2 Months Old!

You turned 2 months old today, Sophie!

Over the past month you have become more aware of what's going on around you.  Often, if you wake up and no one is there in the room with you, you'll cry until someone comes near.  You like to be in the middle of all the action.

You love to lay on your activity mat and stare at yourself.  In the last week you have started giving yourself huge, gummy grins!

You have learned the social smile!  You don't always give your smiles away easily, though.  Mommy and I often have to coax them out of you - usually right after you wake up (I wonder if that means you're going to be a morning person?).

Your eyelashes have started to darken and are getting so long!  We are hoping you'll inherit the Ricks lashes! :)

Sometimes when you sleep you make the cutest squeaky noises!

We did your hand and foot prints a few days ago after talking about doing them for the past two months!  You didn't like having your hand opened, but slept right through the footprint!

You've discovered your arms and legs and love to move them around.  When you start to fuss we check your diaper and try to feed you.  If neither of those seem to be a problem we know you want to be down on your activity mat or wearing your wrist and ankle rattles punching and kicking!

You love to spend time with Mommy.  As soon as she gets home she grabs you right up and snuggles you like crazy.  I think the two of you are going to have an awesome summer together.

You had your first play date!  Livia came to visit.  I think you both enjoyed yourselves.  :)

And your first St. Patrick's Day!  Grandpa and Grandma Ricks sent you an adorable outfit - they wanted to make sure you had something green to wear so you wouldn't get pinched!

It's been a busy month, but a good one.  You continue to grow, and I can't wait until we go in for your 2 month check up to see how much you weigh now!  You are holding your head up more and more all the time and I'm sure any day now you'll be chasing Ellie or asking to borrow the car.  :)

We love you, little girl.  

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon...?

So I spend all weekend writing about how you are the perfect baby, Sophie.  You never cry, you rarely fuss.  I think after hearing all of those things you thought "I'll show them!"  The last week or so has been CRAZY.  It started out with you not pooping (one thing about having a baby - you start thinking, talking, and dreaming about poop more than you ever thought possible).  You would grunt and grunt and grunt and grunt - trying to poop - your face would turn all shades of red, and when you would finally poop out a tiny bit it was a weird color and consistency.  Then you would shriek out and start crying.  As you were grunting you would interlace your fingers together and squeeze like crazy.  It looked like you were pleading with someone to please just let you poop.  Poor thing.  

You stopped eating much, were only sleeping a few hours a day, and were generally just grumpy.  We decided to go ahead and try a little watered-down apple juice to see if that would help.  Before you even finished it you were pooping away.  We were ecstatic.  Of course shortly after you threw up all over the place...so that was fun.  We gave you a quick bath, and the world was right again.

The following day you were still having trouble pooping so we tried a little more juice (1/2 oz this time to try to avoid the puke fest).  It worked for the poop problem, but you have continued to be fussy (we haven't used the apple juice since).

Yesterday I was feeling like I was going stir crazy.  I just needed to get out of the house.  So I packed you up, and off we went to Target.  I figured we could just shop around for a bit and Mama could stretch her legs.  The second we walked through the door of Target, though?  You threw up.  Without missing a beat, I turned the cart around, and we headed back to the car and back home for another bath.  *sigh* (the picture below does not do the mess justice)

Last night I went to buy you some gas drops because we thought maybe now that the poop troubles had passed you were having gas troubles.  They seemed to help a little but definitely weren't the miracle cure I was hoping for.

Today you were back to your old self this morning - napping as usual and basically being a happy lady.  But this afternoon?  Miss Crabby Pants reemerged and you threw up all over Mommy.  You're not sleeping enough, you're not eating enough, and now you're throwing up every day...I don't think any of us know what's going on.  :-/

Even with all your digestive issues, you are still a happy baby...most of the time.  And we love you to pieces :)  I have found that some of the grossest things are also some of the funniest.  I think the hardest part is watching you suffer and not really being able to help you much.  We have your two-month appointment with the doctor next week, so hopefully we'll get some answers if everything doesn't work itself out before then.

Another Family Visit

This weekend we had a visit from Aunt Cassi and Grandpa and Grandma Ricks!  I hadn't seen them since last summer, so it was good to visit with them.  Grandma just wanted to hold you the entire time, and you were content to just sit with her.  Grandpa and Cassi helped around the house A TON!  I was sad to see them go, but hopefully we will go visit them sometime later this year.

Sometimes...

Having you here with us has been pretty amazing, Sophie.  But I have to be honest.  It has also been so hard at times.

In the beginning I just worried about everything - were you eating enough?  Was that cough okay?  Were you pooping enough?  Were you sleeping too much?  What was that spot on your stomach?

As those worries subsided one by one and we got to know each other better, things seemed to get somewhat easier.  But it was (and is) still hard.  There are still never-ending things to worry about and I constantly question whether I'm doing things right. 

It was really hard when Mommy first went back to work.  You were fine, but I missed having her here.  Since then you and I have found our stride and have a better schedule that helps both of us figure out what we're doing day to day.  

You sometimes get your days and nights mixed up which is hard on Mama since I don't sleep well during the day, but together we're figuring out how to balance enough naps with enough wake time during the day so that you'll sleep most of the night.

You continue to be such a good baby - rarely crying, sleeping 5-8 hours a night, and basically just being content with life - but that doesn't mean that figuring out this parenting thing and knowing what to do comes easily all the time...I'm sure the worry and fear is common with lots of new parents, and I find some comfort in knowing that.  

I wake up each morning knowing I will try my best, knowing that I love you more than I ever thought possible and knowing that with each passing day I am becoming more confident.  While being a parent will never be easy, it has become decidedly easier and less frightening over the past few weeks.  This truly is an adventure, and I'm happy that I get to explore it together with you and Mommy.