Two Months

Evelyn Anne,

These two months (now two and a half months) have flown by.  You continue light up our lives despite your colicky nature.  This month you are spending much more time awake and taking in all the chaos that is our house.  You smiled for the first time at 8 weeks.  Although you are a tough audience, it melts my heart when you finally crack one of those gummy smiles.  You have also found your hands recently.  Now a days they spend a lot of time in your mouth.  We keep hoping that you will find your thumb since the binky doesn't seem to do it for you.  You will appease us and take it every once in a while, but it is definitely not a favorite of yours.  

Unfortunately, you have spent much of the last 10 days sick.  Your cough is agonizing.  It zaps the energy right out of you.  The first few days you were so under the weather that feeding you was a chore.  I took you to the doctor only for them to say that you probably had a virus that had to work it self out.  Not sure what I was expecting.  Funny how, despite the fact I am a NICU nurse, it's all different when its your own little baby.  All senses seem to go out the window.  

Sleep is getting better for us.  We have a little routine down and you seem to do quite well with it.  Around 9 pm we get you bathed (on bath nights), and I nurse you.  We swaddle you up all nice and tight and down you go in the corner of your bed with Celine Dion serenading you to sleep.  You are usually pretty tired and go down without a fight.  Occasionally, daddy or I will have to go back in, coerce you to take the binky and then sneak out.  You are then out until about 4 am when I bring you to bed with us and we both fall asleep while nursing.  With this cold though, you have been so congested after eating that I have been putting you in your swing where you will stay until about 9 am usually.  Not to shabby I tell ya!

You are nursing like a champ, but taking a bottle like a loser.  It's my own fault.  It's a good thing we have 3 months left to work this out before Nana or Daddy gets stuck with a baby that won't eat.  You nurse on an inconsistent bases.  But that's ok, because it works.  It tends to be about every 3-4 hours but some days you go longer in the morning while we are running errands and then cluster feed in the evening.  Evenings are definitely the hardest for us.  You want to be held at all times.  The second you feel us put you down in the swing or the bouncer the tears roll.  How can I blame you though, you have a lot of competition.  You have to get the attention any way you can.

Mommy has finally put away most of your newborn clothes.  There are only a few pieces left that you still fit into.  We also used your last newborn diaper today.   While you still fit in them the blowouts are becoming more frequent so momma bit the bullet and did it.  It kills me!  You are growing up entirely too fast.  You weighed in at 9 pounds even when we visited the doctor.  That puts you almost to double your birth weight.  Did you not get the memo that you are not supposed to do that until 6 months?  I guess all those rules go out the window when you are a premie born 5 weeks early at 5 pounds 5 ounces.  

You are a true blessing Miss Evelyn Anne.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't stare at you and wonder how in the world I go so lucky.  It is a true sign that God is at work in our lives.  

We love you little one.