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Sunday, October 27, 2013

paci

I'm not going to lie; I love the paci.  Emmalyn took to it instantly.  It was her first day home from the hospital and she was suckling constantly - even in her sleep.  My mom said, "Here, try this." And the rest is history.  We have lost so many pacis with her.  I can tell you what stores carry her brand and what aisle they're in.  She never had a security item other than her paci.  This summer, we knew it was time to take it away from Emmalyn during awake hours, so we tried.  Twice.  The first time resulted in a broken cell phone and the second in a horrendous play date. Both involved an exhausted and defeated mama.  Good times, people.  I was scared to try again.  But third time's a charm apparently.  Because after we talked about it, I put it away in her nightstand drawer and we agreed it would only be for naps and bedtime.   And it clicked.  There were times she begged for it.  Times I begged Eric that I could give it to her.  But mostly, she did great.  At the same time we were weaning Emmalyn off her paci, I was forcing one on Amy.  Praying she would take it.  And for now - she does.  I love the paci.

And now, every morning, I know she's awake because I hear her nightstand drawer open and shut as she puts her paci away.  "Paci drawer, mommy". Good job, baby girl.

(Last night, we heard the paci drawer close in the middle of the night and figured she thought it was time to get up.  Eric went in to negotiate with her and she was crawling on the bedroom floor looking for paci and had just checked her nightstand. "Where's paci, Daddy?"  Don't worry; it was discovered tucked in her bedsheets)

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Dear Amy: 2 Months

Dear Amy,
You are two months old!  At about 6 weeks old, you gave me your first smile when I went "la la la" as you were looking at me.  You love to sit laying on our legs with our knees bent so you can see us right in the face.  After you started to smile, you began to starting cooing occasionally.  Between one and two months, little sounds started to come out of your mouth and I think you were just as surprised by them as we were!

I thought that you might have a little bit of colic because between 7-10 p.m. every night you only wanted to nurse or cry.  We have spent a lot of evenings on the couch watching Netflix while you nurse.  But it must be okay, because you are in the 70th percentile for weight and the 80th for height!  We're not used to having such a growing baby!  After six weeks, you started to calm down in the evenings and spend a lot of time awake and looking at Daddy and me.

You give smiles easily.  Whenever someone talks to you in a cheerful tone, you smile for them.  It is so precious.  This month, you also discovered your playmat and you love it.  Mainly, you like to look at yourself in the mirror.  Emmalyn loves to lay with you and sometimes requests for you to lay on the mat so that you two can be close to one another.  I'm sorry for all the times she has already steamrolled over you.  Good news: you still have all your limbs though!

In the past month, you have started to sleep almost through the night.  We swaddle you up around ten p.m. and you sleep until three or four a.m.  Thanks girl!  You're making this thing easy! ;)  When Emmalyn would wake up crying as a baby, your daddy and I would often try to fix the problem or get into arguments trying to diagnose her.  With you, Daddy generally changes your diaper and I then nurse you.  We're a bit more calm this time, and we don't argue about how to care for you.  I know that your dad is a much better swaddler than me, and he knows that it's okay for him to fall back asleep while I'm feeding you.  The only time we really get worried about you is when you spit up a lot.  You sure surprise us with that sometimes, but it's okay - nothing a good wash won't fix! 

Thank you for the past two months - for the new smiles and good sleep, for the beginning coos, and the open eyes.  We love you!