Holland - 2 months

At her 2 month appointment (9 weeks, 2 days old), she weighed 14 lbs and was 23 inches long.  Evie was the same length at 2 months, but weighed 12 lb, 6 oz at 2 months.  Holland had a pound on her big sister at birth though, so not too much difference as far as weight gain. She's wearing size 2 diapers and 3 month clothes.

Only smile I've caught!

She's holding her head up very well, although she hates tummy time and we don't do it very often.  She is regularly smiling and cooing and loves to "talk" to Mommy and Sullivan especially.  I can't catch either on video since she goes stone cold as soon as I pull out the phone.

Holland is still sleeping a good 7 hour stretch at night, eating, then sleeping about 3 to 4 hours.  I need to start trying to move her bedtime earlier in preparation of going back to work.  I'm going to miss lazy mornings at home!  Holland is still sleeping in the Rogers craddle in our room and is using her Zen swaddle blanket now.  She had started being able to unwrap and get tangled up in her muslin swaddle blankets, so we moved to one with velcro.  She can still frequently get out a "rodeo arm", as Daniel calls it.  She doesn't require anything too special at bedtime.  I feed her a lot before bed, so usually we just swaddle her, put her down, and within a few minutes she's out.  God bless an easy baby.

rodeo arm

She's not perfect though!  She HATES a bottle.  Initially she would take a bottle, from someone other than me, grudgingly, but lately she's refused from me or Daniel or the kids.   She won't latch or suck at all!  Just pushes the nipple out with her tongue and gets mad.  Giving her a bottle is currently the only thing that really makes her mad/cry.  A lactation nurse told me to stick with the same type of bottle so she realizes this is what's happening.  That didn't work, so now we are in the super fun and expensive phase of trying every bottle on the market.  I have 2 other really weird ones arriving from Amazon tomorrow to try.  Holland starts daycare in a week and  a half, so I'm really hoping we find one that she doesn't detest before then.  If not, then I hope the new environment/new people will help her take a bottle.  If all else fails, I guess I'll be going to the daycare at lunch to feed her.  I hope it doesn't come to that, but I have heard stories, even from my pediatrician about babies that won't take a bottle not eating all day and then nursing constantly when back with mom.  It would make me sad to lose my sleeping baby because she won't eat during the day from a bottle!  Prayers please that we get this figured out!  Other than losing the night sleeping, I can't stand the thought of her crying all day because she won't take a bottle.  :(

As for nursing, we are still struggling with a consistently good latch.  Some days it's great, some days she just refuses to do it really well.  She has no problem getting the milk, but not comfortable for me!
Sullivan and Evie are still good with her.  Sullivan loves to hold and talk to her.  Evie loves to pick out her clothes and tuck her in and wipe her mouth.  They are both so precious with her.  On the weekends, Sullivan will turn her nap nanny to face the tv, so they can watch cartoons together.









We've made a few short car trips as a family of 5! We made a day trip to see my Aunt Beth in Hernando, went to the zoo on Good Friday, and went to Cleveland for Easter.

Holland did really well at the zoo. She primarily slept, but it was super hot that day.  Evie wore new shoes (mom fail) and got blisters, so we ended up carrying Holland a good bit so Evie could ride in the stroller.  Unfortunately, later that evening I came down with food poisoning.  Pretty sure that zoo cheeseburger was the culprit, and I won't go in to additional details to explain why I believe that.  Suffice it to say, I will NEVER eat at the zoo again. 

When we went to Cleveland for Easter, the kids, Christina, and I went to the Grammy Museum to check out the new Taylor Swift exhibit.  Evie loved all the beautiful costumes, and she and Sullivan had a great time dancing and singing and recording their own versions of her songs.  Evie almost pulled a tv off the wall when she took off without taking the headphones off, so that was a scary moment for me!  Thankfully, Christina got everything hooked back up and all was well.  

Easter Sunday we all made it to church on time and dressed!  Holland and I missed most of the service, but it was nice to be with family!  Funny story about Easter morning. My mom had participated in one of those youth fundraisers where you pay to have them hide eggs in your yard.  Alas, the kids somehow got confused....and hid eggs at the house across the street!  So my sweet Mom went over and found all the eggs and then re-hid them at her house.  I hadn't put any eggs in baskets since there were going to be some hidden outside, so Sullivan was so disappointed and confused when there were no eggs.  After my Mom took care of business, she looked out the window and "noticed the eggs".  Kids were non the wiser and were so excited that the Easter bunny hadn't forgotten to bring eggs/candy!  

Holland - 1 month

#thirdchildproblems

Can I remember what things were like at 1 month?  Holland has been a great sleeper from the start.  The most she ever woke up in a night was twice, but even that didn't last long.  We've been on a schedule of bedtime between 9 and 10, sleep until around 4, eat, sleep until 7 or 8.  Since none of my children were ever good sleepers as infants, I'm going to just say you either get a sleeper or you don't.  It's very nice, and I look forward to dropping that 4 am feeding.  

Nursing is ok.  Holland latches quickly and is done in about 10 minutes, but it's not always the most comfortable latch.  We have discussed with two different lactation nurses, and things have gradually improved, so assume she just needs time to grow and learn.  She eats about every 2-3 hours during the day.  Before bed she wants to cluster feed and gets a little fussy.  I spend from 7-9 in a chair feeding her. Not my favorite time of day, but she's fueling up for a long sleep, so I am taking the bad with the good.  She usually gets the hiccups before eating, so hearing hiccups makes my milk drop. It's crazy.  

Holland is the chillest baby ever.  She really only fusses at night before bed.  Otherwise, she's pretty happy to hang out and watch what's going on.  She sleeps a lot, and usually just whines for a minute before falling asleep.  She loves to have her diaper changed!  If she is fussing, laying her on the changing table is a sure way to make her happy again.





















We've had lots of visitors, although I didn't get pics of everyone!  Daniel's mom came to visit and help out for a few days and the kids had such a good time with her.  She even made shrimp spaghetti at my request, and it was soooo good!  We've been so blessed with wonderful friends who have brought so much food! It was such a great help- more than with any other child! No surprise I suppose, but cooking dinner lately has been a challenge!

Unfortunately, the day she left I came down with mastitis and it was horrible.  I'd never had it before and it felt just like the flu except I had to take care of a baby at the same time.  My mom saved the day by driving up to help with Holland while I rested.  Antibiotics quickly cleared it up, thank goodness.

Sullivan and Evie are still smitten and still come in an wash their hands first thing so they can touch her.  They like to hold her and read books to her.  

In Sullivan news, he lost his second tooth (again at school) and was accepted in to the gifted program at his school beginning next year!  We are so proud of him!