My my, the second month of life was a time of great changes. It seemed in month 1 we were just trying to recover, keep our heads above water, and get to know this new little person. In month two we were settling into a routine and watching her change.
By her 2 month check up Vivian had passed the 11 pound mark and was wearing only 3 month clothes. She just keeps getting longer and longer consistently putting her in the 90th percentile for height and weight. When we sit her next to babies her age she is almost twice as big as most of them. I am not sure where those genes are coming from. I have to say when we go to the doctor and weigh her I get this sense of pride that "I did that... with my boobs!". As I mentioned in the last post, by month 2 we had passed our breastfeeding difficulty and were now feeding/eating dynamos and it was paying off at the scales. Vivian also got her first round of shots. She was so brave only crying for a moment or two.
Vivian's arms were "activated" in month 2. They started moving all over all the time. She still didn't know they belonged to her so they often caused her great distress when they hit her in the head or pull out her pacifier and they would often keep her awake at night. Sometimes I had to swaddle her arms just to give her a break so she could rest. I called them Monkey Arms because they are so mischievous but Greg calls them Demon Arms!
We reached the peak of Vivi's "fussy/colic" times. Around week 6 she was having episodes almost daily around 11pm of inconsolable crying due to trapped gas. We found that bouncing and walking were the best strategies to soothe her. Poor Greg spent hours on the treadmill with Vivian in the baby carrier lulling her to sleep in the middle of the night. At least he could watch a video instead of pacing around in the dark! As a result she got a bit addicted to bouncing for a while. It became her favorite motion in the evening and we ended up bouncing for hours. This is me on the balance ball. I have to say, if you have a baby who likes bouncing, sitting and bouncing on the ball beats trying to bounce your arms while standing. The ball was a great tip from our birth instructor.
Vivian learned to smile intentionally the week before Easter. She really smiled first at the doctor during her check-up, then at Greg that night and finally at me the following day which was Good Friday. Good Friday indeed! Nothing quite so sweet as a toothless smile.
Vivian also began using her tongue more. She started licking her lips and sticking it out in little tongue sessions. She also started licking her hands or the blanket during tummy time. Kind of funny. We never really saw much of her tongue before she started doing this.
Vivi went from hating diaper changes to loving them. She finally learned that having that stupid diaper off was a good thing. Instead of crying on the changing table now she would stop crying once she realized her clothes were coming off. That was a nice change for us!
Vivian also developed a propensity for spitting up. Spitting up is really not an appropriate term for her. Throwing up is more accurate. She throws up a lot. Often I wonder if she is keeping anything down in her tummy. In all honesty she probably has reflux but she is considered a "happy chucker" meaning she is gaining weight and not unhappy when barfing so there is no reason to treat it. But boy are we soaked all the time. She has thrown up down my front, down my back, into my shirt, down the sofa, on the floor, on everything we own. No matter how hard we try to catch it with the millions of burp clothes we have she definitely has a nack for missing the cloth or upchucking at the moment we are sure she is done. No amount of burping seems to help. They say it will pass in a year or so. A year?!? We just warn anyone who holds her that she pukes on the people she likes and boy does she like a lot of people! Ha.
The end of month two also brought an awareness of the world around her. She was finally beginning to "see" things and people. On the bright side this means she became interested in mirrors and seeing her reflection (though she doesn't know who those people are yet) and in mobiles and objects instead of just lights and contrast, but on the flip side she no longer sleeps in any old location. The stroller doesn't put her to sleep anymore because she is too interested in what it going on around her. Napping on the go just doesn't work as well.
Month two wizzed by just like month one and each day of parenthood gets a little bit easier and more enjoyable. We just can't believe how quickly children grow and change. Vivian continues to be the light of our lives and every day we wonder at how blessed we are to have her.
The first major project I did was to make this little dress which I like to call the "nap dress" because it is so simple you can make it during a long nap! I found the fabrics two years ago at an online store called Fabric Worm. I had purchased them for a bunch of projects around Christmas time that I never got to. I had only purchased fat quarters and half yard amounts but that was OK because this dress uses very little fabric. The pattern comes from Romeo&Mae, an Etsy pattern seller I like. This blue dress is made exactly like the pattern calls for. Here is Vivi modeling it for you. 
She has worn it several times. I pair it with a onsie and leggings for cool days and will let her wear it as a sun dress when the weather warms up. Here she wore it out to baby class with Sandy Jamrog who was also our birth class instructor.
We had slipped off the leggings for some tactile exercises. I loved the dress so much I made another one right away. 
For this one I modified the pattern leaving out the inset in the front and instead adding a ruffle under the neck. Soooooo cute. Vivian wore this one to her baptism with little white tights and a white sweater (and white onsie). 
These dresses were both 3-6 month but unfortunately when I finally went to put them on her they were a very snug fit. She won't be able to wear them long so I have to say I think the pattern runs small (though I have a big baby). Did I mention that I love these dresses and they are soooo easy to make? Well I couldn't bear the thought that she would grow out of them right away so I made 2 more in the next size up! Now that I had the procedure down I was able to make both of these during one nap! If I had an over-lock machine I bet I could whip them up in about 30 min each. 
I also had fun modifying these dresses. For this green one I added extra fabric at the shoulders so they could tie on instead of being snapped. 
For the mermaid dress (the fabric has mermaids and little girls swimming!) I totally changed the look by cutting the body of the dress in half and adding a ruffle bottom and a ruffle to the neck. This was mainly because I only had quarter yards of fabric for this one which is not enough to make a full front and back piece out of the same fabric. Greg says this is his favorite. 
And this shot shows how each dress top is lined with a contrasting fabric. Sooooo cute! I ordered a couple more patterns to make pants and diaper covers out of more of my fabrics. I can't wait for them to arrive in my inbox. I have to say, sewing for a little girl is too much fun!
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