2 months old

The two month mark is so exciting. It actually marks a growth spurt physically as well as in their brain development which is why there are so many fun and exciting changes at this point.

Most exciting is watching her face become increasingly expressive. I had loved watching her spontaneous smiles but now I've even more thrilled to see her social smile. Her auntie managed to win the first social smile (she earned Ladybug's as well) by making funny faces, blowing raspberries and pretending to explode. Our baby girl couldn't resist and gave a little smile which grew as she saw our excited response. Now we can get several smiles a day out of her and will occasionally even get sweet little cooing sounds.

I love having her off all the monitors and medications. It's so much easier to dress her or carry her around without being attached to a box. I LOVE cuddling this kid. Especially when she does her superman stretch. As I unwrap her she wakes up slowly, stretching her arms out, fingers extended. Then she lifts her shoulders into in and arches her little body with her adorable bum pushed out. Then she relaxes and melts into my shoulder, nuzzling her head in close and tucking her feet up under her body.

Now that all of the medications are out of her system, we can finally start to look for some routines and have a more predictable schedule. The medication withdrawal made her eating and sleeping habits impossible to predict. But now she is falling into some semblance of a routine. During the day she eats about every three hours. Her naps are still unpredictable as they vary throughout the day and by how distracted she is by her sisters but she's sleeping much better at nighttime. We've been enjoying a six hour stretch at the beginning of most nights and then she falls back asleep easily after a feeding.

I love her big eyes. They are such a beautiful color and so expressive. She loves to stare and absorb everything around her. Usually solemn face, she watches her big sisters and tracks movement around the room. She hates laying flat but wants to sit completely upright to get the best view. Even as she starts nodding off to sleep, she wants to stay upright and will startle herself awake if I try to lay her down flat. At night she sleeps propped up and tilted onto her side as this seems to alleviate her nighttime fussiness caused by stomach discomfort.