Elisabeth is 2 Months!

Another month has flown by!  Elisabeth is now 2 months old!  The past month has not been an easy one.  She has been going through some minor health issues that have made her a not so happy baby.  Here is what has been going on during Elisabeth’s second month!

• Elisabeth is still a good sleeper.  She has been sleeping well at night and alternating between periods of awake and sleep during the day.  Sadly, a lot of her naps during the day have been in her car seat on the go.  When she is sleeping at home, she is still sleeping in our room in the bassinet.  We still swaddle her to sleep.  She is on the same sleep schedule.  She sleeps from around 8:00 at night to 8:00 in the morning, waking to eat twice during the night.  Then she takes two longer naps during the day and a short nap in the late afternoon.  She is really great at putting herself to sleep.  After I swaddle her I usually try to rock/sing but she doesn't like it.  She does better if I put her right in her bed.  She may whine for a few minutes but then goes to sleep.  It is SO nice!
• She is still an awesome eater!  She is able to finish eating in about 15 minutes and eats 4 oz to 6 oz 6 or 7 times a day.
• Elisabeth is still wearing size 1 diapers but it is almost time to move her up again!  She weighs around 11 pounds now.
• Elisabeth continued to experience a lot of discomfort this month.  She had a lot of gas and would just stretch and wiggle around even when we were holding her as if she was uncomfortable.  It got to the point when she would continue to cry even when being held.  It was actually heartbreaking to see her in such discomfort!  Given the history of milk protein intolerance in her siblings, we decided to go ahead and switch her to the special formula, Alimentum, that both Abbie and Carter had.  Unfortunately, the new formula seemed to make her gas problem even worse so we switched again to a different brand, Nutramigen.   Thankfully the change in formula has seemed to help and she is no longer experiencing the pain and discomfort she had been.  (Sadly, this formula is twice the price of regular formula!)
• During this time, I took her to the pediatrician and he also suggested we put her on Zantac for acid reflux.  Abbie had experienced the same issue. and I was thinking Elisabeth might be suffering from it as well.  Between the change in formula and the medicine for reflux, she is a much happier baby!  She and Abbie seem to have a lot in common, health wise.  We will see if Elisabeth suffers from the severe nasal allergies that Abbie did this Fall.
• I think Elisabeth also had a clogged tear duct in her right eye.  She kept having a little discharge which I thought was just sleepies in her eye.  Between all of the other health issues we were dealing with, I just didn’t really give it much thought.  Then literally during her two month check-up, I noticed something orange coming out of her eye.  When the doctor wiped it away, it looked like a hard, orange splinter!  He said he had never seen this, but that it must have been the plug in her tear duct!  (I thought to myself, thank goodness this happened at the doctor so he could witness it himself, or he would have really started to think I was crazy!)  Since then she has had no more eye issues and no discharge, so I really think that she did have a clogged duct (which is not uncommon in babies).  Another thing that was probably contributing to her misery!
• Elisabeth has started to smile on purpose now which is wonderful!  She likes to lay on her playmat and smile at the little toy that makes noise and flashes lights.  She still loves nature sounds and listens to them on her playmat and when she is in her swing.
• She also really likes tummy time!  Abbie and Carter were not too fond of tummy time so I am surprised to see how much she actually enjoys it.  She is turning from side to side but still has not rolled over yet.  She also likes to kick her legs, so we will see if she is an early crawler. 
• Now that she is feeling better and not crying all the time, she has started cooing and babbling some.  She is not overly verbal like Abbie was.  Abbie was constantly babbling from an early age and also an earlier talker.  I think Elisabeth takes after Carter more.  She is not as verbal and more into taking everything in.  She often has a serious expression on her face, just like he did as a baby.

Elisabeth is growing right before our eyes every day!  I just love it!  I honestly think that the first few months are the hardest for me as a mom.  I feel like a lot of the time is spent dealing with health issues and sleep deprivation.  It is also hard for me to not have the feedback from them when they are so little.  I just feel like I still don’t know Elisabeth like I do Abbie and Carter.  Obviously, I adore her and love her to pieces, but I just want to know what she is thinking and what makes her happy.  Seeing her first smiles gives me a glimpse of all the fun that is on the way.  I just can’t wait to see her little personality start to shine through!  This morning she smiled at me while I was changing her diaper and it just made me so happy!  I know I am biased, but I think she is a truly beautiful baby!  We love you so much, Elisabeth, and love watching you grow!

And just for fun, here is Abbie in the same bubble at almost the exact same age!  I love seeing Elisabeth wearing all of Abbie’s old clothes.  Even though it was five years ago, I still remember Abbie wearing all of these clothes just like it was yesterday!  I don’t really think they look very much alike.