2 months old!

Anna turned two months old today.  Here are some of her recent changes, developments, and funny quirks...

• At her two month check-up, Anna weighed 10 lbs, 15 oz and measured 22 in long.  She has outgrown most of her newborn outfits and wears mostly 3 month clothes, although most of the pants are a little big.  She also outgrew newborn diapers and wears size 1 now.  Here's a couple pictures that I think really show how much she's grown.

Here she is leaving the hospital at 2 days old.

Here she is at 7 weeks.

• She is starting to smile!  It's my favorite thing ever!  Her smiles are really rare...she has to be in just the right mood, and we usually have to tickle her cheeks and coo at her to be rewarded with a smile.  But it's so worth the effort!  Derek says that when I get her to smile at me, he enjoys watching my elated smile more than the baby's. :)

• She still hates tummy time, but I try to put her on her belly for at least a few minutes every day.  She's starting to get some strength in her arms.  Before, her arms would just be flailing out to the sides, but now she can push herself up a little.
• Anna's eyes are changing. She had barely any eyelashes when she was born, but now they're long and full. They're also starting to change color a little bit.  They were blue when she was born, but now they're more gray. And sometimes in certain light, they look a little brownish.  I kind-of wanted her to have blue eyes at first, but now I hope they turn brown so they look like mine. Because I think her eyes might actually be one of the few features she inherited from me and not her daddy. :)  But whatever color they end up being, I think she has very pretty eyes.
• Anna is still really cuddly when she's sleepy.  But now when she's awake, she does NOT want to be cuddled.  She wants to be held upright, faced forward so she can see everything.  She is a curious little thing—always wide-eyed and looking all around.  

Looking all around...with Dad making funny faces in the background.

• She is sleeping better most nights.  Her night hours are from around 10 p.m. to around 8 a.m.  On her good nights, she only wakes up twice, usually once around 2 and again around 5.  We've had a couple miracle nights where she only woke up once. We also still have the occasional not-so-good night where she wakes up 3 or 4 times. But I can't complain too much. Overall, I think she's a pretty good sleeper.  
• I'm trying to teach her to fall asleep in her crib rather than needing to be rocked to sleep in my arms.  Everything I read says to put babies down when they're "drowsy but not asleep."  So I wait until her eyes start to get droopy and then lay her down.  If she starts to cry, then I'll pick her back up, rock her for a little bit until she's starting to look sleepy, and then put her back in her crib.  The first time, it took about five times of picking her up and putting her back down before she finally fell asleep and stayed asleep.  But on the third night, she fell asleep on her own the first time I put her down!  So that was really encouraging.  Unfortunately, most nights it still takes 2-3 tries before she will fall asleep on her own.  But I'm hoping we'll get there eventually!
• Funny story...we swaddle Anna in a blanket every night.  When she's asleep, she really likes it.  When she's awake, not so much.  Usually when I go to get her in the morning, she has kicked until she's gotten her legs free.  The other morning, she had kicked her legs free, but in the process, had also wiggled her way down in the blanket.  When Derek went to get her, the blanket was up over her head and only her little legs were poking out the bottom!  It was so funny.
• We've given Anna a bottle a couple times now.  Sometimes she'll take it, sometimes she won't.  The other day, I left her with Derek to go to a book club meeting.  I left him with a bottle in case she got hungry.  Apparently, it was a day she did not want to take a bottle, and according to Derek, she cried the whole hour and a half I was gone.  Poor Daddy!
• Anna really only has one pacifier that she'll take consistently.  (Well, actually there were two that she would take, but one is lost. Sad day.)  So we're down to only one acceptable pacifier.  She likes to have something to suck on when she's falling asleep, so I can tell usually if she's hungry or just tired by whether or not she'll take the pacifier.  If she's hungry, she'll suck on it for a few seconds and spit it out.  If she's just tired, pop that sucker in and her eyes will start to close within minutes!  Works like a charm!

• She takes a LONG time to wake up (definitely my daughter!).  She will spend a good five to ten minutes tossing and turning and then stretching before she finally opens her eyes.  I think it's so funny when she stretches.  She gets all tense and arches her back and raises her arms up above her head.  If I pick her up while she's stretching, she'll just stay in that position with her little body all arched and stiff.

Stretch! (Isn't her Sunday outfit adorable? Thanks, Grandma!)

• Derek and I are starting to recognize her different cries.  She has her "I need something cry" where she'll pout her bottom lip and makes a "Mwaaa!" sound.  She has her grouchy "I don't like this/I'm tired" cry that involves a scrunched up face and more of a growling sound.  She also makes a little high pitched whine/whimper when she's scared or if something hurts.  And then there's what we call her "The world is ending!" wail...which is what all her other cries develop into if whatever the problem is doesn't get fixed. :)

The pouty lip

"I don't like getting my picture taken!"