Ivy || 2 Months Old

Today Ivy turns two months old! Time is warped. It seems like she has been here forever and yet sometimes I still think...wait...wasn't she born last week? Life being so upside down in many ways hasn't helped. But our little baby sister is growing and changing every day and we sure do love her.

Ivy at Two Months

Weight: 10 lbs. 3 oz. (8 lbs. 11 oz. last month)

Height: 23.6 inches (22 inches last month)

Personality: smiley sweetheart

Sister long leg

It's hard not to compare Ivy to Kip at two months. Kip had loads of visitors, had been on a subway, bus, and ferry. Gone apple picking. Ivy has been to the doctor's office and Mandy's apartment, that's it. I know she is far too little to remember any of this but it's so strange how we have literally done nothing.

Likes

Nursing

Big brother Kippy (adores him)

Walking around "looking at lights" with Dada

Pacifier

Bedtime baths

Being on her back facing up or out

Being put in her swaddle

When Mama sings to her

Dislikes
Diaper and clothes changes

Baby swing

Baby carrier

When the pacifier falls out of her mouth

Wearing

Size 1 diapers
0-3 month clothing (growing out of them in length)
Loves the Swaddle Up for nighttime

Things I want to remember about Ivy at two months old:

The way she coos and gaas

Her smiles! (I feel like she gave me smiles much sooner than Kip)

Her demanding mad cry when she is hungry

How she is totally unbothered by her constant spitting up

How she lights up when Kippy gives her attention

The way she startles when Kip bangs something or yells loudly and she gets a pout face before bursting into tears

When she somehow gets one arm out of the swaddle and it's stuck down at her side the whole night

The way she seems to laugh in her sleep (probably just the reflux but it sounds like a giggle)

The incredibly high-pitched voice Kip uses when he talks to her

Glue diapers

How she always closes her eyes to nurse even when she isn't asleep

The way she pops-up on my shoulder like an inch worm looking around

Sleep

Ivy and I sleep together in the living room at night. I sleep on the couch and she sleeps in her bassinet. When she wakes in the night I get up and nurse her in the bouncer chair. Dan is in our bedroom at night and keeps his ear out for Kip and handles him if he wakes up. It's an interesting set-up but it's been working well. Dan gets a solid night sleep and then in the morning he gets up with Kip at 6 and I move with Ivy into the bedroom and she and I get to sleep in. Teamwork!

Her nighttime routine seems to be settling into a schedule that will hopefully remain consistent. She goes down for bed around 6:30/7 pm after a bath and a top off nursing session. I try to put her down drowsy but not asleep and we end up giving her pacifier assists a couple of times until she is in a deep sleep. She stays asleep until 3 am and when I feed her and hold her upright for 30 minutes to help with the spit-up. She wakes up again around 6 am for another nursing session and then is back asleep until 8 am when she gets up for the day. In the last few days she's been skipping the 3 am feed and instead getting up at 5 am. Personally, I like this. I would love it if we got into a flow with a 7 pm bedtime and a 5 am wake-up for her first feed and then up for the day at 7 am. We'll see if it sticks. After that, we have no daytime schedule whatsoever.

Eat

Ivy is still great at nursing and she will also take a bottle which we do on occasion. She eats about 8-10 times in a 24 hour period usually right after waking up. She doesn't like to chill too long after waking up before eating. If I delay, I'll hear about if from her. I'm not sure when things cross from silent reflux to not silent and if it's possible to have both. Last month the doctor told us Ivy likely had silent reflux which causes her to gasp and cough in her sleep when the acid comes up in her throat and hits her vocal cords. This month she also started spitting up much more than typical. She spits up constantly. Some days it feels endless and I'm covered in it and other days its much more mild. I've tried to pay attention to my diet to see if there is a something I'm eating that upsets her stomach. I'm hoping it's not dairy but I'm trying to reduce how much I have and avoid drinking straight milk or eating lots of ice cream. Fortunately, Ivy doesn't seem to care at all when she spits up and she has a special skill at aiming it everywhere except the burp cloth.

Play

Ivy has been much more awake and alert this month. Instead of just eating to sleep she will stay awake for a bit now and engage with us. She loves whenever Kip gives her any attention of any kind. She smiles when I sing to her, kicks and coos when people look at her directly, and likes to be in on the action. She gets upset if she is awake and no one is paying attention to her.

Dear Ivy, we all call you baby sister and I'm not sure if I ever want Kip to talk to you in any other voice than the high-pitched squeal he uses when he talks to you. You are a sweet little snuggler and I love our quiet mornings together. Thank you for your generous smiles that encourage me to get through each hard moment. It's a juggle right now and we are all bending and stretching to figure out how to find our flow but you are patient and accommodating and I love you. Happy two months baby girl!