Two Months

Dear Sarah,

I think we have a future cheerleader on our hands - you have a voice and are not afraid to use it! The volume has been cranked up and you can rattle our eardrums when you get going. We'll have to test those lungs at the Furman games this fall and see how you do in the stadium. You have an amazing talent to continue to scream even with the pacifier in - our little ventriloquist! Fortunately, you also use your voice to make the sweetest coos and yelps and laughs. Max is enjoying the family tradition of interpreting your sounds and narrating what you are doing. He is thrilled when you give him a pretty smile!

Your brother keeps asking "Does she know this is her home?" and I think the answer is now yes. You seem to recognize your family and have better days when Max is at home with us. Maybe it is because you are forced to conform to his schedule, but you do accommodate it nicely. Unfortunately, you are not a fan of riding in the car or of your grandmother's house, despite loving to have her visit you. I think you are a city girl at heart and just don't want to go out to the country!

Sarah, you are rocking the nighttime sleep. You started sleeping 8-9 hours at SIX weeks old (best baby ever) and have continued to do so consistently each night. I feed you between 9:30 and 10 and sometimes you stay awake for another hour before falling asleep. Either myself or Max wakes you up at 7 when he gets up. Establishing a wake-up time was something we did not do with Max until I went back to work, so I knew we wanted to start it earlier with you. It makes the day so much easier because I know what times you will eat and, hopefully, nap. You still nurse every 3 hours during the day. Stretching out your daytime naps and moving to the crib are the goals for next month. I'm so hesitant to change anything because I don't want to mess up this wonderful sleep pattern!

Max has instructed that I stay with you for "girl time" while he and Daddy have "man time". And I love it! You are content to cuddle or sway or sing or sleep, and although you might cry, you never talk back! At the end of your second month, it feels like we are all settling into a comfortable groove. We have good days and not-so-good days, but overall we feel like a family. A very blessed one!

Love, Mommy