Brooke: 2 months

The days are quickly passing and this post is getting more overdue with each one. I'm determined to get it written today even if it means typing on the iPad. Sorry in advance for typos.

Brooke turned 2 months old a week ago and I wanted to document what she is up to these days. Yesterday while our for a walk, Brett said it feels like we've had her forever. And it many ways it does! Life has changed so much!

2 Month Stats

Height- 21.5 inches (17%tile)

Weight- 8 lbs 10 oz (7 %tile)

Head- 37.5 cm (17%tile)

• She is still a little peanut and is wearing newborn sized everything still. I guess that makes sense since babies are born as big ( or bigger) than her at 2 months. I'm anxious for her to grow and get baby chub and fit in her bigger/cuter clothes and I hear bigger babies sleep longer.  Being small does make carrying her around easier though. 

• She loves bath time! Especially with daddy. She'll calm right down when we turn the water on and scream as soon as we take her out. Now that football is over he gets to play with her in the bath every night and I get a few minutes of "free time". 

• Speaking of screaming, she found her voice this month! She didn't  really cry her first month or so, just fussed. But now she can and she's not afraid to use it!

Trying out the crib while awake to get used to it and she was not liking it.

• She also likes the bathroom in general. The vent fan is almost always on because it is so effective in calming her down and putting her to sleep. Unfortunately simulated fans/white noise/ the sleep sheep aren't as effective.
• She likes to eat and nursing is definitely a comfort to her. We've given her a few bottles of pumped milk and she'll eat and eat but doesn't quiet calm down in the same way. 

Looking at the light, not the camera

• She loves looking at the lights! If she is staring at something we can usually follow her gaze to the nearest bright spot. 

Brooke, look this way!

• She is not a fan of her swing but will tolerate it for 5-10 minutes, if she is in a good mood. She really liked her bouncer this month but hasn't been to interested in it the last few days, hopefully she will like it again soon. And she's had moments where she loves her playmat.

• She doesn't usually like her pacifier. If she is upset and we try it she will take a few sucks, quickly realizes there is no milk, and become more upset. Occasionally if she is happy she will take it for a bit. 
• She likes to suck on her fist though. Her thumb is usually still stuck inside but maybe someday she'll get it out. I'm not opposed to thumb sucking. 

Get that hand!

• She loves to bounce! We spent most of the month holding her and bouncing her to sleep. Recently I realized I could get the same effect by bouncing on the edge of the bed. Sure makes my job easier. She does not, however, like rocking to sleep in the glider very much. 
• Part of the reason she loves to bounce is because it helps loosen up gas bubbles and this poor little girl sure gets gassy! Her second favorite gas relief position is sitting upright on my lap while I pat her back. 
• She is great at holding her head up on her own! Especially if I'm holding her up on my shoulder.

Chilling in the boppy.  She looks so small in it!

• She is ALWAYS moving. Kicking her legs or arms. Even in her sleep (because of the gas). This means she rarely is content to cuddle which is sad, but every so often I get a good cuddle session in while she is awake.
• She is still learning/ struggling with sleep. She is so close to falling asleep on her own sometimes but inevitable startles at the last moment ( even when swaddled). 

Hanging in the crib, maybe someday she'll sleep in it too

• She still likes to be swaddled and it calms her down but because she wiggles so much in her sleep it is inevitable that she will sneak her arms out. We use the swaddle me blankets at night and she has been breaking free of them since day one.
• Her sleep schedule during the day is erratic but pretty consistent at night. She will go down between 8-9 and sleep til 12 or 1. Then she usually has another 3 hr stretch and wakes up around 3. After that it is every two hours til morning. (5 and 7).  During the day she'll fall asleep nursing and sleep until her gas pains or reflux wakes her. Usually 30 min spurts and if we are lucky, one longer stretch in the afternoon. My guess is that during her sleep transitions she wakes up enough to recognize any discomfort. Sometimes, if I'm holding her, I can go into the bathroom and bounce to help her get thru it.

I put her down and sometimes she'll stay asleep for a few minutes.  She is cuddling her blanket and propped up against a pillow on the couch.  Don't worry, I was sitting right by her the whole time. 

• The biggest struggle with sleep is she will only really sleep while being held. She wakes up rather quickly if I put her down. Part of the reason is because of her gas. Moving loosens up the bubble so if I move her she starts squirming because of the new pain, if I'm holding her and this happens I just lightly bounce or pat her back and it usually helps. Although I love the cuddle time, we are trying to remedy this and it's probably the thing I'm most self conscious about when it comes to my parenting abilities.
• She tolerates my singing. Her favorite is "there was a farmer who had a dog, and bingo was his name-o" mostly because she likes the clapping. 
• She loves the noise from her rattles and can grasp them for short periods of time.

• MY favorite noises are her cute little coo's and accompanying smiles! If she is not upset (in pain) I can usually get smiles pretty easily just by chatting with her. Its impossible not to smile back when babies smile!  This is only a problem in the early mornings sometimes when she thinks its time to wake up and I am willing her back to sleep. 

Trying to catch her smiles.

• She cries in the car, a lot. But is getting better. Hopefully she learns how to sleep in the car before Christmas because we'll be doing a lot of driving! 
• She is also getting better at enjoying walks. The first few times she screamed the whole way but last night she was quiet and even fell asleep at the end. One day she fell asleep in the carrier while I was wearing her during a walk. So I kept walking and walking and walking. If she falls asleep, she undoubtedly wakes up the minute we get inside. 

This is her excited face!

• We still don't have her acid reflux figured out and I hate it when I hear her swallowing it back down ( usually with a good amount of air too which = more gas). Sometimes she coughs/chokes and overall it just seems like no fun. Also it will come up with her burps and then she wants to eat again to soothe her poor throat.
• She tolerates me reading to her and her favorite book so far is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. It has lots of big contrasting pictures. Usually she looks right over the book though. 
• She is incredibly loved!  There are definitely tough times and growing pains but we love our little girl more and more each day.  Daddy brought his girls some flowers the other day.  One vase for me and one for Brooke! 

My flowers

Brooke's flowers