Saturday, November 9, 2013

Nora: 2 Months

Photo: 2 months today!!

Personality: Nora is still in general an easy going gal, though she is developing a bit more of an opinion about things.  If she really wants to nurse, go to sleep, or poop and is not getting her way she will let you know.  She loves to smile and will smile at almost anyone—even if she is a little mad sometimes she just can’t resist smiling!  She can usually be held and enjoyed by anyone.  I take her all over the place and she almost always goes with the flow when we are on the go—if she is going to be fussy it usually happens at home.  I think she likes noise and action—we are at the ice rink 4 times a week right now and it is very loud and bright, and she has.not.cried there once.  Seriously.  She makes little cooing noises and it really feels like she is talking to you. She loves her family members, smiling, and her pacifier with attached giraffe stuffie.

Physical: She continues to grow well, though not at anywhere near the rate of her brother.  At her two month appointment last week she was 13 lbs and 24 inches, which are both the 85th percentile.  It is pretty shocking to me to have a baby who actually wears clothes designed for babies her age (0-3 mon) and wears the same size for awhile.  I was actually pretty surprised when she weighed “only” 13 pounds and for the very first time in my life wondered if my child hadn’t gained enough.  The dr. was quite confident she has.  I have already had to move up her car seat straps! 

She does look quite large to me, much more like a baby then a newborn.  She is round and chunky.  She has a widows peak and maybe a tab more hair?  Her eyebrows and eyelashes are very pale, her hair a little darker.  Her eyes are still a grayish blue, but I think I might see brown in them? 

Her skin and belly button have been cause for some concern.  Her belly button just can’t seem to heal.  The Dr.s have cauterized it twice, but a bump of reddish skin continues to grow out of it.  I finally brought her back in to have it looked at when she was 6 weeks.  At that appointment the Dr. said it was time to see a specialist because it was possible that it was actually a bigger problem, perhaps a piece of her intestines sticking out!?!?!?!?!??!?!  So that freaked me out of course.  The Dr. said I should get it checked out in the next day or two, but then when the office finally scheduled my appointment it wasn’t for five days.  So more practice for me of staying calm and not worrying about what I can’t control.  Not easy for me.  On Monday I hauled her all the way to Fletcher Allen in Burlington to see a surgeon, and he said it was just excessive scar tissue and would fall off on its own.  I was of course very relieved.  Hopefully it will resolve itself soon!

She also has eczema and very dry skin, particularly on her checks, hands, and legs.  I have been lathering her with Eucerin (a VERY greasy moisturizer) at almost every diaper change for quite some time, which seems to keep it from getting worse but does not make it go away.  I wasn’t terribly surprised when, at her two month appointment, the Dr. suggested I try some elimination diets.  Currently I am dairy free and plan to try eliminating wheat next if this doesn’t help. 

She is also very strong—she holds her head steady all the time, can easily be held in most any position, including sitting, pushes her head up during tummy time—though it isn’t long before she gets tired of that.  At her two month appointment she also showed off by rolling over for the first time!  She has done it one more time since then.

Eating habits:  She still nurses every two hours or so during the day.  At night she has one long stretch of about 5 hours.  She loves to eat and is very efficient.  I plan to try giving her a bottle of expressed milk, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I am pretty relaxed about nursing—I try to just feed her whenever she wants to eat.  Since we are out and about quite a lot this can lead to some interesting situations.  I really wish it was just as acceptable to nurse as to give a baby a bottle and I aim for that kind of attitude.  I did nurse in front of Joseph’s classmates, teacher, and principal when I helped take them on a field trip.  I am relatively discreet and sit off to the side a bit in a situation like that, but don’t use a cover.  I have tried putting a blanket over Nora’s head but neither of us enjoy that.  I try to be respectful and not make anyone uncomfortable, but also take care of my child.  It is a fine line…

Sleep:  She usually sleeps quite well—generally falling asleep around 8, waking around 2, eating quickly and going right back to sleep, and then waking again to eat around 5.  Then I bring her downstairs when I take my shower at 6:50.  She also often sleeps quite a lot of the day.  I am completely blown away by her ability to fall asleep all on her own (Joseph never, ever, not even once, did that).  Every once in awhile she has a rough night or day, but not too often—though as I am writing this she is actually 2 months, 1 and 1/2 weeks and seems to be going through her most difficult stage yet (more fussyness, less sleep at night and during the day)?!?!?  Not sure what is going on.  The rough nights seem to be increasing…not what I want at all…but “this too shall pass.”  You take the good and the bad right?

Nicknames: Noranator, Sissy, Baby, Zibby, Norabelle, Stinkerbelle, Nora B.

Mom stuff: I feel almost totally normal!  I really can’t believe it.  There was a period—at maybe 2 or 3 weeks where I was a little skeptical that everything was going to heal alright, but the body is pretty amazing.  I am still certainly rounder then before and have not hit my pre-pregnancy weight (at 2 months I had 9 pounds to go, but have now lost more given my non-dairy diet).  I am starting to get into the swing of everything.  I considered myself on a self imposed maternity leave until about six weeks where I only sporadically cooked and shopped, but now I am back at it.  I am actually for the most part enjoying meal planning and shopping more then ever.  Especially with my dairy free diet I am putting much more thought into what I buy, eat, and cook.  My cleaning lady visits are also over, so I am back in charge of all cleaning—yuck.  Although this house is so shinny and new I am really trying to keep it that way. 

I’ll be shocked if anyone actually reads all of this—once I started writing though I couldn’t stop.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I’ll be shocked if anyone actually reads all of this"

Are you kidding? That was good writing! Thanks.

RB

JG said...

Haha... I second Bob's comment! I was riveted!
Love all the little details about you and "Stinkerbelle." (LOVE that nickname!). I also think it's pretty funny that she and Kaia are on the same night schedule (!)... except Kaia goes down an hour later and sleeps until about 9 AFTER her 2am and 5 or 6am nursing. The things we do for our children! Sounds like you guys have hit your groove nicely. I can't believe Joseph has hockey 4 times a week though... I could never handle that! WOW! How long is hockey season? I'm glad Nora enjoys it :)
CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL!!!!

Genevieve said...

I love how detailed your updates are. Sounds like things are going well, you guys are doing a wonderful job! xoxo

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