Three months

Another month's gone by in a blink, and our teenie-tiny newborn has been replaced with an infant.  A solid, opinionated, smiley, talkative gem of an infant.  Maggie is certainly growing, but I can't tell you how big she is because we don't have a working scale in the house.  I'd guess around 15 pounds, and maybe 25 inches tall.  She fills up 6-month sized clothing now.  That's as far as the bulk of the gift-clothing went, 6 months, so if she continues to lengthen and expand at this rate, I'll be shopping for 9-month summer clothes before Fall sets in.  Charlotte wore 6-month clothes until she was 8 or 9 months old, well after we turned on the heat for the season.

This month, Maggie found her voice.  She loves to talk, especially while lying on the changing table.  She gets a sly look on her face- slightly serious, but with a hint of a smile- and then blurts out a string of syllables punctuated with waving arms and kicking feet.  She loves conversations and stops babbling to listen for a response before launching into her next soliloquy.

Maggie loves bathtime, especially when I prop her up so she can see herself in the mirror.  She has serious cradle cap, which I've been advised to treat with olive oil and a gentle baby hair brush.  I let Charlotte's go untreated and she still has a bit remaining that I'm now "treating" with my hydrating conditioner (seems to help).  Maggie's is so bad that I can't imagine doing nothing about it for two years while we wait for it to simply go away on its own.  If you've had any success treating cradle cap, let me know your secret, please.  The Mustela stuff doesn't seem to have done a thing.  I haven't done the olive oil yet... so greasy, I don't want to stain her sheets.

Maggie seems to be back to sleeping through the night again... for the last 4 nights.  In fact, she slept for a full 11 hours (that's not a typo- ELEVEN) each of the last 2 nights.  Way to go, Maggie!

We've successfully given two complete feeds by bottle.  Each was about 4 ounces, after which maybe a quarter-ounce remained in the bottle.  I'll try a little more milk in the next one to see if she takes 4 ounces, or leaves the same amount behind.  The standard, narrow nipples seem to work better for her, but she sometimes gets her mouth around the entire nipple base so I'm trying to steer her toward something wider.  I may try something other than the breastflow ones since those seem a bit too stiff for Maggie's liking.

Riding in a baby carrier is now a form of torture.  When we go for a walk, Maggie prefers to ride in a stroller, either in her car seat on our sit-n-stand or in the reclined (but not flat) seat of the Cortina.  She has decent head control, so I may try facing her forward in the Bjorn soon.  Perhaps she just wants to see something other than the front of my shirt.

Maggie has a blankie/lovie that she already seems somewhat attached to.  Charlotte never developed such an attachment so I don't know if this is real or too early to stick.  If it continues for another week or so, I'll pick up a duplicate or two and start rotating them.  She likes to snuggle it to her cheek and chew on the corners, so it gets pretty slobbery.  She can't hold or hug the blankie at night because of the swaddle, so I've managed to wash it at night without any problem.

I swaddle Maggie at night.  She wriggles her arms out of the velcro'd wraps, but the Miracle Blanket works very well.  Some evenings, when I catch her at exactly the right time, she gives me the biggest grin while I'm wrapping her up, so I believe she likes being swaddled.  To distinguish between night and day, I just put mittens on her  for naps, so she can't scratch herself, and let her stretch her arms and legs.

So far, Maggie has shown no interest in trying to roll over.  I'm not very good at imposing tummy time on her, although I do try to get some in at least every-other day.  She doesn't immediately complain, but only lasts about 5 minutes before letting me know she's not a fan.  When lying on her back on the play mat, she does bat at dangling toys.  She grabs toys on her bouncy seat and swing too.

I'll add more to this when I think of other developments this month.  I'll add pictures too.

nearly 11 weeks; 25 months and 6 days

Well, Maggie is back to sleeping through the night again... for the last three nights.  It was three in a row last time, then not again for a couple of weeks.  It'd be nice if it sticks this time, but I can live with early, early AM feedings if need be.  Maggie generally goes back to sleep after about 45 minutes of awake time first-thing in the morning, and it gets me out of bed before Charlotte wakes up, so I can take a shower before juggling two kids. One of the bonuses with baby #2 is that my hair no longer turns into an oil slick overnight, so I don't necessarily need a shower every day (but I do like to take one daily).  Maggie has a cold now, so I don't think the STTN will continue uninterrupted for the next few days.

Maggie still has not taken a complete feed by bottle.  I tried again this afternoon and she drank about 2 ounces, then lay in my arms staring up at me wide-eyed and turning her head into my chest while smacking her lips.  She wouldn't take more from the bottle, but nursed for about 4 minutes before falling asleep.  Two-ounces is progress, though.  Eventually, I'll be able to leave her with someone for more than an hour at a time.  I tried a standard stage-1 nipple at first, on the bottles I pump into.  Maggie just let the milk that dripped out of it run down her chin, making no effort to suck or drink a drop.  Now I'm trying the "breastflow" from First Years- it's a two-part nipple set-up that's supposed to require both sucking and squeezing to draw milk out.  I might try to basic nipples again just to see if our "progress" is due to Maggie's age or the nipple we're using.  I don't want to wean her; I just want someone else to be able to feed her once in a while.

Charlotte has developed a very entertaining imagination.  When she wakes in the morning, she doesn't immediately call out for rescue from the confines of her crib ("Mommy/Daddy come!").  Instead, she plays with her babies and stuffed animals that spend each night with her.  She tells them stories, sings songs, teaches them signs, and sometimes dances with them.  She also says something every day that completely cracks me up.  For example, she wanted to take off her shoes and socks, so I told her she could have bare feet in the house.  She replied, "I don't have bear feet!  I have Charlotte feet."  She reminds us daily that there are no "octopusses" in our house, and no ghosts or frogs either.  She insists I take pictures of her when she's playing nicely with Maggie (i.e. they lie together on the playmat, or in Maggie's crib... which Charlotte desperately wants to sleep in).  She likes to hold her baby sister about once each day and has started insisting that I not only let go of Maggie, but put some distance between myself and the two of them.  I don't know what she's plotting.

The terrible twos have arrived, but not in the way I expected.  Charlotte doesn't throw tantrums, especially not in public.  Instead, she whines and fusses when she doesn't get her way.  The difference between real crying and the fake drama is so blatantly obvious that she peppers in commentary to try to convince me that it's legit- "I can't stop crying."  "I need ____."  "I don't like anything!"  But somehow, when I remind her that I cannot understand what she's saying while fussing, she can instantly shift into normal calm speech.  I simply ignore her when she's whining.  She seems to get it, and the spells pass fairly quickly.  If I do try to talk to her or reason with her when she's in the middle of a fit, it only gets worse.  And once a fit ends, she lets me know by telling me, "I'm happy now, Mommy."  The only time it really bothers me is when she wakes Maggie up, leaving me with two screaming girls to contend with.  Fortunately, that's rare.

Most days, I am a very lucky Mommy and the two go down for simultaneous naps after lunch.  I usually end up leaving Charlotte in front of the TV while I put Maggie down.  Then, Charlotte insists "I'm not tired AT ALL," while I guide her toward her room for "quiet time."  I consistently let her know that "quiet time" is for me, not just for her, and that she doesn't have to go to sleep if she's not sleepy.  She is allowed to bring 2 board books to bed with her in the afternoon, and on some days she reads to herself and her bed-friends for two hours instead of sleeping.  Usually, she's asleep within ten minutes.  Charlotte's nap usually lasts around 2 hours, Maggie's 90 minutes, or more.  I generally end up with nearly an hour of me time during which I eat lunch (sometimes breakfast, as I don't always have a chance to eat in the morning), wash dishes, and otherwise tidy up.  Sometimes, I nap too.

Maggie isn't on a real schedule yet.  I think Charlotte was by now, as this is about the time I returned to work (part time) after her arrival.  A schedule is beginning to reveal itself, though... sort of.  She wakes between 5 and 6:30, usually, eats and goes back to sleep about an hour later for 90 minutes or so.  We run our errands or go to a local playground or class in the morning, so as soon as Maggie is fed again we usually hop in the car and go somewhere.  It's generally 2 or 3 hours between feedings, and she nurses for 10-20 minutes.  Maggie naps for a bit between each of her feedings with one exception- staying awake between meal numbers 2 and 3, with a little dozing in the car when we're out and about.  The witching hour is a thing of the past now, but she gets a little gassy in the late afternoon, so gripe water has become her late afternoon snack  Hmmm... that sounds kind of like a schedule to me.  I guess we do have one.

Sleepy me... past bedtime.  G'night, but here are a couple of photos because they're dang cute.  Ignore the dates on the last two- I forgot to reset the time stamp on my camera after recharging the battery.

looking back... gaps!

I was just reading through old posts, looking for details on Charlotte's growth so I could figure out when Charlotte was the size that Maggie is now. I couldn't find that information anywhere, and at first thought I'd been negligent and had not recorded it. Then I noticed that some posts that I *KNOW* were here (ER/ET details from last May) have disappeared. Has anyone else had similar issues with blogger? Do you know if the missing posts are retrievable, or why they disappeared to begin with?

I need to record important details somewhere else... I feel like a lousy historian for trusting a web site. Charlotte didn't have a baby book, but now I'll get one for each of the girls.

Two months

Must I state the obvious? OK- one more time, all together- "I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!"

Maggie is two months (and one day) old already. She had her 2-month ped appointment this week and received three shots, pooor babe. She wailed, but I nursed her as soon as the last was over and she was calm and smiley again in under ten minutes. Like Charlotte, the shots made her pretty sleepy- she slept through the night that evening and spent most of the following day napping. Unlike Charlotte, Maggie is at the top end of the height and weight curves, measuring 23 1/2 inches tall (maybe a little more since her legs weren't fully extended and her head was cocked a little to one side) and 13 pounds 3.5 ounces. Ninetyith (sp?) percentile for both. Her head circumference is 15.5 inches, or 60th percentile. She's solidly into 6-month clothing now, especially length-wise, and has pretty much outgrown the bassinett. C assembled her crib today, a hand-me-down from our niece's daughter. We splurged on Charlotte's furniture, but Maggie ended up with a hand-me-down crib and a clearance changing table/dresser... poor Maggie. Charlotte will be in the same bed, in one configuration or another, until she leaves for college. Maggie's room is smaller than Charlotte's, so the plan is to buy or build a loft-style bed for Maggie when she's ready for it.

Maggie is a very happy baby, almost all of the time. She smiles easily, both on her own and in response to all sorts of interactions. She loves to watch people. She will lie contentedly on the playmat on the kitchen floor while I make dinner, or sit in her swing while I play with Charlotte, as long as she can see what we're doing. She loves to be sung to and seems to enjoy Charlotte's music classes (siblings under 8 months attend for free, then it'll be half-price). Stepping outside instantly calms her when she's fussy, and she loves to ride in her car seat. The one exception is between 5 and 7 each evening when she has her "witching hour." Sometimes, she sleeps through it. Occasionally, she's awake and the hours pass quietly. Most evenings, though, she spends at least 45 minutes crying miserably in spite of a clean diaper and a full belly. We've learned not to even consider putting her to bed during this time since it only leads to more vigorous crying, even if she's so tired that she falls asleep as soon as someone holds her. When I can, I put her in a carrier and we take a walk outside. Sometimes, though, I'm home alone with the two girls and have to feed Charlotte and get her ready for bed while Maggie's venting. Those nights are a little rough, but we manage. Luckily, C is usually home.

Aside from her first day in the hospital, Maggie has yet to take a complete meal from a bottle, so I usually have to take her with me wherever I go. Unfortunately, Charlotte's been on an "I don't like Daddy" kick lately, so she often goes with me too so we can avoid a tantrum. I feel like I never get any alone time, almost. Both girls are generally asleep by 8 each night, Charlotte for the whole night and Maggie until 1 or 2am, so I do have some evening-time without a baby demanding my attention. That's when I clean or pay bills or check my email. Going back to work wouldn't be such a bad thing had I the opportunity, but I do value the time I get to spend with my little ones. I can see why a lot of women work for little more than the cost of daycare, but that's not for me at this point. Maybe when Maggie starts preschool...

All in all, I'm getting better at juggling two children. C's seasonal layoff ends this week and I'm not dreading it. My parents help out a lot, which makes life much easier and keeps us from spending all our time at home.

Pictures to come soon.

and then I woke up

OK, so 7 1/2 weeks might be a little early to start sleeping through the night reliably. Last night, we were up every 4 hours. Maybe she was making up for missed meals from the nights she slept through? Regardless, getting up once during the night, as every four hours turns out to be, isn't all that bad. I just felt I needed to be honest about the STTN stuff. Wouldn't want to mislead anyone!

I must be dreaming

Maggie has slept through the night each of the last three nights. By "through the night," I mean that I put her to bed in the late evening, between 8 and 9 pm, and she SLEPT until nearly 6 am. ALL night. A few little stirrings from her during the night, but no full-fledged waking. I believe I've witnessed a miracle, folks!

For the record, this new development began at 7 weeks and 3 days of age. I suspect she weighs a bit over 12 pounds now, so maybe there's some truth to the rumors I heard that 12 pounds is some kind of milestone weight as far as sleeping is concerned. Yay! Her 2-month ped visit is later this week, so I'll soon know what size she really is.

Here are my girls, playing nicely together. Any toy of Maggie's is Charlotte's too-

awww...