That is my latest nickname for her. In fact, I'll admit that I am guilty of coming up with ridiculous pet names for my girls. I'm too embarrassed to even tell you my latest one for Allison, but I will tell you another one of Hailey's - baby hippo! (hence the shirt) Come on, that's pretty cute! That name comes from the fact that this girl can put away some food, and her little (read: massive) double chin is proof. I remember Allison chunking out about this age, but not so much as this.
Hailey will be two months on Saturday! I've loved spending sweet time with her. She is a very clingy and cuddly baby. I shared with Frank a few days ago that I think I'm a much better mom this time around. I set very high standards for Allison to reach, and drove myself crazy making sure that she followed all of my 'rules' correctly. It's no wonder first borns end up having type-A personalities!Just to prove to you how crazy I was, (and granted I honestly believe my hormones made me mental) when Allison was 5 weeks old - 5 weeks! - I was crying to Frank because she wasn't on a good nap schedule yet and I was positive that my lack of ability to get her to sleep was going to turn her into an unhappy child that no one would want to be around. Poor Frank. How do you rationalize with a sobbing new mother who has no perspective, no sleep, and no experience?
This time is so different. I'm still working to get Hailey on a schedule, and following Baby Wise the best I can, but I feel so much relief now knowing that if we don't have a perfect day that it's alright. I can bend the rules here and there - which is a necessity when you have a two year old to entertain at the same time - and still feel good about how she's being raised. So instead of putting her down as much as possible to play on her own, I take time to cuddle with her. Instead of letting her cry for 1/2 an hour so she can make it to her 3 hour feeding time, I will go ahead and feed her. Things are just different, and it's nice. I'm grateful to have another little girl, and since she is most likely our last I want to enjoy her as much as I can.
Here is what I've learned about Hailey in the last two months.
* This is the biggest one. She HATES being on her back. I figured this out about a month ago, and it has changed our lives for the better! One night she was totally inconsolable. Fresh diaper, check. Fed, check. Swaddled, check. Tired? Absolutely! And yet she would not go to sleep. In the middle of the night I'm willing to try almost anything, so in a moment of desperation I pulled her arms out of her swaddle and flipped her on her tummy. Silence. I counted to ten in my head thinking she was probably just confused and getting ready to let out another wail. Nine...ten. Still nothing. So then I had to have the conversation with myself about how pediatricians recommend that babies sleep on their backs to prevent SIDS, etc. In the end, I recalled that when I was a baby all babies slept on their tummies. That was good enough for me, because Hailey was happy. I'll also note that she was strong enough at that point to hold up her head and occasionally push up on her elbows.
No, that's not the angle of the camera.* As I've already mentioned, she is a very cuddly baby. Since she doesn't like being on her back - even cradled in my arms - I hold her up on my shoulder and she alternates between looking around and tucking her face into my neck. All at once - 'awww!'. :) The whole time she's there she grabs hold of my sleeve with one hand, and has a fistful of skin from my neck with the other. I love how she likes to hold me back!
* The ceiling fan is her friend. As with most babies, she finds them fascinating and will stare at them and smile for the 5 minutes she tolerates being on her back.
I love that she smiles now!
My beautiful family.
I will love this picture forever!* She is great at having her diaper changed. Not only does she not cry, but she also stays dry while I'm changing her. I wasted soooo many diapers with Allison because she would pee everywhere just as I was fitting the new one on. Of course, I may be faster now, but either way this is a big plus in my book. Just a note: She's been in size 1 diapers for a few weeks now!
* Hailey developed baby acne around week 7. It's all over her face and even on the top of her head, so she can look very blotchy - especially when she's hot. I also think that sleeping on her face probably aggravates the problem some. She also has a clogged tear-duct in her right eye. Poor baby. I'm hoping both of those clear up soon. It did, however, make for a funny remark from Allison. She saw Hailey's face looking pretty red one morning and she said 'oh no, Mama! Hailey is a mess!'.
*Hailey has awesome leg strength. She already wants to try and stand in my lap even though her head is still floppy.* Recently, Hailey has given up bottles. I have plenty of milk saved in the freezer, but she will have nothing to do with it. If she's starving she will accept about an ounce and then hold out until I allow her to nurse. Talk about being nailed down! I have to be sure anywhere we go that I will have a place and opportunity to feed her. It also means I get no help with the late night feedings anymore. That is very sad!! I don't think Frank minds though. :)
* Finally, she is starting to make progress sleeping through the night. Her record is 7 hours, and that only happened once. Most nights she will go for 4 -5 hours, and I'm happy with that. I expect her to be at 7-8 hours consistently by 10-12 weeks.
That's my Hailey Bear, in a nutshell. :)
3 comments:
I want to come and cuddle with Hailey Bear!! :)
She's getting so big! Can't wait to see her again:) Jonah slept on his stomach at 3 weeks and still does. I never let Jaida sleep on hers w/the new parent fears as well, but Jonah would not sleep at all on his back! Still won't. A friend of mine's baby also hated her car seat, only lasted about a month, she put her in the car seat at home for short periods of time so she could get used to it slowly and that seemed to help. Good luck on sleeping through the night, Jonah didn't until 4 months and we didn't try to sleep train him, we just went w/his flow and he has been sleeping through the night ever since, for almost 12 hours! Yay!
I love hearing that it's okay to be relaxed about the schedule and that my baby will turn out okay if he's not sleeping exactly as babywise says he should. We're kind of doing a hodge podge of sleep training (babywise, ferber, 12 hrs in 12 weeks) but sometimes he just wants to eat a little early. And he definitely isn't sleeping through the night yet at six weeks. I kept getting discouraged b/c all this parents were telling me how their child slept through the night at 4 weeks, 5 weeks, etc. Oh well, hopefully he'll get there!
Hailey's a doll by the way!
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