Helen at 2 months

ok so technically - 2 months and one week! I seriously can't believe how time is flying. I also can't believe how little "free" time I have to write this blog, haha. Guess I should have known. :)

I am back to work now, but from home until May 3rd, when I'll return to the office twice a week and work from home M/W/F. I'm not going to lie, being home working and taking care of Helen has been hard. Mostly because gone are the times of sleeping when she sleeps, but also because- who wants to think about work when I have this sweet little happy girl to play with?! The balance is getting a little better, but still I don't think this will be our long term solution.

I wanted to write all about Helen at 2 months (her ears were burning as she is waking up now!)

*she came a full month early so I have to remind myself how crazy it is that I am writing about 2 months vs 1!* 

• Clothes (haha, no this is not in order of importance, just top of mind!)
• Helen still fits into newborn onesies and pants, but the pants are starting to be high waters, and the onesies are finally getting snug
• she is too long for newborn footie pjs, so moved up to 0-3 months and they are starting to fit her pretty well. just a week or two ago, i swear she was swimming in them!
• what is up with carter's clothing skipping from newborn to 3 months? needless to say - those "3 month" items she has are huge on her.
• she just moved from newborn to ones in diapers - after a painful "in between" phase

• Eating/Sleeping
• Helen nurses exclusively and has never had a bottle yet -- eek! I know, I know. We need to introduce her to one since I'm going back to work 2 days per week in less than 3 weeks. In the meantime, I've been pumping one extra feeding per day so we have a good supply built up in the freezer when the time comes. (I've heard it's difficult to pump enough to match what they eat while you're at work- so I'm hoping the extra pump per day will help with that) - any advice in that area though, much appreciated!
• Sleeps 5-6 hours on her good nights. but still has the occasional night of waking up every 3-4 hours (sounds bad - but think 1 month old, haha!). During the day, she usually still eats every 2 hours; before bed - sometimes every hour. I'm trying to break her of the "grazing" habit, where she eats, falls asleep for 30 minutes, wakes up, wants to eat, and round and round we go. She's been doing a lot better with that this week. It involves a whole lot of waking her up during nursing, changing her diaper midway through, and then not giving in and nursing when she gets fussy - giving her a pacifier instead/etc.
• Still sleeps in her cradle right next to us. I was thinking I'd wait to move her into her room until she slept through the night- but 5 to 6 hours may be her "through the night" for the time being so I think we'll try to move her. I'm going to be sad.. I love looking over and having her right there. and i love her sweet lil cradle. :(

• Height and weight
• NO IDEA. haha. We go tomorrow to her (late) 2 month appointment so I'll give an update then. I am sooo NOT excited about the shots (they told us in our last appointment to have Sie present - I must look like a crier.) but it does mean we'll have some more freedom with her. Since it's flu season and she was on the small side, they pretty much advised us not to take her in confined spaces too much until she had her shots so we've been anxious to get out and about. They did say we could go outside with her on nice days but unfortunately DC has been seriously lacking in the "nice day" department lately (see rainy and 40 degrees).
• At her one month - she weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces, still smaller than I was when I was born. So strange to think about. But lately she's started to really fill out so I'm going to guess 9 pounds? maybe? we'll see!

• Helen's personality: likes, dislikes and special talents :)
• Since day 1, she's never been a big crier. Don't get me wrong, she'll give a good fuss like the best of them, and she'll let out an angry cry if she's not being fed fast enough, but on the whole she never lets out much more than 1 or 2 big cries. It never turns into a big long cry session. I pray it stays that way, but we'll see. I hate seeing her cry - it includes a ridiculously cute but sad turned down lip and chin. heart.breaking.
• These days she is all smiles and had her first laugh for Sie last weekend (while I was walking the dogs).
• She LOVES being talked to, sung to and smiled at.
• We think she's going to be an early talker because she's started to ooh and ahh and mimic what we do with our mouths. She's constantly got her tongue twisting away. Those little squeals and noises she makes are the highlight of my day - I can't wait to hear what she has to say!
• She's still a little pistol. Arms moving, legs kicking, she is almost constantly moving her little body around (which equals not easy to wind down for naps!) During tummy time recently, I had her chest propped up on a pillow and she rolled from front to back. I dont think it counts since she was propped up but I was still impressed!
• Her new favorite thing to do is while I'm burping her: she kicks against the boppy (in my lap) and shoots herself up. She can hold her own weight on her legs for a second or two, with us holding her of course.
• She's not quite sure if she likes the bath but tolerates it with no complaints. She does act like she's cold even when the water is warm.
• She loves her wubanub lamb (the little animal attached to her soothie pacifier) which Jill and Abby got for her. She holds it in her hands. adorable.
• We put her in the moby wrap quite frequently - for walks/around the house/going in stores. We love it and it's amazing how quickly it puts her to sleep every time. seriously within 2 minutes of being in it, she's out like a light.
• She also loves her stroller/car seat and goes to sleep instantly in her stroller too. We've joked that Helen is taking a "sleeping tour" of our nation's capital. every monument/site we've been to, she's sound asleep

That's all I can think of for the moment. I know I'm biased, but we think our baby girl is the greatest thing since sliced bread. She's made us a family in a profound way. We love her so.

Here are some pics of miss Helen at 2 months.