I’ve been trying to sit down and write this post a handful of times now, but Adriana has been keeping me busy! Shocker, right? hah. I love hanging with that little monkey. I’d say these past two weeks have been our best yet. I am so happy to be her mom. Even though we’re no where near a set routine, I feel like we’re all getting into a groove. Things continue to feel more comfortable and natural. During the early weeks, I remember typing questions into Google all hours of the day. Everything was new. Even though there are a million opinions about everything parenting, it was often comforting to read about other mom’s experiences and find out what we were experiencing was common. Now that I’m feeling more confident as a mama, I’m finding myself Googling less and trusting my instincts more, at least in this stage. It’s amazing how often that gut feeling is right!
Adriana turned two months old on Friday. The weeks are flying by even quicker now that we’re over the hurdle of the first month. It feels like every day we witness a new developmental or physical change in her. It’s so much fun seeing her personality unfold. My main goal in life is to make her crack a gummy smile. It’s the most rewarding feeling! Her head control has improved a lot and this past week she’s started teetering to one side like she wants to roll over. Our pediatrician couldn’t believe it. This girl is a determined one! She also continues to enjoy making all kinds of silly baby noises – screams of joy, coos, big sighs, grunts, bubbles, etc. I think I forgot to mention this in the early updates, but she makes the strangest noises and facial expressions when she sleeps – grunts, gasps, squeaks, smiles, grimaces, screams, cries, sighs…you name it. Her dreams must be WILD. The first few nights Eric and I were terrified that something was wrong with her! We must have checked on her breathing 10 times the first night. But after speaking with some other moms I guess she’s not the only one!
Breastfeeding continues to go well. The other night I looked at Eric and I said, “Do you realize I haven’t cried over breastfeeding in weeks?” I’m so grateful we stuck it out, through the tears, bleeding, blisters, chomping, everything. I can honestly say I enjoy breastfeeding now and I look forward to our snuggly time throughout the day. The other thing I love is how portable it is. I never have to worry about bringing food with us. Even better if I remember to wear a nursing-friendly shirt and bra! We’re still nursing about 9-10 times per day, but her nursing duration has decreased as I think she’s becoming more efficient at getting the milk out. Long gone are those 60 minute marathon sessions! Now she feeds between 10-25 minutes per session, on average. In the early weeks we were nursing for over 5 hours per day, but now we’re usually between 2.5-3 hours. Progress!
We did have some hard times with breastfeeding around week 7 though. Adriana went through a growth spurt and was feeding non-stop for a few days. I was soooo sore and tired. I barely left my glider chair. She was feeding almost every hour, around the clock. It was rough, but as they say those hard times don’t last forever. And it made me feel good to know she was getting the comfort that she needed. In the end, she rewarded us with a couple days of great sleep, renewing my faith in the balance of the universe. ;)
Another challenge has been trying to get Adriana to take a bottle. We waited until week 6 to introduce the bottle to her (since she struggled with breastfeeding for a while), and she hasn’t really gotten the hang of the bottle yet. We’ve tried maybe 5-6 times so far and only once did she actually latch onto it. Most of the time she just licks it or lets the milk drop into her mouth as she gives us a huge grin! What a stinker. I’m hoping she will get the hang of it eventually because it would be really nice for me to be able to leave the house for longer than 1-2 hours (no big deal!), and for us to be able to leave her with a sitter down the road. I’m trying to pump a few times a week to build up my milk stash in the freezer. I find pumping such a drag though. Major kudos to the mamas who do a lot of pumping. Oh and we’re now using the preemie size Dr. Brown nipples for slower flow. I am surprised at how fast the milk still comes out though.
In the first several weeks, our social life was pretty non-existent (not surprisingly), aside from visitors coming to see Adriana. So in the past few weeks, we’ve been making a point to schedule time with friends each week. What a difference this has made in my mood! I was pretty scared to leave the house with Adriana on my own, so I challenged myself to get out for a couple play dates each week with her alone. Once I did it a couple times I realized it’s not that hard. Of course, she had a total meltdown in the car on my first outing with her alone (I can laugh now, but I was on the verge of tears when it happened), but other than that it hasn’t been as hard as I thought. I find that once I force myself to do things I’m scared of I feel so much more confident. Sometimes it just takes one or two tries to master something and then it’s like, why was I so worried about it? No, Ange, the stroller really isn’t out to get you. So last week we had a playdate at my friend Joanna’s (she has twin girls 6 weeks older than Adriana) and then I had another with a new friend I met in my neighbourhood (her girl is 3 months older). Hanging with other moms has been so refreshing. Eric and I even had our first night out at our friends the other weekend. We brought Adriana and she had three (near) blow outs (of course!), but other than that it was easy bringing her along at this age. We were out late and boy did we pay for it the next day (I recall saying it was my most tired day out of the entire 2 months), but I also think it’s good to try and maintain a social life, even if it’s different than it used to be.
This week marked my first official return to exercise and I’m loving it! Wait, correction: I am loving how I feel when it’s over! Up until week 7, I had zero desire to workout, but all of a sudden it just hit me one day and I started to get that urge again. That’s when I knew it was time. Recovery wise I’ve felt great since week 6ish, but my mind wasn’t “in the workout game” until week 8. So I started this past week doing spinning classes. I’ve missed spinning so much and I love the social aspect of group exercise classes. I reunited with a couple friends in this week’s classes too. I will admit those first classes whipped my butt…hard. I joked with one instructor that the first class was “slightly less painful than labour” haha. But I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day so it was all good. It probably sounds corny, but when I’m in the middle of a tough spin class I like to visualize myself getting through labour. That experience has shown me that I can get through anything and it helps me keep going.
I’m still doing these ab exercises to help heal the minor ab separation I have (I skip the first exercise in that video, but do the rest) once a day. Once I build up my cardio, I want to start doing the kettlebell bootcamp classes at my gym. If only there were more hours in the day! At any rate, it feels awesome to be moving my body again.
Weight/length: At two months old Adriana has gained 3 pounds 11 ounces and grown 3 inches in length since birth! You grow girlfriend. [Sorry, couldn’t help myself.] She’s getting the sweetest chubby cheeks and legs and I just want to gobble them up!!
Looking forward to: Adriana’s first Christmas! Also, Adriana meeting her Aunt Kristi, cousins, and Uncle Pete for the first time.
Nothing beats a…hot tea and warming bowl of my 5-Minute Oatmeal Power Bowl first thing in the morning. Can’t get enough!
Worrying about…flying with Adriana for the first time in December, but I hear it’s not so bad at this age?
Sketchie has…taken over Adriana’s Boppy Lounger Pillow. He sleeps in it approximately 8 hours a day. Ok, Sketchie it’s yours now…
Last time I cried: I could not stop crying reading about the heartbreaking story of a man, Chris Picco, who lost his pregnant wife, Ashley, and baby, Lennon, unexpectedly. There’s a video of him playing the song Blackbird to his baby just before passing. My heart absolutely breaks for him and his family. I’ve been squeezing Adriana a bit tighter ever since. It’s one more reminder of what’s truly important and how much we have to be thankful for.
Sleep Status: Adriana still wakes up 2 or 3 times per night to feed. Our pediatrician reassured us this is totally normal for breastfed babies during the first several months. Girl likes to eat just like her mama. ;) I continue to be surprised by how little sleep I can function on…and by “function”, I mean I can almost create coherent sentences before noon. Me like oatmeal…tea warm belly.
PS – I found this article pretty interesting about the timeline of baby sleep!
Blog I’m loving: Pregnant Chicken. Amy is freakin’ hilarious! I love her sense of humour. Girl cracks me up. Try starting with her 10 Great Things About Being Pregnant post → “You can blame forgetfulness on the pregnancy. There have been many studies that have discounted pregnancy brain but I think those people are just confused and need a tall cool glass of shut-the-hell-up.” whahaha.
Until next time.
“I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize how much I love you.” ~Wonderful Tonight