Our Story: Month 2

Month 2: Baby!

Two months old on July 20th!

Age: 2 months

Weight: 13 lbs.

Major calendar events: 4th of July, Heidi's first time out in public (!!) and Aunt Emily coming in town

Milestones: Getting better at supporting her head - it's becoming more about support and less about just trying to balance it. She is starting to become much more aware of things around her and is now noticing her own hands! Heidi can also stand up on my lap as she leans against my chest, and we got our first little giggle on her 2 month bday.

Sleep: At this point, we can usually go from the 10pm feeding to the 7am feeding and only wake up once. Wohoo!

Likes: Ceiling fans, kicking her legs, staring at her own hands

Dislikes: Being put down

Best moment: That first giggle! Also, when she was 7 weeks old, we went out to dinner with some close family friends and seeing her meet them for the first time was truly priceless! Having my sister in town for a whole week was also one really long best moment :)

Worst moment: At this point, Heidi doesn't really have a lot of "bad" moments, because she's basically so wonderful and perfect (kidding. kind of.) I think in Heidi's mind the worst moments are when she is hungry or when I have to put her down for a few minutes to go do something. So "worst moments" are really more like "Mom's worst moments" right now. This month, no real BAD moments come to mind... However, I do remember when we were out with my sister "practicing" being out and about we had stopped at Buy Buy Baby. Heidi needed to have her diaper changed so we went to their special "feeding" room. I set Heidi down on the vinyl changing pad and put a very thin paper-y paper towel down. As soon as I got her diaper off she started peeing. The paper towel was not near as absorbent as I would have liked so pee started getting everywhere. At that exact moment she started spitting up. I can totally handle one bodily fluid easily. However, once you throw 2 or 3 bodily fluids into the mix (especially in an unfamiliar place) then I just freeze up, not knowing where to start and not even being able to think clearly. We eventually got everything taken care of, but I definitely started to feel a little overwhelmed just realizing how MUCH I really had to re-learn when it comes to running errands, etc.

Eating: Eating every 3 hours at this point. She can also switch between boob and bottle if we need her to and she has no problems with that! (As long as the milk in the bottle is not cold!)

Things I want to remember: We now finally have somewhat of a morning routine, which consists of the following: 7:00 - 7:30: Heidi eats; 7:30 - 8:00/8:30: I eat breakfast while pumping, Heidi plays in her play gym (sometimes) and I sit on the floor next to her; 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. We snuggle and take a nap together; 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Heidi eats and we watch The Price is Right. I just LOVE our mornings together, and I know that I will seriously miss these moments down the road. One day she will be too big and not want to take a nap with her mama, or perhaps if/when we have more kids things will be too hectic for me to just lay on the couch and nap with my babies.

Month 2: Mama

While things are still pretty overwhelming, we seem to be settling into somewhat of a routine. It's not QUITE as regular as I would like it to be (For instance, Heidi is not at all used to or ready for me to put her down and walk away for longer than a few minutes) but we are still working on it and trying to figure this whole thing out!

It was SO wonderful taking Heidi out in public for the first time! We had such a fabulous time with some close family friends (whom I truly consider to be my second family). The following week my sister came into town. She helped me out SO much by just being by my side as I re-learned what it's like to do every day things - like going to the mall or the grocery store! I remember walking through the Galleria and thinking "Hey, if I want to come back here tomorrow for something - I CAN!!" It was SO liberating... just knowing that I wasn't trapped in the house and that I was physically capable of taking the baby out by myself.

Physically, I am feeling stronger and more like myself every day. I still have the occasional meltdown and the hormones are definitely still present, but way less crazy than the first 6 weeks or so. While having any sort of sex life is still not an option, I have been able to go on a few runs, go to yoga once or twice and do some ab workouts. Incontinence is still somewhat of an issue, especially while running. I can usually make it about 2 miles without peeing my pants but any longer than that without a bathroom break and my bladder decides to empty itself, but hopefully that will get better over time.

I still get overwhelmed when I think about how things will work out when I start training in September for my next half marathon. It is difficult for me to find the time to cook or put Heidi down for long enough to do so (Ryan is usually the one to cook right now) so thinking about being able to cook, eat, run and take care of/feed/bathe the baby... all between 5:00 and 7:00 or so seems almost impossible at this point. Plus it's so dang hot and Heidi is also still too little to be pushed in the stroller while I'm running. I am hoping that the older Heidi gets, the better we will get about taking naps during the day. I dream of the day when I can put Heidi down in her crib for an hour or two long nap, and I can go clean the house or fold the laundry or do something productive. I also dream of the day when we can go on a run at 8 or 9 or 10 in the morning and not sweat our asses off.

Thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family who have come over to visit the us during the past 2 months. It has been SO refreshing to see you all and having a conversation with someone from the outside world means more than you know ;). Ryan, Heidi and I are so lucky that God has placed such awesome people in our lives and we are truly grateful for your support. We love you so much!

A few photos from our second month with this angel!