The first 2 months

Dear Norah,

Welcome to the world, my love. You arrived on February 25th, 2010 at 4:05 pm. You weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and were 19.5 inches long, with almost a full head of brown hair. I was in labor with you for 15 hours, pushing for two before getting a C-section because you were such a big healthy girl (with a big head!). Even though it was hard, and both Daddy and I were very tired, it was the best day of our lives.

I can't believe that you are already two months old! We have your 2 month check up soon, but at your 1 month check up you weighed 10 pounds and were 21 inches long, which is 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height. I can't wait to see how much you've grown since then, but my arms can definitely tell you are much heavier when I rock you or hold you. You have also already grown out of your 0-3 month onesies. I had to buy 3-6 month ones for you last week.

You are a great eater. You took to nursing right away, as well as a bottle. We breastfeed about every three hours during the day, and then you eat from a bottle afterwards since Mama doesn't make enough milk for your growing appetite! When you have formula, you eat 6-8 ounces total. We've recently had to switch to bigger bottles!

Sleeping is another story, and is hard for you. At night, we typically have a good 3-4 hour stretch, but sometimes you wake up every hour, which makes us very tired! You are not hungry though, you just want to be held and rocked back to sleep. During the day, your naps usually only last about 30 minutes at a time before you wake up crying. Although the last two nights, after your bedtime routine, you slept from 10 until 4:30! Hopefully this is the beginning of a new trend, which will make you happier, and your parents too.

You LOVE your bath. We have one every night before bed, although we only use soap every now and then so your skin doesn't get too dry. Recently, you have started to kick your legs really hard and even coo when we poor the warm water on you.

Here are some other things I want to remember about your first two months:

You cannot sleep without your "Miracle Blanket" which swaddles your arms very tight.

When you are fussy, the fan above the oven on the microwave calms you down almost every time.

You are smiling now, and it melts my heart every time. A few days ago, I was letting you fuss for a little bit to see if you would go back to sleep during a nap. When I went in to fix your blanket, you saw me and immediately gave me a huge grin. Of course I couldn't let you fuss any more after that and had to hold you. :)

Your eyes are still blue, and your hair is still brown, although it's getting lighter at the roots and some of it is falling out. It kind of looks like you have a baby mohawk and your hair sticks up ALL the time, no matter what we do.

You love your vibrating chair and your play mat. You especially love to stare at Mr. Cow, who we say is your best friend these days.

You have mastered quite well your bodily functions. :) You pass gas, burp, and spit up a LOT, and we often have to change your clothes because of a blow out! Last night, I was rocking you to sleep and knew that your diaper needed to be changed. Once I changed it, and before I could close it, you pooped all over my hand and the changing table. I yelled a word for poop (that wasn't poop) so Daddy came running and helped me take off the changing table cover. Before I could get another fresh diaper on you, you peed all over the changing pad! Then, spit up everywhere. If you weren't so tired and ready for bed, I would have just thrown you in the bath again. But we cleaned you up and you certainly slept well after all that action. :)

I can't wait to watch you grow and change each day, month, and year. Sometimes your Daddy and I just stare at you and talk about how cute you are. When I think about how much we love you, I don't think it's possible to love anything more, but somehow I do each day.

Always,

Mama and Daddy