Apparently I'm blogging on an every two week schedule. Need to get better about that. I blame Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for my lack of updates here- everybody already knows what I'm up to!
That said, I can't neglect my little munchkin on her 8 week old birthday. It's a complete cliche, but it feels as though Eliza has been part of our family forever. She fits right in like a piece in the jigsaw puzzle of life and we're all feeling a bit more complete.
Waking up from a nap in her carseat with her stylish polka dot boots on...
I know I always said that LP was such an easy baby. And he really was. But Eliza is giving him a run for his money in the easy baby competition. (And yes, I'm knocking on wood, crossing my fingers, and holding my breath while I type this). I've been reading back through my blog entries from when LP was around the 2 month mark and there was quite a bit about the difficulties of breast feeding and trying to get him to sleep through the night in his own bed.
Our first day in cloth diapers.
Eliza is a champ on both accounts. She's nursed easily from day one with minimal stress or pain for me (with the exception of a couple of weeks when she wanted to chain nurse all evening long- she seems to have grown out of that now). And she sleeps really well. In fact, (folks with babies who are up a lot at night might want to skip the rest of this paragraph) for the last 2 weeks she's slept every night straight through from about 10 p.m. to 6 or 7 a.m., sometimes even longer. She's still in the bassinet in our room and while I know we could easily transition her to her crib (and hopefully start inching the bedtime closer to 7 or 8 pm) I'm torn about it. We probably won't have another baby and it feels like such a huge milestone that I'm not ready for, even if she is. I know at our next pediatrician appointment he'll push for us to move her to the crib so she might be movin' on out of the bassinet at that point but we'll see.
Big Eyes.
She's rarely fussy although has started getting a bit cranky in the early evening "witching hours." But then, don't we all get a bit cranky then? When she wakes up in the morning she just squirms around in her bassinet, making little velociraptor type noises until I pick her up. She smiles while I change her diaper, and then chows down on her morning milk. After that she naps until 9 or 10, eats again, dozes off and on a bit if we're out running errands in the car, and then eats again around 12:30 or 1. She's generally awake most of the afternoon, nurses around 4, has a bottle around 7, and then snacks one more time around 9 before passing out asleep.
Hanging out.
Eliza sleeps through all the noise that 2 dogs and a big brother can make, and in fact it often seems as though she sleeps better when it's noisier. When LP and I crank up the music and have a little dance party in the afternoon she's usually asleep within minutes.
Best seat in the house- Pappy's lap.
We also survived our first long car ride down to Pennsylvania. (More on that trip later!) LP is REALLY good in the car, as a baby he hardly fussed at all. Eliza is pretty good as well although is happiest when the car is moving and the music is loud. Stop for a red light or traffic and she'll start screaming if she's awake. I was still able to stop just once mid-way to feed both kids which was great- I hate stopping more than once and making a long trip even longer.
When Eliza is awake she's very alert. If LP is nearby she turns to watch him and smiles when he comes close. She's starting to coo and gurgle a bit and is happier having some playtime on a blanket than she used to be. She's definitely interested in what's going on around her and wants us to interact with her more and more.
mmm... Milk!
When LP was this age I wrote about feeling guilty for taking longer in the shower to condition my hair, or for putting LP in the swing so that he'd be content while I checked out Facebook. This time around, I don't feel guilty about taking time for myself. With 2 kids and the transition from working outside of the house three days a week to being a stay-at-home mom (I go back to work after Thanksgiving but just for four weeks- then I'll be home for good so I consider myself a stay-at-home mom), I don't feel that kind of guilt. I need the time to myself, even if it's just 10 minutes here and there, to maintain my sanity. When you feel like one kid or the other or both are on top of you, asking for things, needing things, it's easy to start getting frustrated and annoyed. And while I certainly have my moments when I snap (have I told you all yet that LP has regressed in the whole potty trained thing and is back to pooping in his pants?? UGH), I try really hard not to.
I do still feel guilty though. This time around, with child number two, I feel guilty that she's not getting the attention that LP got. When LP was 2 months old I'd spend an hour or so at a time laying next to him on his playmat, talking to him, doing tummy time, etc. Eliza rarely gets any tummy time until after LP goes to bed in the evening. And she really only has playmat time when LP and I are in the living room playing with something. She doesn't get to nap on top of me very often, and many times if she does fall asleep in my arms or on my shoulder I'm pretty quick to put her in her swing or bouncy seat so that I can throw in a load of laundry or sweep the floor or start dinner.
I'm sure most parents feel this way- that chlid #2 doesn't get the same amount of attention. And I know it won't be terribly detrimental to Eliza's well-being. She's certainly not neglected by any means and I'm sure will end up a (mostly) well-rounded kid. But I do feel badly about it sometimes.
And on that note, Eliza is crying to be changed and fed and LP wants me to play Legos. I've gotten pretty good at building Lego pirate ships with one hand while I nurse the baby so I'd better get at it!
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