Yolande

CC at seven weeks

Another week down! I feel like I don't have a lot to say about this past week but that is probably a good sign, since there isn't much new to report. I had to read back over Truman's seven week post and compare my two kids to remember that yes, Truman did hate his car seat and he was grunty and starting to smile but still a little helpless baby. That momnesia is no joke for me--thank goodness for my blog or I wouldn't remember any details of the newborn days!

Guess whose acne is gone!? It lasted exactly 10 days starting at 5 weeks and then magically vanished. This is when it was starting to clear up and her Kate G. hairdo was out of control!


Well, let's see--Cecelia is still sleeping about the same at night. Usually she will go down for good around 8:45 and will last about 4-5 hours until her next feeding. After that, she usually goes about 2-3 hours before waking and she is still in our room in the co-sleeper. I'm starting to get the courage to start her off in the nursery and then I'd bring her in with us after her first wake up, but I'm not *quite* there yet. Some days I feel really exhausted but most of the time I'm fine, because waking up just twice a night is pretty manageable. I'm still hoping she extends out her longest stretch to 6 hours sometime soon but even those random 5-ers are pretty nice.

I've noticed that she cat naps for about 30-45 minutes at a time throughout the day but then she almost always takes at least one solid 2-3 hour nap, too. It's almost always in the swing or my arms, but whatever---it still counts! She likes the car seat a lot more lately and will usually snooze in the car while we are out and about, and I've started taking her on runs in the BOB which always cause a nap, too. But of course as soon as we stop she is wide-eyed and alert.

Speaking of being alert, she is REALLY starting to notice her surroundings now. Her favorite buddies are the little elephants hanging above her pack and play. She will stare and smile at those buggers every time I lay her down to change her diaper.



She loves to find windows in the house, obsessed with the light, and also seems to like my picture frames on the wall---maybe something about the contrasting shapes? The biggest change I've seen this week is that she will smile socially a lot more consistently than she ever did before. If she has taken a nice nap and had a good meal, watch out because sister knows how to put on a grinning show. And of course, it makes me melt and snap 839 pictures at a time. She still won't smile a ton for other people besides me but that is probably because I'm with her 90% of the time. I'm trying to share the smiling wealth but the mood has to strike her just right.

My little love bugs. Can't handle it.


Twins? Seriously.








And speaking of moods and preferences, it's starting to break my heart to see that she cries when other people hold her. I guess it's not every single time, but it sure feels like when Nate or my in-laws or friends hold Cece she lets them know within a minute or two that mommy is her fave. I am really not flattered and mostly feel embarrassed when I have to take her back from whoever wanted to hold her in the first place. I guess this is a normal thing for babies but again, I don't really remember Truman being a fuss-butt about others holding him. I especially hate that Nate can't bond with Cecelia like I'm doing because he basically only sees her in the evenings (which are not her finest time) or when he's trying to give her a bottle (which is the same as starting World War 3 in our house). Sigh. It's definitely harder for husbands to bond with newborn babies, right? I actually do remember that feeling last time.

Big brother might have given her a gift or two here. She's thrilled.

Bottles are still causing me major stress as little lady still won't take a drop. I'm so sick of analyzing and trying new things and worrying about it that I don't even feel like going into it on the blog anymore. But I think I'm going to take Cecelia to Lori's for a bit one of these days and let Lori try her turn at this before I return to work. Praying it somehow works because although I know we still have 5 weeks before d-day, I can just picture that first day being an emotional disaster for everyone involved. Even more than what would be normal for a first day back to work. Sigh. Thank you for all of your suggestions last week though! I've tried almost every single one at this point and now I am resigned to the fact that Cece is going to have to take a bottle outside of this house first, because it is NOT working inside her domain.

Back to some more positive points on my baby girl, because there are so many more happy things than stressful ones.

Cloth diapering is going well! The extra laundry from a second child in cloth is pretty substantial but not horrible. I'm back to doing cloth dipe laundry every-other-day again, which isn't too bad since I'm doing regular laundry at LEAST that often, too. And man, her cloth diapered butt plus her brother's? Adorable.


cloth diaper stash in the pack and play:


Discovering anatomy...


A Bum Genius ad:)


Smile!




We've been to the pool quite a bit this summer and although the water is way too cold for her to actually like it (and she is in the shade 99% of the time anyway), I just had to break out the one swimming suit I have for her. And OMG. I die.





And this post isn't about Truman but how cute is he with his two buddies, Henry and Charlotte? Summer time is officially the best time in the entire universe. I love it so much.


Miss thing is still eating like a champ (as long as it's from my real nipple and not a fake one, heaven forbid!!) and is just so content when she is awake now, it's amazing. She will still have an occasional fussy evening here and there but I've found tricks that usually work most of the time (swaddle, walk, music, nursery setting, or outside). She will usually eat every 1.5-2.5 hours during the day based on when she naps and I'm definitely not trying to force any type of schedule for eating or napping. I want to start the eat-play-sleep routine soon----along with doing a few naps in her crib, and starting her off there at night. But man, it's just so easy to hold baby girl while she snoozes and I know these itty bitty days are so fleeting that I just want to soak it up while I can. Schedules and routines will come soon enough and she won't want to cuddle with mama anymore. Just look at this face and tell me you wouldn't want to hold her all day long:)






She still has about 1-2 major spit ups per week but I find they aren't terrifying me as much as they did before. It still sucks to change her clothes, my clothes, and anything else around her but she really does seem content and is growing so I guess that's just a normal baby thing. Between her giant barfs, refusal of the bottle, and refusal of the paci I find myself shocked at how different my two kids seem to be. I think it's true when people generalize girls to be more picky and dramatic than boys--at least in our case!

That's my girl at 7 weeks: mostly happy, very smiley, loves her mommy most of all, hates bottles and pacis with a passion, sleeping about 4-5 hours at the longest stretch, and has to be on the move.

And now for my 'I told you she smiles!' photo shoot:)







But don't worry, that smile can vanish in a second and little diva comes back to play.

Love this little girl more than anything. Even on the hard days, she is such an incredible blessing. Now if she would just take a bottle and prove to others that she is a social butterfly I'd be even happier. Until that next 'thing' comes along that we have to conquer. Everything is a phase, right?