she just recently discovered her hands, which she sucks on.  she tries to look at her hands, but they are usually really close to her face so her eyes cross, it's pretty funny. she talks to us by gurgling and cooing, she really seems to be having a conversation and it involves not only her voice but her whole face, her eyes light up and she smiles, ahhhh it is so freaking adorable.

-feeding: exclusively breastfeeding.  it's much easier now than it was even a month ago, i think she has the hang of it.  but sometimes, if she has to wait for a few minutes and gets upset, she won't latch on right away.  she will be there at the breast fussing at me, just to chastise me a bit i think.  she is a messy eater, ending with milk all over her face and dribbling down her neck, and she is a very noisy eater, haha.  but i'm glad that we don't really have any problems nursing anymore.

at our friends' wedding in her fancy socks

-growth: she has outgrown most of her newborn clothes, and she definitely feels heavier.  her hair is growing so fast.  we just had her 2 month appointment and she is doing great, she is a little over 9 lbs now, so she has gained a couple lbs in a month, but she is only 15th percentile for weight, 50th for height.  but she is healthy and looking good, per the doctor.

in her little dress

-development: like i mentioned above, she is becoming more interested in what's going on around her, she loves looking around, and follows sounds to find out where it is coming from.  she is interested in the toys that dangle above her from the play gym, she smiles at them. oh, yea, she has been smiling socially for awhile now, probably since she was 3 weeks old, but she really smiles a lot now when we talk to her and smile at her.  she looooooves watching her big brother, he is super interesting to her. she moves quite a bit now, her legs kicking in a circular motion like she is riding a bicycle. when we do tummy time, she flips herself over to her back. she is a strong little girl, pushing herself up on her arms when she is doing tummy time.

smiley girl, and fishy face

-sleep: she sleeps fairly well, much better than Z, so that's a relief. we have had a few instances where she didn't sleep well or really struggled against falling asleep but with Z i was never ever able to just put him in the mamaroo or something and have him fall asleep. i can do that with her. it's great. she naps anywhere and at night she sleep in the rock n play next to our bed and when she wakes up to nurse, early in the morning, she just stays in bed with me. 

tummy time

-temperament: she is fairly easy going, smiles and coos and gurgles easily, but will definitely let us know if she is unhappy. she loves cuddling up with me. she is so sweet. 

-likes: baths, being close to mama, watching her brother, music

her hair is so fluffy after a bath

-dislikes: being cold, having her hair brushed or head scrubbed in the bath, being poked in the cheek by big brother hahaha, she doesn't have a ton of dislikes at this point 

-me: feeling more comfortable and confident in my ability to mother two children at one time. it's definitely challenging though.  but also amazing.  i look at my little sweethearts and feel so lucky.  and scared.  i hope and pray that they remain safe and healthy.  i had my post partum appointment and i'm all healed up, i'm down 20 lbs from my last prenatal appointment, but still up 25 lbs or so from my pre-pregnancy weight.  it seems this time it's harder to shed the extra weight.  although i'm not so concerned about it, but i want to get back into shape, i want to strengthen my core.  my ab muscles are much weaker now, and if i get them strengthened then my back won't be so sore.  also, it would be nice to start being able to wear my normal clothes rather than stretchy pants and yoga pants everyday, haha.  when i can, i have been doing some simple yoga poses, and take walks.  i'm hoping in a month or two i can start T25 again.  we'll see.  so, for the most part, i'm doing well.  it's hard though, as i realize that being a mom and wife, everyone in the family needs me for something, and it can be overwhelming sometimes.  i want to have a set day that i can spend a couple hours doing whatever i want, whether it's by myself or not, but i think for my own sanity i need that.