Our beautiful baby girl is now 2 months old! She is weighing in at 13lbs 13ounces and is 23.5 inches long... yes, she is chunky. Everyone seems to think she looks like me and has my darker skin tone but we have yet to see what color her hair will turn out. Her eyes have stayed the same blue/grey since birth which Jameson pointed out are the same color as his dad's. She still sleeps the majority of the day and gets up at least twice at night to eat. She is nursing every 2-3 hours during the day except for one long nap stretch where she will go 4 hours.
Vada is definitely a mama's girl at this age and most times is not happy unless I am holding her. She is fine to nap on her own in her swing but anytime she is awake and all night she wants me. She loves taking a bath and being naked :) She has started smiling when people talk to her and in the past couple of weeks has started "talking" back to us with soft coos. She is a pro at holding her head up and even rolled over from belly to back on the table today at the doctor's.
cooing at her mama
Very soon after she turned one month old, we began giving her medicine for reflux. We could tell that she just did not feel well and was not happy when she was awake unless she was eating. She also throws up a LOT, even hours after a feeding. I started nursing her smaller meals, more frequently to ensure she was not overfull since I was dealing with milk overproduction and forceful letdown. I also cut out dairy and caffeine but neither seemed to help at all. She now takes medication 3 times a day which has been increased as she gains weight. I do my best to burp her for a few minutes after each feeding and keep her upright at all times. It is so difficult as a mother to see her in pain and know there is nothing I can do about it. We are scheduled for an upper GI x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow morning so I am hoping that everything comes back normal.
Learning to mother a baby who is uncomfortable the majority of the time has certainly taken a toll on me, physically and mentally, but most difficult is emotionally. I know that in no time this whole stage will be behind us but living in the day to day is a struggle. I am sure it is frustrating to other people to not be able to hold her or to have to listen to her cry, but as her mother it is only heartbreaking. I am brought to tears most days but never want either of my children to think it is their fault. I would do anything possible to take that pain away from her so she can just enjoy being a baby and getting to know her family.
Hopefully things will start looking up as we figure out how much of which medicine is best for baby girl. For now, it makes every smile and coo that much more special. We love you Vada Belle.
silly faces... so beautiful
