Annaliese: Two months

Annaliese is actually about 12 days past two months now, but we've been busy moving back to Albania. And now I am feeling the jet-lag, so what else to do but a little record-keeping? Perfect. Not had the chance to organize photos for a while, so those are coming later. Check back. 

Sleeping:  Annaliese first slept through the night just after one month, but really started sleeping all night (usually about 11 pm until 5am) when she was six weeks old. We still have our nights of waking up around 2am sometimes, but generally she's going 7-8 hours now. She's still using the SwaddleMe and I've even started using it for her naps so she gets a better sleep and we can get more done. She usually takes a good long nap, 2-3 hours, after her first feeding of the morning, which is great for getting the day started with a shower and breakfast or for heading back to sleep for some extra z's. she takes another good nap in the afternoon in her SwaddleMe. For her evening nap she's usually in someone's arms, mostly Granna's. She wakes up pleasantly most of the time with cooing or grunts, trying to get out of the hold of the swaddle. When I open the velcro, her arms shoot right up and she has a big stretch out session, cutest thing ever. Gotta try to catch that on video. She usually fights sleep, but I am starting to recognize the signs of a tired baby and can minimize the fight if I'm able to get her down quickly. Sometimes it's hard if we are out or people are visiting. When she's getting sleepy, I cradle her and sway, give the pacifier, and rub her forehead and the ridge of her nose. Kenny's got a cradle he calls the Daddy Sleeper Hold and he walks around and talks quietly to her. Overall, we've been blessed with one excellent sleeper! 

Eating: We've got a growing baby girl! She's filling out and getting chubbier and it's such a wonderful feeling to know that I'm able to give her everything she needs for good nutrition. I am amazed at the intricacies of nursing, a baby's instincts and God's perfect design. She's doesn't latch well and we are still using the shield, but I am not worried. I want her to get all she needs and I feel like I have some extra stresses living cross-culturally, so we'll get rid of it when we an settle down and relax a little more. I hope soon, because it's certainly not as convenient as nursing without a shield would be. The important thing is that she's getting enough to eat and growing. When we are out and about and need to, she has no problem taking a bottle. 

Weight and length stats:

Birth - 7 lbs, 3 oz & 20 in

One month -  9 lbs, 11 oz & 21 1/4 in

Two months- 11 lbs, 15 oz & 22 3/4 in

We have a had a few bouts with mastitis in her second month, at 5 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks. Mastitis is an infection in the breast tissue that is fairly common, almost every mother that nursed that I talked to about it said that they had had it at some point. It seems like my episodes were fairly mild, but it does require an antibiotic to fight the infection. I am unluckily allergic to penicillin, limiting the drugs available to me and the antibiotic I was prescribed also turned out to be an allergy. I had itchy hives over my entire body for about a week after I finished taking the medicine. I am so thankful that Kenny was there for my first two rounds with mastitis and was able to take care of Annaliese when I needed extra rest and that my pain wasn't too much and I could continue nursing. I'm also thankful that I was in the States these first two months. It isn't that Albania wouldn't have what I need to get better, it's just the added stress of a language/culture barrier. 

Diapers: I wanted to have begun cloth diapering by two months, but when Kenny headed back to Albania I was busy/tired without his help and with preparing to head back myself. It didn't happen. But we hope to begin that soon. No new news other than that. She wets, she dirties, she's good. Kenny's still dodging the sneeze squirts, but has promised to try to block the shots an minimize the things we have to soak for stains. :) 

Playing: Annaliese is having more fun every day. We had to say a sad goodbye to the ceiling fans, which we named The Fanderson Family. Albania doesn't have ceiling fans, so we're a little lonely, but Annaliese is certainly able to focus on so much more now and has started looking at her toys. She's enjoyed the play mat and her stuffed animals, and a new insect mobile hanging above her bed. She kicks and swings her arms like crazy still, but in a less reflexive, more intentional way. She's bringing her hands to her mouth and tries to suck on her fingers. She's figuring out her tongue, making new sounds, and is getting super slobbery. She has the sweetest little smile and we are seeing it more and more. She seems to like tummy-time when it's at the right time and she's not too tired or hungry. She's sometimes even almost rolling over. The doctor said that we need to give her more tummy time than we do, but she is developing well. She's gaining control of her head, holding it up with a lot of bobbing around, starting to turn and look around.  It's incredible to see Annaliese change and develop, to remember the tiny helpless newborn and to see her become stronger and more able every day! 

Other notes: The two-month doctor visit included three shots in her thighs. It was pretty hard on her and she did a little scream and the most pitiful pained crying I've ever seen, much worse than her worst finger-nail clipping crying. It only last a couple minutes before she wore herself out and fell asleep. She had a low-grade fever and we gave her Tylenol to help her sleep and she slept a lot the rest of the day and night. The next day she was back to her sweet smiley, alert self. 

Annaliese rocked air travel. No problems at all! She nursed or sucked on a pacifier at take offs and landings and slept almost the whole flight.  We had reserved a bulkhead seat so we could get a bassinet, but a couple with an older baby was already there when we boarded, so we couldn't sit there. Thankfully we were able to sit with Mom though and we took turns holding Annaliese while she slept. It was probably the easiest flight we will take for several years. That other baby definitely need the bassinet more than Annaliese did. 

Our baby stuff: SwaddleMe, Avent bottles, Ergo Carrier, Moby Wrap, Graco Pack-n-Play, Medela pump and accessories, Medela shields, Medela quick clean wipes, Lansinoh nursing pads, Equate brand acetaminophen, Huggies diapers, the Boppy

Annaliese's Firsts: 

Smile

Giggle

Baseball game

Road trips

Cider Slush