24 May The Delaney Diaries: 2 month check in!!!
Our little Snuggle Bug is 2 months old!
Where has the time gone?
We were in Virginia visiting our sweet new nephew a few weeks ago who was just 10 days old at the time and to see the difference between the two was INCREDIBLE. I could not believe that Delaney was that little JUST weeks ago. It was a big wake up call to how fast things really do go and how much she is changing every single day. I swear she wakes up and the onesie she went to sleep in, no longer fits her.
All those precious little newborn characteristics like when she reaches her arms out when she is startled or that adorable little lip quiver are happening less and less and our days are no longer spent snuggling on the couch with a sleepy baby. The beginning of month two seemed to be when Delaney “woke up” and now we have a very alert and active little girl!
Each morning I’m greeted with a smiley baby who loves to kick and explore the space – cooing and making the sweetest little baby noises. I love every little stretch, back arch and facial expression she makes. Brian and I could sit there for hours just commenting on every little move and how each one is cuter than the last. This is by far my most favorite part of the day
Sleep is going pretty well!! Everyone always asks if we’re sleeping and since I have nothing to compare it to and the fact that I feel well – I’d say yes! Delaney typically gives us a nice 7 hour stretch at the beginning of the night. Usually going down around 8pm when I swaddle and feed her and then snoozes until about 3am. She’s usually up for about 20 minutes to feed and then goes right back to sleep until about 6am. Now if only I would get in bed at 8pm too.
Swaddling has been key for us. The moment we wrap her up (we’ve been using the Ollie Swaddle) she calms right down and gets ready for her last feed before bed. At one month we transitioned her to her crib and it went way too smoothly. I resisted at first, but one night Brian just did it and she slept perfectly, and so did we. Little babies are noisy little ones and I found myself waking up to every little noise she made. Her room is right across from ours, so she’s really not that far away and ever since then she’s been sleeping in her crib great!
(I melt..)
As for daytime naps she usually in the Momaroo or on our chest when we can sneak in a snuggle. We save the Ollie Swaddle for night time and just use a lightweight blanket to swaddle her during the day. Obviously nap time is “go time” where I try to quickly eat, clean up the house, answer emails or write a blog post. I am not one to nap while she naps, although everyone tells me to. Just ain’t happening and for those who can. Hats off to you!
Probably around week two we introduced the pacifier and she took to it quite well! I tried to hold off for whatever reason, but when I went to see the lactation consultant she assured me that there was no reason not to use it since she sure didn’t seem to have any issues eating or gaining weight and some babies just have a strong urge to suck. She loves the WubbaNub to calm her down and then typically ends up letting it fall out after a few minutes.
As for the bottle, I had a bit more hesitation and I never thought that I would. I knew we had a small window to introduce it around 4-6 weeks, but for some reason I had this resistance because I did not want to give up a breastfeeding session with her.I knew she wouldn’t hate me for it, or not ever breastfeed again, but I was being an emotional postpartum women and hey, that’s okay, right? Plus i got so worked up about pumping at first and couldn’t seem to figure out when to do it, since most days it was just me at home and Delaney always wanted to be held. I knew how badly Brian wanted to help out and be able to feed her, so finally one day around 5 weeks Brian just did it while I was at yoga instead of trying to hold her off until I got home. Our little porker did not discriminate and took right to bottle. We use the Comotomo bottles and they’ve worked great for us! I realized how special it was for him and how much time it freed up for me. For now, I am pumping 1-2 times a day (ugh, do not like pumping) and on the evenings I work or take a class, he will give her a bottle. I am working to get a good stockpile for when we got to Seattle in July for my brother & sister-in-laws wedding!
We’re working on tummy time, which Delaney could do without and loves her activity playmat (Mommas and Poppas). She enjoys looking at herself in the mirror, kick, kick, KICKING and she’s getting to the point where she will hangout on the playmat for a good while and sometimes even in the Momaroo – although I don’t think she enjoys it as much because she isn’t as free to move. She is quite the active (read: wild) little nugget and everyone who meets her comments on how alert and…”energetic” she is. Guess she’s a little cray cray like her Momma. Lord help us when she’s on the move!
I just ordered a few crinkly books and she been enjoying this little bear, Cora, by VTech that lights up and sings, as well as Giraffe. Her favorite toy seems to be us. She is super engaged when we talk to her and she gets so excited, smiles and “laughs”. Makes me feel like the funniest, most cool person in the world. And I’m okay with that, because I’m sure that won’t last long.
As for me, I’m great! Loving every single second of this new mom gig. Yes, it is a totally different life and all consuming, but I would not trade it for a thing. Mentally, I really do feel great. I started taking my placenta pills a few days after delivery, which may or may not have helped – who will ever know. But I’m feeling rested, ready and oh so happy! As for how I am feeling physically, I’d say around the 2 week mark I started to feel a little bit more like myself and then around the 1 month mark things fell into place a little bit more. I knew this because I had the urge to really move and workout again and I just felt…a little more normal again. The first few weeks I spent doing a lot of walking, then slowly got into some light body weight exercises, pelvic floor work and yoga. At this point I’m back to pretty much everything and most of the time am able to sneak in a quick workout when she goes back down after her early morning feed around 6am. I haven’t run and I am just starting to introduce some jumping. Trying to be very aware of my pelvic floor and not stressing it too much until it regains some good strength. Although I may feel good, I know that issues tend to surface months down the road and I am trying to avoid that mess!
I still have a ways to go, but I’m enjoying the process and my new squishy body. It did an absolutely amazing thing and my weird belly button and lovely stretch marks are just a fun reminder of what it was able to do. I am forever grateful I had the opportunity to carry this little babe and create a healthy, absolutely perfect baby. So for now my main focus is regaining strength, especially in my core and using my workouts to take a little time each day to focus on me!