Age: Almost 13 weeks
Weight: 13 pounds
Sleep: Um, I hate to say this for the poor mommas out there that don’t have good sleepers, but I have been handsomely blessed with an incredible sleeper. She has never gotten up more than twice a night and usually sleeps the majority of the night. Each night is a little different but last night she slept from 7:30pm-5:30am. I mean, I thought Jacob was a good sleeper and even he wasn’t doing this well until he hit about 4 months. I honestly feel like I didn’t even have to experience newborn sleep deprivation at all. Trust me, ya’ll, that is what my BIGGEST fear was because I hate it so so so much. Whether it was answered prayers or pure luck, I’ll take it.
Oh — and she was in the Rock n’ Play for the first 11 weeks. Last week, she transitioned to crib flawlessly.
Food: Still a formula-fed, good eating girl. We have been using Similac but I’m about to go generic cause…it’s exactly the same but $13 cheaper 😉 She drinks about 5oz every 3-4oz and a 6-7oz bottle before bed to keep her full for the night. She usually drinks a full bottle every time and is gaining weight steadily! We will probably introduce rice cereal or easy purees at 5-6months.
Size: She is wearing some 0-3 month clothes, but mostly 3-6 and 6 month items fit pretty well. We are set with lots of hand-me-down clothes and feel incredibly lucky that my best friend has a little girl just a bit older and is sending plenty of things our way. She’s in like the 75% in size I think.
Girl stuff: Yes, I do think it’s a bit more fun to dress a girl and headbands are adorable! Her little smile and face are just so pretty in a feminine way I don’t really know how to describe. I’ve been told she looks like “Jacob’s twin” and just like her Daddy, so I guess mom’s out of the gene pool again! 🙂
Likes: She loves to just be talked to and looked at in the eyes. She will light up a million sparkles and smiles if you baby talk with her and kiss her tummy or toes. Her smile is just gorgeous and addicting, I cannot get enough of it! She also loves to be held in the baby carrier and close to Momma. Her little eyes just follow me around like crazy.
Dislikes: Being put down or alone for too long! Raindrops, tummy time, getting pelted by objects thrown by her brother.
Favorite items: We have the Fisher Price Soothing Motion machine, which is comparable to the Momaroo and works wonderfully. We keep it in the living room and put her in it a lot for short naps or just if we need a break from holding. I had the Halo Bassinet Swivel, which is beautiful and the way it moves to easily is incomparable. Highly recommended for a breastfeeding mom who is feeding a lot throughout the night. Personally, I barely used it though because we used Rock n’ Play for sleeping at first. She has a Halo sleep sack and an Aden+Anais sleep sack as well. We use Nuk bottles and love them (I wasted so much time washing those damn Dr. Brown’s bottles with Jacob!) and she’s lately been sitting in the Bumbo seat a lot! We have a Snuza from Jacob but actually aren’t even using it — #SecondBaby.
Big Brother: We’ve had very few issues with Jacob. He has never shown jealousy though it did throw a wrench in potty training plans! He occasionally “acts like a baby” but overall, has been very interested in Abby from day #1. He always wants to know where she is right away when he wakes up. We do have to watch him, because he likes to stuff pacifiers in her mouth or put random objects on top of her in her swing (like dirty shoes, for example.) And he seems to think it’s funny to throw things at her because we tell him not to so we have to keep a pretty close eye on him around her. He is not violent or anything, just being 2 I suppose!
Mom & Dad: We are GREAT! This is has been a completely different newborn experience than with Jacob. It’s all true what they say — your fears are like 1/4th of what they were the first time around. You don’t think they are going to die when they have a little reflux — hooray! Because she is such a great sleeper, we didn’t have to deal with sleep deprivation. Rick is in a much better place now than he was when Jacob was born as well, so we’ve really had little marital issues at all related to having two children.
Any surprises? Yes. Everyone told me having two kids was really hard and that going from 1-2 felt like going from 1-3, and it was just so difficult. This has not been my experience. I was also told how hard it would be to have your first kid and I also didn’t find it to be that hard. Let’s be honest, though — I KNOW I have easy kids! (I also know it’s only been 3 months and it will get harder as she gets more mobile!) They are normal but they have not had any special issues and that is one reason it’s not been that hard. I also think I was so mentally prepared for “hard” that…things probably didn’t seem so bad. If I had gone into it thinking things would be a piece of cake, I might be writing a different blog post. But I suppose I should just say — you always hear horror stories but mommas, it’s not always like that. The hardest thing for me has been mental space. I feel like I’m more forgetful and spread a lot more thin. I have moments of overwhelm where I’m like…okay wait, I need people to NOT need me today. But it’s usually pretty brief.
Momma’s heart: I love Abby and Jacob equally of course, but they do feel like distinct, unique loves for each of them. So far, they seem very different to me. Abby seems more serious than Jacob ever did so I think he might be our goofball while she is a bit more reserved? Who knows? I absolutely adore her and love love love holding her. That serotonin high is real people! Though she is more serious, she babbles more than Jacob did and she will get really loud and screechy when she’s excited — it’s hilarious. I feel SO crazy fortunate that I get to be the Mom of these two beautiful, wonderful little people. Jacob’s little personality grows everyday and I STILL sit there and stare at him in awe sometimes that he is mine. Same with Abby…to think she was literally just a day or two “old” this time last year — smaller than a seed — is just mind boggling. Good Lord, am I so so so so blessed to mother these souls. They are my heart!