Now that Greta is twelve weeks old, nearing the three months old benchmark, I am going to attempt to share some of her "stats" if you will.
At her two month check-up:
Weight: 11 pounds 0.8 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 23.5 inches (85th percentile)
Head circumference: 38.5 cm (50th percentile)
All looks healthy, the doctor was quite impressed with her strength. This was shortly after her twelve days at home with dad. He had Greta on a strict exercise routine: tummy time, stories on their backs, back to tummy time, blue bouncy chair, bottle, and nap. Repeat until mom and sister come home.
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| Staring down number five |
When people find out you have a newborn, one of the first questions inevitably asked is, "are you getting much sleep?" With Lilly, I hated this question, and still do, actually. Because I am the parent of a fighter of sleep, I sometimes feel like a failure when it comes to having a child that isn't the best sleeper and still isn't always sleeping through the night. Then I think about most adults and how sleep is a common problem. People sleep with white noise machines, masks covering their eyes, people who take forever to fall asleep or wake up at the slightest sound - and we expect children to sleep through the night? So, I am over it. People can think what they want about me as a parent, I just have a child who doesn't sleep well.
But now I have you wondering . . . what kind of sleeper is Greta? Well, during the day she doesn't sleep for more than 30 minutes in her cradle. Usually though she is waking up needing to eat. Most of her daytime naps of any significant length are in the arms of a loving parent. She fights sleep but sleep usually wins after a few bounces on the exercise ball. At night is where she shines though. We can often reliably count on one five-hour stretch, all in her cradle. After that it is a crap shoot of how much sleep we'll get. Some mornings she will get up every two-three hours but sleep until 8:30 or 9. Other mornings she's up and ready to face the day at 7. One night we were even blessed with a nine hour stretch (I kept recounting - was it really nine? It was nine!).
She's super smiley, I feel she smiles more for Nick than for me. Her face lights up when she hears his voice, which makes me smile too. Overall I would classify Greta as a happy baby.
But now I have you wondering . . . what kind of sleeper is Greta? Well, during the day she doesn't sleep for more than 30 minutes in her cradle. Usually though she is waking up needing to eat. Most of her daytime naps of any significant length are in the arms of a loving parent. She fights sleep but sleep usually wins after a few bounces on the exercise ball. At night is where she shines though. We can often reliably count on one five-hour stretch, all in her cradle. After that it is a crap shoot of how much sleep we'll get. Some mornings she will get up every two-three hours but sleep until 8:30 or 9. Other mornings she's up and ready to face the day at 7. One night we were even blessed with a nine hour stretch (I kept recounting - was it really nine? It was nine!).
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| One short lived nap in the pack and play while Lilly was awake too |
She's super smiley, I feel she smiles more for Nick than for me. Her face lights up when she hears his voice, which makes me smile too. Overall I would classify Greta as a happy baby.
Feedings are going much better these days. Only every now and again will she scream when trying to eat. She still eats about every two hours during the day. It certainly will be nice when those stretch out into longer breaks. Two hours doesn't give much time for many adventures.
Greta started rolling over from back to front a few weeks ago. We were nervous for how sleeping sans swaddle would go but she does just fine. She scoots down in her cradle at night, we put her downstairs the top and she ends up with her feet at the bottom. It would be fun to see time lapse of her sleeping some night. She hasn't rolled for a few days now but the skill is certainly there.
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| Rolling to capture her butterfly |
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| She started on her back - hasn't quite figured out how to deal with the other arm yet |
She is slowly gaining more and more control of her limbs. When we dangle a toy she can bat at it and sometimes grab it. During tummy time she can hold her head up and is starting to track something moving from one side to the other. Greta loves the ceiling fan and watching chaos (her sister). When we carry her we have her face out and she is much happier. We are certain she is going to love watching her peers at day care. Lilly loved this too and would even build herself a small tower to stand on to peer over the barriers to watch the older kids.
As long as she is fed, Greta does well in the car. If she's hungry, forget about it. While she is typically a happy baby, if we miss her napping cues and miss getting her asleep before she's wound up or miss feeding cues, she can send out a five-alarm fire. Quite a loud crier. As Lilly informed Nick the other night during a thunderstorm, "Nothing in the world hurts my ears more than thunder, except my baby sister."
Overall we are adjusting to being a family of four. It certainly adds a tremendous amount of juggling, communication, and exhaustion but we are glad she's here!
As long as she is fed, Greta does well in the car. If she's hungry, forget about it. While she is typically a happy baby, if we miss her napping cues and miss getting her asleep before she's wound up or miss feeding cues, she can send out a five-alarm fire. Quite a loud crier. As Lilly informed Nick the other night during a thunderstorm, "Nothing in the world hurts my ears more than thunder, except my baby sister."
Overall we are adjusting to being a family of four. It certainly adds a tremendous amount of juggling, communication, and exhaustion but we are glad she's here!
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