Two Months, Too Sweet, Too Fast!

It's hard to believe Gwendolyn is two months old today... just 8 weeks ago we were  heading to the hospital! She is so sweet and it has gone by very fast. And because I know that in another 2 months she will have grown so much from today, I am using this post to document where she is right now and look at my favorite pictures of her so far!

Sleep: Gwen is sleeping 2-4 hours, but will sleep for longer if we hold her (which is so hard to resist). Some nights she has slept 5-6 hours in our arms! She has not been making as many funny noises in her sleep lately and I think she has learned the difference between night and day. When she wakes up during the day she will eat and stay awake for a while but at night, she goes right back to sleep. Yay!

Eating: She is eating about 2.5-3 ounces every 3 hours or so. I have been pumping several times a day so Chris can feed her a bottle at night and to build up a frozen supply. Things have been getting easier with breast feeding but it is a lot of work! My goal is for Gwendolyn to have breast milk until at least 6 months, but hope the frozen supply will allow us to feed her well beyond.

Features: Her eyes are blue and her hair is a light brown/dirty blond. Both Chris and I were very light haired as children, and I was born with darker hair so we think her hair may lighten up in time. At certain points in the day or in certain lighting, her hair can even look red! Her 2 month check up is next week and will give us her weight and height information.

Clothing: She has outgrown her newborn sized clothing and fits into some 0-3 month clothing depending on the brand. That is one thing that is very confusing; each brand fits so differently in length! Dresses and pants are either too short or too long on her!

Other Developments: Gwendolyn recognizes both of our faces, and turns her head in recognition of my voice. It is so amazing to see! She is smiling much more and tracking objects that move in front of her face. She does great lifting her head, too!

Favorites: By far her most favorite activity is taking baths, second only to staring at lights! She also seems really interested in contrasting lines such as the wooden slats on our headboard and blinds.

The past two months have been so wonderful. She's nothing short of a miracle! While I would love to be getting more sleep, I would not change anything at all. I cannot wait to see what the future brings and hope Gwendolyn remains as happy and peaceful as she is today.  

Keeping Busy

As Gwendolyn's two month "birthday" is closing in, we have been keeping very busy despite the cold weather! It's hard to believe two months have gone by so quickly. Before we know it, we'll be able to enjoy the outdoors, gardening and going for walks with Winston!

Gwendolyn and I have visited friends, shopped for her Easter dress, went for my hair cut and even had a "play date" with her cousin, Declan! We also made a trip to school to surprise my kindergarten class this past week! The students did not know we were coming ahead of time and the look on their faces was priceless when we walked (she rolled of course) into the classroom! It was wonderful to see the students and my coworkers and it certainly felt like it had been a while since I had walked those halls. I'm thankful to have plenty more time off with Gwendolyn before the next school year is in full swing!

Gwen is growing so fast. It has been a lot of fun to dress her in different outfits each day. (Thanks to our friends and family who have spoiled her rotten with clothing) Among her favorite activities over the past week or so are smiling, bathing, tummy time and staring a lights of any kind... she loves electricity just like her daddy. We joke that maybe she'll be an electrician one day! 

Her sleeping schedule has been getting better! She slept 5 hours straight a few nights this week and has been more alert at times during the day. Gwendolyn's certainly a snuggle-r and enjoys any time spent sleeping on mommy or daddy's chests, or in their arms. She is so sweet and we are really enjoying this time with her.  

Feeling Lucky

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

We're feeling so very lucky today to be sharing this holiday with Gwendolyn. Check out her adorable outfits we received as gifts from family members. How can we resist kissing her?! 

6 Weeks Today!

Guess who is 6 weeks old today? Could she be any cuter?

Gwendolyn, 6 weeks

Gwendolyn has been very busy smiling these past few weeks, which is pretty amazing. There's nothing like seeing her smile! 

She's usually all smiles in the morning, particularly after "breaking out" of her nighttime swaddler! We finally called in the big guns and bought a woombie last week to help keep her in a swaddle while sleeping. Amazingly, she slept for 6 straight ours one night last week. 

The rest of the family has also been busy too. We have also been looking into daycare for Gwendolyn to begin next fall when I go back to school. I'm glad that it is months away, because I know it will not be easy to drop her off in the mornings and not spend the entire day with her.

Daddy has begun feeding Gwen a bottle everyday which he is enjoying! Since we are breast feeding her, it was recommended to hold off on bottle feedings until at least 4 weeks of age. Chris usually gives Gwendolyn her last bottle of the day. Over this past weekend, he was amazing and fed her in the middle of the night. I actually slept for 7 hours straight, well kind of, and it felt magnificent! 

The pacifier has also been introduced. Along the same lines as holding off on bottle feeding, the same goes for pacifiers. It seems to help soothe her at times, but she cannot keep the thing in her mouth very long yet! It involves a lot of patience putting it back in repeatedly for her but before we know it, she'll have the hang of it. 

I have my 6 weeks post-partum check up this week and Gwendolyn has an ultrasound scheduled for her hips. Our pediatrician has told us that all babies who were breech need to have their hips checked so we will see what the outcome of that is this week. 

It's hard to believe she is almost 2 months old! I went to put on her going home from the hospital outfit today and it was too short. That was a little heart wrenching... she's already outgrowing her newborn clothing. Almost not a newborn anymore... almost!