Sunday, September 12, 2010

Life with Olivia at 2 months

Our little girl is 2 months old now. She is showing a lot more personality, lots of smiles and coos. I remember Angelina Jolie catching a lot of heat for making a comment that babies are just sort of blobs when they are first born. She meant that they don't really do much and it's not that interesting. I'm not a huge Angelina fan, but I do know what she was talking about. The first couple of months were filled with just taking care of Olivia's physical needs- feedings and diaper changes mostly. But somewhere around six or seven weeks, she started to take notice of us and reward us with her gorgeous smile. She smiles with her whole face, and even at 3am, it is irresistible. She makes lots of cooing sounds and some of them even sound like she's saying, "hi!" I am really enjoying our first conversations.

The sleeping thing is pretty inconsistent. Some nights, we get her to bed at 8pm; she'll sleep until 2am and then wake up every two or three hours from there. Other nights, she's up every hour or two from the get go. She doesn't require much during her wake-ups, just a quick feeding and then she's back to bed. I keep telling myself that she's only 9 weeks old, so I can't get too mad at her. If she weren't such a swaddle-buster, she'd sleep much better. She's very strong and can bust even the best of swaddles. Anyhow, we're not sleeping great around here, but that shouldn't come as too big of a shock with a new baby.

The postpartum thing has also been very inconsistent. I have been on quite an emotional roller coaster ride since Olivia was born. I don't remember feeling that way with Gavin, but lately my hormones have been pretty whacked out. Oddly enough, even with two kids clinging to you, motherhood can sometimes feel really lonely. I guess it's just that you're so busy taking care of everybody else, you have a really hard time finding where your own needs fit in. I pride myself on being a pretty together person, and hesitate even admitting that I have been struggling. Fortunately, I finally feel like I'm getting back to my old self and a sense of calm is returning. Hallelujah!

Now for some baby Liv 2 month stats:
Weight: 11lbs, 14oz (59th percentile)
Length: 23.5 inches (74th percentile)
Skills: rolling from tummy to back, holding head up, alertness, cooing and smiling
Room for improvement: sleeping at night (haha!)

5 comments:

Eileen said...

sounds like you need one of those swaddling things DL made for her babies. not sure how many of them used it but she had to use it on sydney (imagine that!!!) or she'd have two awake and needy babies. love that picture of olivia--such a cute little smile...of course, what isn't cute about her?

Colleen said...

I learned a different type of swaddle with Boden that, when paired with a kiddopotomus on top, was wiggle proof - I swear.

Lay baby with head above length of swaddle (not on corner). Grab one top corner and tuck behind baby's back (so it goes over her shoulder and then the corner is behind her back, so her arm is at her side). Repeat with other top corner. Gather all material in between baby's legs, bring up to tummy, and then wrap behind back (I sometimes even tied bottom corners behind his back). Their legs will be sticking out from this swaddle, but it's much harder to wiggle out from since they are lying on their backs, where all tucks are stuck. Stuff baby in kiddopotomus and they'll be cuddled tight this morning! Hope you're feeling better Jenny!

Unknown said...

LOL on the "needs improvement" part. Olivia's first constructive criticism. She really needs to pay attention to this little matter. Ha!

I can't believe she already rolls over to her back though! Strong little girl!

Emily said...

I don't have any swaddle advice for you, but it makes me so happy to know she's a good smiler!

Michele said...

I tell ya Miss Jenny... you should write a book. Every "Thought" that you so wonderfully put into words is what possibly EVERY mother goes through... but just doesn't quite know how to explain sometimes. Or better yet, are too tired to give a rip.
I hope it keeps getting interesting and wondderful and that you find at least an hour each day or night to just "Be Jenny." And don't feel guilty about it.
Love the kiddos pics. It will be fun to see them in about 3 months.