2 Months!

My little Ellie is 2 months old today!

(she generally has better control of her head than that picture shows - she just must have been feeling lazy!)

I can't believe it!  She's getting so very big.  Her doctor is out of the office this week, so we won't have her 2 month check-up until next week.  I did have her at the doctor on Friday though, so we're just going to call those her 2 month old measurements. She weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long.  I saw the graph of  her growth and the line is really steep!  She's making really rapid progress toward catching up to other 'average' babies her age.  She's finally grown out of a few of her newborn sized onesies, although we just made that determination on Sunday morning.  Her 0-3 month sized clothes are still a little too big, but that won't last long, I'm sure.

(as a reminder, here's what that same outfit looked like on her 2 months ago . . .)

Ellie still is struggling with her digestive issues, so we had another doctor's appointment on Friday to see what it could be.  She said that it clearly isn't a dairy allergy (yay ice cream!), so it's probably 'just' colic.  She has a mild case, which I'm very thankful for, but it's definitely colic.  She will sleep at night (so far), which is a HUGE blessing, but she is very fussy and restless during the day, which makes it nearly impossible to get anything done.  Yesterday, for example, she was content to sit in her bouncy chair for about 20 minutes, so I was able to get a shower.  After that, she was screaming unless I was holding her.  I needed to run to town and do some errands (like getting books for my Tuesday night student), so sometimes I just had to let her scream.  As soon as I got her in the car, she was out.  Completely gone.  And she slept for the entire 3 1/2 hours that we were out.  There's just something about riding in the car or in a shopping cart that really relaxes her.  It's not the car seat.  If you put her in it and just let her sit, she's not a happy camper.  But snap it into the car and start driving and she practically hibernates.  Until you're stopped at a red light - then she wakes up and fusses at you until you start going again.  *sigh*

Snoozing in my new swing - THANKS GRANDMA!!

Luckily, the doctor (and pretty much everyone else) said she should grow out of it.  But no one can say when.  The doctor mentioned that around 2 months is when the colic symptoms are usually the worst, so hopefully it will start getting better from here on out.  It's just so hard when she's crying and there's nothing I can do for her.  It really makes you feel like a bad mom.  You have that feeling that you SHOULD be able to comfort your child.  You SHOULD know what's wrong and how to fix it.  The incessant crying combined with the lack of sleep really wears you down.  I can't imagine how it would be if she had a 'bad' case of it instead of a 'mild' case.  She does have one or two times per day where she is mostly happy and content, at least for a little while.  I live for those times.  She actually smiles and wants to play like a typical baby her age.  It's encouraging to know that my happy girl is still in there somewhere.

Hanging out "reading" a book while Mommy does her hair

In other news, on Saturday we went to the local hardware store for a picture with the Easter bunny!  They partnered with a local photography studio and provided a family fun day with snacks and crafts for the kids and free pictures with the bunny.  It was nice!  Ellie obviously wasn't old enough for anything but the picture, but that's ok.  I was nervous that she would scream or puke on him, but she was great.  She fell asleep as soon as the photographer put her into his arms.  He must have been pretty warm and snuggly.  We get to go pick them up on Saturday, so we'll see how they turned out!

Look at my big muscles!

We also tried our first cloth diaper last night!  We've been meaning to for a while, but she still has that really stubborn rash on her bottom that requires an antibiotic ointment to be put on 3 times a day.  It's generally not a good idea to get that kind of stuff on the cloth diapers, so we have to keep using disposables most of the time.  Anyway, the cloth fit pretty well.  It's still a little big and bulky, but since she's not sitting up or moving around a whole lot, it doesn't seem to bother her.

And that is what we've been up to!  March is shaping up to be a pretty exciting month - two holidays PLUS Mommy's birthday!  And the weatherman says that it is supposed to be in the 50's this weekend, so hopefully we can get outside and take advantage of the park across the street!  I can't wait for some sunshine and fresh air - I think it will do us all a lot of good.  Stay tuned for another update next week after our 'official' 2 month check-up!

PS - Ellie is super stoked to hear that she has a new baby cousin!  First cousin once removed, that is.  My cousin April had a little girl, Amelia, this morning!  We all can't wait to meet her!  Congratulations to April, dad Ben and new big sister Sarah!!