2 Months

Dear Miss Eleanor Grace,

You turned 2 months old on February 1st. You are truly the light of my life. With the month of January came a lot of alone time for you and I due to your dad's work schedule. I feel as if we got to know each other very well and settled into a bit of a routine. A routine that of course would have bumps here and there wasn't anywhere near being set but a slight routine nonetheless.

In your fifth week of life I was delighted to experience a smile. I remember it as if it were yesterday. You and I had come out of the bedroom in the morning and were sitting on the couch together and I began "clicking" my tongue and you smiled. It melted my heart. It seems as though you never looked back after that smile because you are smiling often now. A couple of weeks after that, I began hearing you "talk." The sweet coo's that come from you are enough to brighten even the darkest winter day here. Instead of your head just "going" on my shoulder, you will now snuggle up on your own and also give a couple of "squeezes" with your hand. You are still a snuggler and love being near Momma and Dad or sleeping on our chests.

You are still sleeping in our bed and we tried a couple of naps in your crib but they didn't last long. We usually wake for the day around 8 a.m. and you go quite crazy when I let you out of your swaddle. You love kicking your legs, swinging your arms all around, smiling and talking in the morning. Usually you will be awake for about an hour at that time, will take about a thirty minute nap and wake to eat. This all varies a little depending on when you ate last in the early morning. You will then be awake for another hour or two and the past couple weeks have been taking about a two hour nap mid-day. This was an adjustment for Momma because I would wonder when you were going to wake up! We then go about our day the same way, you being awake for an hour or two, eating and taking thirty minute cat-naps for the rest of the day. We have been going in the bedroom about nine o'clock and you are usually asleep by ten. You usually have a 4-5 hour sleep stretch (there has been one 6 hour), eat, another 3-4 hour stretch, eat and another 2-3 hour stretch. We have been just fine with this sleeping schedule.

Another exciting event of this month is that we got you into your cloth diapers. I think we began using them just after you turned 6 weeks old. I like them a lot and you appear to as well. The only crazy thing about them is that they took you from newborn size clothes to three month clothes in a lot of outfits. You are in some 0-3 month sizes but for pants and such you definitely have to wear three month. It is a little sad. I was especially sad when I realized that even if you weren't wearing cloth diapers you had outgrown the newborns and I put them away. We saw your pediatrician today and you weigh 11 lbs. 8 oz. and are 22.5 inches long. You are a growing girl! We also had two shots and an oral vaccine--none of which you cared for. It made me so sad to see you cry like that but you recovered quickly, ate a little bit and fell asleep.

You continue to be such a happy baby enjoying your bath, the carseat, your playmat and tummy time, going for walks in your stroller and generally liking people. We have experienced you being a bit upset in the evenings but I think it may be because you get a little bit over-tired. I want to try putting you to bed earlier and seeing if that helps.

I also have experienced a big change this month in that everyday I feel a little bit more confident as your Momma. I know you better than anyone, we do everything together throughout the day and just the look you give me lets me know that I am doing things right.

You had many playdates this month because you have so many friends that are close to your age. I think as the months go by, playdates with continue to evolve and it will be so fun to watch you and your friends grow together.

We all continue to learn, as parents, as a family and of course you as a baby. This month you turned into an infant, not just a newborn. We love you so much and couldn't be more blessed with you in our life.

Love,
Momma