Miranda is 2 Months 2014

Miranda's main activities are drinking milk, sleeping, peeing, and pooping, but this month she added smiling and cooing to the list! Smiles are so awesome. I can't wait to hear her laugh!

Two months!

Food: The cluster feeding frenzy has not settled down. If it's a "growth spurt" it's been happening for two months now. I can't get a break! For the first six weeks, there were no signs of the outrageous fussiness that effected her brother at this age, and I started to theorize that the constant nursing kept her too busy to cry a lot. Alas, at the six week mark she  started having regular evening fussy periods that were definitely caused by being over-tired. (With the second child you can see what's going on more clearly, though perhaps you still can't do much about it.)

Sleeping, 6 weeks + 3 days

Sleep: Last month, she often went to bed between 9:30 pm and 11. For her first little chunk of sleep she goes about 5 hours which is super awesome. Let's say she wakes up at 2:30 am, I'd feed her and put her back int he crib. (Sometimes with great difficulty.) Then she'd wake up again at 5:30ish, and after feeding, I couldn't get her back in the crib so she'd move to our bed. More feeding at 7:30-8, and then at 9 or 10 am.

At 8 or 9, I'd move her to the living for her "breakfast" and my coffee. She might then try for another morning nap. But she won't take any daytime naps in the crib so they happen in our arms or in her rainforest bouncer. After this morning nap, she's really random. She won't nap in the crib at all and when she falls asleep it's just for catnaps of about 20-40 minutes. Yes, I'm holding her for naps and ruining her the exact same way I ruined James. But at least she lets me sleep at night so that's a better deal than I had with James.

 6 weeks + 5 days

Growth: She was in newborn size for a long time (a size that James skipped altogether) but quickly outgrew 0-3. She sort of fits 0-3 and I have her wear it to the extent that I want her to get use out of her cute stuff but really she's better off in size 3 months.

7 weeks, smiling at her favorite parent

Skills: She grasps my shirt, finger, or my hair, but she can't or she won't grasp a rattle. She's not really interested in toys much yet, though shaking her rattle at her can distract her from crying sometimes.

Miranda will not take a bottle or a pacifier,  unlike her brother, who did both things his first week.

Looking Cuban, 7 weeks + 1 day

Personality: When she's not eating or sleeping, Miranda likes to be walked upright. This is another difference from her brother. He demanded that you stand up when you rocked or bounced him but holding horizontally was fine. Miranda demands to be vertical, is not interested in bouncing at all, and prefers that you walk her around the house. She'll let you sway on place if you take her to a good window. She's has no interest in me singing to her but enjoys her dad's songs. Perhaps because I'm tone deaf?

Surprise! 7 weeks + 5 days

Me: I went back to work at 6 weeks, but I work from home part-time and the kids don't go to daycare. So far it hasn't been a huge struggle because Kevin has been off from work for the first college summer session and is constantly juggling one or both kids. I am afraid for when he goes back.  Despite the constant feedings, my weight-loss stopped after the automatic 23. Some days the scale says 24. So I have about 6 pounds to pre-Miranda and 12 to pre-James.

Kevin: it's weird for Kevin that Miranda is constantly attached to me for feedings because it limits how much time he can spend with her. And when I do have to run out (for a work call or the dentist) he has to endure a lot of crying because Miranda won't take a bottle. But he is completely smitten with his little girl. He calls her honey pie. I don't even know what a honey pie is. I call her pooquita.

Her coquettish smile.

Update: We had her 2-month appointment late on July 1st and she was 24.25" (+1.25" from last time), and 12.8 pounds (+2 pounds from last time).

• Miranda at 1 month old, May 2014
• James at 2 months old, June 2011

James is 2 Months Old 2011

James is two months old! In the last month, James has started cooing regularly, smiling more, giggling (a bit). He says "coo," "goo," and a variant "a-goo" regularly. When he's hungry, sometimes he says, "meh." He makes some other random noises sporadically. I am looking forward to his first words, but Kevin insists that he has already said his first word as he interprets "coo" as "coup" as in "coup d'état." I hope James is not planning our overthrow, though given my family history perhaps this would not be unexpected.

He can bat at the toys on his "activity gym" in a way that may or may not be intentional, but since he didn't do it before, we're going to go ahead and give him the benefit of the doubt. He can't grab and clasp items yet, though.

He enjoys bathtime except that he hates having his hair or face rinsed of soap. He prefers to drink from the bottle during the daytime, which is a hassle. He goes to bed between 7:30-8:30 p.m. now, which is a huge improvement from 11 p.m. in the first month. He wakes up for the day at 5:30 a.m. He sleeps in his crib at night (since the third day he was home) but won't for naptime. He is still the boss of us.

His interest in screaming has not waned, but on the days that I force naps on him the most, he seems most peaceful. Forcing a baby to nap is hard, so oftentimes he wins that battle of wills.

One thing is clear, though. James is already learning to smile for pictures. Did any of you expect any less from me?

James at 2 Months Old

James left newborn clothing at around 5-6 weeks old. He now wears "0-3 months," "3 months" and "3-6 months" clothing, but "0-3 months" and "3 months" are getting tight on him. They fit on his body but I need to stretch them to snap them so I'm thinking it has more to do with his length. He is still too small for outfits labeled "6 months"

Janice visits James again (7 weeks + 5 days)

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Mom with James in upstate New York (8 weeks + 3 days)


With me outside our place

Since the weeks and the months don't quite align, James is also 9 weeks old today.