HopenLex- Adventures in becoming parents: Alexandra is 2 months old!

Dear Alexandra-

I'm writing this a few days after your 2 month birthday. Your actual 2 month birthday weekend was busy with events and visitors and I never had a chance to sit down and reflect on this past month. I wanted to really have the time to think about everything that has happened this past month and how you have grown.

You have really blossomed this month and have gone from a tiny newborn to a baby who is much more alert and aware of and interested in her surroundings. You have started smiling, which just melts my heart. You smile a lot especially in the mornings when you first wake up. There is nothing better than picking you up when you are crying in the morning and seeing that cry change into a smile when you see me! And it's not a little smile, when you smile, you have the most amazing, enormous grin on your face and you look so elated-it's pretty wonderful! Auntie Gretchen captured it while we were iChat-ing when you smiled at her!

You are spending more and more time awake now, and we have little conversations. You coo and I coo back at you and we go back and forth for a little while. Our conversations are interspersed with your smiles and grins and my laughs and exclamations at your wonderful smiles!

You are very calm as long as you are not hungry or need something. You like to look around and take everything in. Sometimes you will wake up after I've moved you to your bed and you kick your legs and move around and turn your head, but you don't cry. After about 15 minutes of this, you often will fall asleep again, especially if I turn on your sleep sheep to the rain sound! I'm so thankful that you don't get upset but are content to take everything in! What an amazing thing to have a baby who can self-soothe! I'm so lucky!

You are growing so big! I don't know how much you weigh, but I'm sure it's at least 10 lbs already, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was more! (Added note, at your 2 month well-baby visit, you weighed 12 lbs (88th %ile) and you were 22 inches long (55th %ile)!

You are a good eater and our nursing time is so special. Sometimes you just want to stay and linger and suck (I'm your pacifier). I think you'd be permanently attached if you could! Nursing seems to be a cure-all. If you are upset about anything, I just pop you on and all your troubles are gone and you are completely relaxed and soothed! You clearly love breastfeeding-it's our special bonding time and I'm so happy that you enjoy it so much!

That said, you have decided that you hate the bottle, which we tried to introduce about a week ago. You cried and screamed when your Daddy tried to feed you with it. The next time, I tried leaving the room and then I left the house completely (and walked the dogs) but it didn't help. You cried and got very upset. Your Daddy said that the most recent time he tried, you got more and more upset when he tried to give it to you and it took him a long time to calm you down! It makes me upset to think that you don't like the bottle and that it makes you upset when we try to give it to you. You'll have to take it when you go to day care, so I'm definitely worried that you dislike it so much! We're going to try some different nipples and hopefully that will help!

We've had a lot of visitors this month-Grandma Didi has come to visit twice. The week before your 2 month birthday when she was here, she exclaimed how big you were getting! You gave her lots of smiles and she just loved you and loved you! We all wish that she lived closer and could help take care of you while Mommy and Daddy go to work!

You also have had 2 visits from Grandma Mai (where you get your middle name from). She really liked holding you and you guys got to know each other better this time. We gave her some photos of you in a little book (we said it was a present from you!) and she was so happy to have her grandma brag book!

Grandma DiDi helped us look at several day cares while she was here. We didn't find exactly what we wanted, so Mommy is looking at several others to see if we can find just the right place/person for you. My priority is finding you the best person to watch you-you are my heart and soul and I really want to find someone who will love you like their own!

You seem to be sleeping better this month! You are developing more of a pattern, with a morning and evening "awake time." You've also had 2 or 3 nights this month where you have spelt for over 4 hours! How happy this makes your Mommy who has had a hard time with so little sleep! It's a joyful morning when you have slept so well! Even when you don't sleep as long, in the last week or so, your sleep seems to be deeper and more profound. Your startle reflex is fading, so if your hand(s) break free from your swaddle, you don't wake up as quickly!

The day before your 2 month birthday, you rolled over-twice! We did tummy time with Grandma DiDi and you rolled from your tummy to your back...then we turned you back to your tummy, in shock of what we had just seen...and then you did it again, and we caught it on video! You are such a strong little girl! When we do tummy time, you push your legs like you want to go somewhere! I think that you will crawl early!

Watching your Daddy with you is amazing! He is so enamored by you! Even now that we've known you for 2 months, he constantly exclaims at how beautiful or amazing or precious you are! I think I've been replaced as his favorite girl! You love him too and you like to stare at him all the time! It's clear that you love him a lot!