The second month...
OK I'm a little behind on getting this posted. I say this as I sit on the floor next to Evie in her bouncer, one hand on my laptop and the other entertaining my daughter with a rattle. To say I havent had a lot of time to do "me" things would be an understatement.
I wouldn't say that the second month has been easier, but I can certaintly tell Ryan and I are becoming more comfortable as we learn more and more about Evelyn's personality, temperament and schedule. We've also gotten better at reading Evelyn's wants and needs (understanding her hungry cry, knowing when she's tired, learning what makes her smile, etc). All of these little cues have helped us transition into a more "normal" life with Evelyn instead of the chaos/constant guessing we experienced those first few weeks of her life.
During the second month we established a routine as we noticed more daily consistencies with Evelyn. She wakes up any time between 5-7 am. She eats and then we head downstairs where she sits in her bouncer quite content for an hour or so. I grab some coffee, then we do another feed which usually puts her back to sleep for a long morning nap (typically 3 hours!) which is much appreciated for this mamma who needs some alone time to eat, clean, work and nap.
We play the rest of the day, alternating between the bouncer, tummy time and the play mat. She craves attention, so I can't leave her alone for too long, but all in all, she's a terrific baby during the day.
For most of the second month, when evening would roll around (usually right at the time Ryan would be arriving home) my happy baby girl would turn into a feisty little thing. Our pediatrician suspects she is colicky (lucky us) and that it will pass in the next month or so. As soon as Ryan would walk in the door I would pass her off so I could regain my sanity, start dinner, clean up the mess I made during the day and so forth. She would then proceed to fuss for the rest of the evening.
Nine times out of 10 the only thing that will calm Evelyn down is nursing. Generally it seems like she just wants to nurse, nurse nurse during the evening which can be so exhausting on my end. Since she won't take the paci it seems like she wants to nurse for both hunger and comfort. I usually want to spend time with Ryan and do a few things around the house. but instead Im stuck on the couch feeding an irritable baby. Ryan will often put her in the Ergo and wear her to calm her down so that I can jump in the shower and have a few moments to myself.
Getting Evelyn to fall asleep for the night isn't the easiest of tasks either. We head upstairs to our bedroom usually around 9. Ryan does a diaper change and swaddles her. She's usually fussing at this point. I nurse her to sleep, and this can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours!
We've been co-sleeping because she will not sleep anywhere but our bed at night, and she especially hates her bassinet. I know this is frowned upon by many, but I need my sleep as does Ryan. Plus, research shows that co-sleeping is perfectly safe and even healthy. I'm enjoying her snuggles and it works for us for now since we all the need the rest. Once down she sleeps anywhere between 2-4 hours (we even hit 5 and 6 straight hours last week!). She wakes in the middle of the night once. Ryan changes her, hands her back to me. Ill feed her again and then she will sleep another 2-4 hours. This has been great because I do feel rested in the morning and sometimes I can even get her to go down a 3rd time if Im not feeling ready to crawl out of bed.
In the last few weeks we've already notice subtle changes in Evie's sleep. We've had a few great nights where she's sleeping longer stretches and isn't as terribly fussy in the evenings. All positive things that help us feel like there is an end to this crazy colicky period and that SOMEDAY Ryan and I may even get a few moments to eat dinner together, have a conversation or just sit in complete silence on the couch.
Evelyn's Likes...
Hands...hands in mouth, hands on face, hands on mom...I try to make sure they are covered with mittens or you
tend to scratch the heck out of your face AND ME.
Bouncer, play mat and swing (yay!).
New faces really capture your attention.
Noises and lights. Recently you've taken interest in the TV.
Nursing! Whether you are hungry or just need some snuggle time, you love nursing and we do it often.
Dislikes...
Being held facing inward. You are such an independent little lady and like to see what's going on.
Wet diapers.
Baths. You are petrified of getting clean. We need to work on this because since you hate it so much we may go a little too long without cleaning you, and thats not OK.
Car seat. You still hate when I put you in this. Swinging you in it helps and it usually only takes 10 minutes in the car until you're fast asleep.
Other things..
We took you to your first wedding. It was an evening wedding, so naturally, you ended up
crying screaming the entire time so we had to leave early.
You met some more of our friends this month! It's so fun to introduce you to important people in our lives.
You are still in newborn clothes. Such an itty bitty thing, but constantly growing. I can't wait until we can move onto your super cute 0-3 month clothes. I don't think it will be too long as you are getting too long for most of your sleepers.
We introduced the bottle and you said "NO WAY JOSE." No luck yet, but we'll keep trying. It wont be the end of the world if you choose to nurse exclusively, plus mommy enjoys the one-on-one time with you.
We're giving cloth diapers a try. (Hoping to do an entire post on this once we give it a little more time). Your little bum looks so cute in the bulky diapers and different colors.
You mostly nap in your swing. You are mesmerized by its mobile and you quickly fall to sleep once we put you in during the day.
You are smiling a ton and cooing. Such a sweet little voice.
Your hair still stands straight up, and we love it.
- 2 months!
- Look how cute in my cloth diaper!
