Macy - 18 Months

Dear Macy Girl,
I intended to write this at your year and a half mark, but somehow we are already 2 months past that point. 

If I had to choose one word to sum up your personality at this stage it would be HAPPY. 

Often when people spend just a little time with you, they comment on how smiley you are. You are so content "hanging out' around the house. Your nap often overlaps with Norah's a bit, but even once you are up your daddy and I can count on doing our own thing around the house while you keep yourself busy. You often spend your time doing the following things:

- Reading books - you hold them up and nod your head for emphasis while you "read." When you are done you say, "Ah gaaa" (all done). 

- Playing with baby dolls - putting them in and out of the stroller, taking them on walks around the house, laying them down on the floor to take a nap while you pat and "shush" them, and just walking around hugging them. 

- Buckling all of the buckles in both booster chairs and baby doll strollers. You haven't yet mastered unbuckling, but you have learned to say "Heppa" (help please) instead of simply fussing when you want them undone.

- Tinkering around in the playroom - getting in and out of the chairs, moving baby dolls and teddy bears around, putting leis on and off, etc. 

Your daddy and I often comment to each other about how long you have been occupying yourself, but we're not always sure exactly what you have been doing. 

You started calling Norah "Rara" several months ago, and in some ways it will be sad when you learn how to pronounce it correctly. When you first see Norah after she wakes up from her nap you lovingly say, "Raraaaaaaa!" while patting and rubbing her back as she tries to completely wake up. When we get you out of bed in the morning, the first thing you often ask is, "Rara?" When we tell you she is sleeping you say, "ssssssssss, sssssss" (shhhhh).  

One of our only struggles with you is your wake-up time, which has been between 5:15 and 5:45 about 75% of the time for the past 4 months (or more). At one point we moved your bedtime back from 6:30 to 7PM, and while it seemed to work for several nights you soon reverted back. We never go in to get you before 6 or 6:15 so that we don't encourage the habit, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. You simply seem ready for the day. You and Norah both have white noise machines in your room, but daddy and I just got one for our room as well and used it last night (this morning) for the first time. We won't sleep with it on all night, but as soon as we hear you before 6AM we'll turn it on. This morning daddy slapped it on at 5:45, and the next thing I knew we woke up at 6:45 to the sound of your cries. Our white noise machine was accidentally set to automatically go off, so we have no idea whether you were crying that entire hour, or had just started up again (and frankly don't care!). 

We can't think of anything to do differently, since getting you to bed later than 7PM is a struggle - whenever that happens you seem to be overtired and having a hard time settling down. We chalk your early wake-up time up to being a phase and cross our fingers it doesn't last much longer.

No matter how hard it is to wake up to your cries every morning I look forward to getting you out of bed. You always wrap your arms around my neck and lay your head on my shoulder, eager to cuddle for a while before we start our day.

Your daddy and I joke that you are the most polite 1 1/2 year old. We rarely have to remind you to say thank you when we hand you something. The other day at breakfast Norah got your milk for you and you said, "Ta-too Rara" (Thank you, Norah). 

You continue to be a good eater, to say the least. No matter where you are in the house when we call for you to come sit in your chair you come running and squealing with joy. You eat everything but anything that is green on your plate. When you ask for more we insist that you finish whatever is left on your plate. You typically protest by crying and pushing your dishes away, but as soon as we bust out the washcloth to wash your hands and face you quickly pull your dishes closer while saying, "MY!" (mine). Down the greens go and you are asking for more. 

The red flags from the pediatrician at your 12-month check up were gone at your 18-month visit. Your stats:

Height: 34" (92nd percentile)
Weight: 27 lb, 8 oz (82nd percentile)

I guess this is why you are in 24 month and 2T clothes!

You and Norah usually play really well together. When mommy and daddy are getting ready in the morning you like to play "pillows," which is using our big pillows as napping mats. You move them around the room, read books, and pretend sleep on them. Norah leads, and you usually willingly follow. We all know immediately when you don't want to do something Norah requests...

...and she usually does a good job of working with you to figure it out. 

The two of you also like to push baby dolls around in the strollers (much peace has been found in our house since we got a second one for Christmas), ride around on your "cars," read books, and play in your tunnel. 

You are starting to learn how to count, and it often involves pointing your finger. Your sister hasn't been in a lot of timeouts lately, but on a few occasions recently when I have started counting for her I say "one" and you follow with "two." 

I often ask you, "Macy, do you know that mama loves you?" and you nod your head with a big smile on your face. I follow it up with, "Do you know daddy loves you," and "Do you know Rara loves you?" and each time your head bobs affirmatively. This has become a daily exercise. 

Your favorite songs are "Twinkle, Twinkle," Wheels on the Bus," and "Moon, Moon, Moon." It was a few months ago that we were first able to recognize that you were singing "Twinkle, Twinkle." Norah and I often sing it, allowing you to sing the last word of every line. Whenever anyone mentions the word sing we hear, "Up-a-ba-ba...." 

Macy Girl, you light up a room with your smile. You are SO cuddly, often giving out hugs and (open-mouth) kisses. You and your sister adore each other, which absolutely warms my heart. While you are expressing your opinion more and more you remain a sweetheart through and through. 

Mama loves you very much!

Pediatrician Visit

Seth and I recently took the girls in for their 4-year and 15-month check ups.

Norah is doing great overall. The only issue we wanted to discuss with him was her night terrors. Over the past 6-8 weeks they have become less frequent, occurring only once or twice per week. And the last several weeks they have become even less frequent than that. The pedi was not overly concerned at all. He suggested if they start happening more frequently again we adjust her bedtime a bit, but otherwise we just make sure she is safe when they are happening. 

He also confirmed our suspicion that Norah has allergies. It's not a huge deal, but over the past few months (when I know allergies have been bad for others) she has had mild congestion and a cough. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it, and hopefully it is something she will grow out of. 

Norah had her eyes, hearing and blood pressure checked and all are fine.

Stats:
Height - 3' 4" (53rd percentile!)
Weight - 33lb 8oz (35th percentile!)
BMI - 14.72

Macy is also doing well overall. The pedi did note a jump in her weight percentile from her last visit three months ago. That, in combination with a BMI that is higher than they like to see, made her weight worthy of discussion (though he clearly was not overly concerned). Seth and I frequently comment on her large belly and how "solid" she feels when we pick her up. But I honestly didn't think there would be any red flags for the doctor. The first thing he asked was whether she drinks a lot of milk...which she does. And it is all whole milk, which they recommend until 2 years of age. He suggested cutting that back significantly, and completely eliminating juice. We don't give her juice at home, but she has a small amount at school for (her second) breakfast every morning. 

Since we are not at all concerned about the rest of her diet (the pedi is not overly concerned about the situation, either) he thinks these minor adjustments should make a difference. We'll check the numbers again at her 18 month appointment, and if it's not better we will change to 2% milk. 

We got in the car and I said to Seth, "So is it just me, or did our pediatrician just put our 16 month old on a diet?" (Since it is not a serious concern for us we are having a bit of fun with it.)

The few days following the visit, whenever Macy went to the fridge asking for milk Norah would very seriously say, "Macy! Dr. Cook said that you can have no! more! milk!" (Hand gestures and all.) We assured her that we will take care of monitoring Macy's milk intake. 

Stats: 
Height - 32" (75th percentile)
Weight - 26lb (81st percentile)
BMI - 17.85

I didn't think the difference between her weight and height percentiles seemed like a big difference, but I guess it is more about the BMI and the significant change from 3 months ago. 

Only time will tell whether the skinny jeans that I have been buying for Norah (because it is the only style that fits her) will work for Macy...

The visit ended with immunizations for both kids, which was not fun for anyone. Norah went first and even though she is old enough to anticipate what will happen she was quite brave. When she was done Seth held her as we got Macy ready, but then Norah decided she wanted to be by Macy. She rubbed Macy's head and helped me soothe her as she got her shots - so sweet! It was brutal for a few minutes following, but they both recovered quickly.

This Thanksgiving season we are very thankful for our two healthy growing girls!

Macy - 6 Months

Dear Macy,

This note may have been slightly different if I had done it on the day you actually turned 6 months old. In the 11 days since then we have been to Goshen and back for the holidays and you weren't quite the incredibly easy baby we are used to. 

But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because I think your struggles had to do with having a head cold and being in an unfamiliar place. And despite everything, you were still a relatively easy baby. You basically have us spoiled, so what may be considered a typical amount of fussing for a 6-month old by others has us frustrated and wondering what's wrong. 

Generally, you continue to be a very easy baby. Your daddy and I thought Norah was easy, and then you came along. Sometimes I refer to you as the "miracle child." With the exception of last week, you typically hang out happily cooing and smiling.  

You are super interactive these days, and love, love, LOVE to flash your beautiful smile. You make everyone feel like it is a super special smile just for them. We barely glance in your direction, and out it comes. Your daddy and I just can't get enough of it. 

When you fuss a teeny tiny bit, we know you are either hungry or tired. Otherwise you are very easy going and happy. Just plain happy.

Your bedtime is 6:30, and while you are a good sleeper you aren't very consistent. The week or so leading up to our trip you started getting up twice a night again, instead of just once. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have fed you the second time because it may have started a pattern. Between that and our trip, which threw you off even further, we have some sleep training ahead of us in the next few weeks. I am hopeful that your easygoing personality will transfer to this process, making it less painful than it might be otherwise. Time will tell. 

You are still nursing and continue to be a great eater. I don't seem to be responding as well to the pump as I do to you, so I am supplementing with 12 fenugreek a day to try to keep my production up. I have a freezer full of milk, but am barely breaking even in terms of what you drink at school (20 oz) and what I pump at work, before bed, and in the middle of the night (depending on when you get up). We will probably start trying solids soon into the new year. 

In terms of mobility you are rolling over both directions with ease and can sit up with a bit of help. You are getting closer and closer to sitting up on your own. You scoot around a bit to get a toy within reach, but you are not getting up on your knees yet. 

One thing I love to observe is the way you enjoy interacting with your sister, and vice versa. Just today Norah was running around our house singing "Ring around the Rosy" and falling down at the end in front of the exersaucer that you were in. You smiled every time she ran by you and giggled when she fell...over and over and over. You definitely know who she is and light up at the first sight of her. Norah loves to tell you good morning each day and is very helpful taking care of you. 

Your 6-month pediatrician appointment was uneventful. He is pleased at your progress and noted that you seem very content with life. The stats:

Weight: 15 lbs, 13 oz (47th percentile)

Height: 26 inches (60th percentile)

Head: 16 inches (26th percentile)

Macy Girl, you are my sweetheart. Your smile melts my heart and brightens my day. I love the way you snuggle into my face and neck. And I love kissing your irresistible cheeks. As I often tell you, "I could just eat you up, you're so sweet." (I have heard your sister tell you the same.) 

I look forward to all of the joy you will bring to our lives. 

Love, 

Mommy

P.S. If you could get this sleep thing figured out quickly, that would be great. 

Macy: Two Months

We had Macy's two-month pediatrician appointment yesterday. It was fairly uneventful, which is what I expected. The big news is that she weighs 12 pounds, 7 ounces! This puts her in the 85th percentile for weight.

At two months Norah weighed only 9 pounds, 15 ounces. And at four months she weighed almost exactly what Macy weighs now, and was in the 25th percentile. What a difference! Macy is actually in the right size of clothing for her age, if not just a little ahead. Norah, on the other hand, is in some 12 months shorts (2T are definitely too big) and all 2T shirts and dresses. The other day she put a pair of Macy's PJs on her upper body. The sleeves came up to her elbows, but we were able to do the snaps and it fit like a glove.

Fortunately, Macy is 23 inches long, which puts her in the 70th percentile, so she's not completely out of proportion.

Other Macy news is that she has slept through the night two nights in a row--10 hours two nights ago and 9 hours last night. I guess I will set my alarm for around 12:30 tonight to get up and pump in case this becomes the pattern. I am trying not to get my hopes up, but Macy has generally shown signs of being a pretty good sleeper. Norah definitely wasn't going for as long of stretches as Macy at two months.

Stay tuned for more on our trip to Chicago/Goshen and updates on Norah...

Health Update

So it turns out Norah has an ear infection. The pediatrician prescribed amoxicillan, gave her the H1N1 vaccination and we hoped we were on our way to good health. Later that night Norah broke out in a red blotchy rash all over her body. I thought I might have noticed some redness prior to giving her the first dose of amoxicillan, but unfortunately we didn't examine her very closely so we don't really know the cause of the rash.

After another trip back into the pediatrician, they suggested we consider her allergic to penicillin since we don't know for sure, and eventually get her tested. They prescribed a different Rx for the ear infection and suggested Benadryl for the rash. Just 30 minutes after receiving her first dose of Benadryl the rash was considerably better.

Luckily, Norah has never appeared to be affected by any of this. Her usual happy personality remains and she continues to make us laugh.

I also continue to be amazed at how much she is comprehending these days. As she nursed yesterday morning I was telling her that she was going to go with daddy to meet Mimi so she could spend the day at the lake with Mimi and Papa. At the mention of their names, she locked eyes with me for a second, then cranked her head around to look at the bulletin board where we have pictures of them. We occasionally look at the pictures and point out the people in them, but not on a regular basis by any means.

Norah had her first overnight with Mimi and Papa last night. It is very strange not to have her at the house, but I am so happy she is able to be with them. We're headed up soon as well for our family Christmas, and I am looking forward to everyone being together to celebrate the holidays.

One Year Peditrician Appointment

When we were in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office, two people commented that Norah was so young to be walking. The combination of her lack of hair and small size obviously throw people off and they take her for younger than she is - they were quite surprised when I revealed her age.

At a year old Norah is still between the 5th and 10th percentile for both weight and height. She weighs a mere 18 pounds, 9 ounces, and is 27 1/2 inches long. Just a wee thing. Her thighs have rolls (really just one roll), but when she wears snug pants her legs look like toothpicks.

Back to the appointment - this was a biggie for vaccinations, primarily because it involved the MMR vaccination, which some people worry is linked to autism. I don't have the energy to go into all of the details tonight, but Seth and I did a fair amount of reading leading up to this appointment but ultimately decided to get the vaccination. We had a few specific concerns that we talked through with the pediatrician, striving to make as informed of a decision as we could. I scheduled this appointment so that we both go, and am really glad it worked out that way.

We asked about what we had self-diagnosed as an umbilical hernia - what sometimes looks like an "outie" belly button, but can be pushed back in. (It's a little gross.) We had read that most would go away by the age of 1, but he was not concerned that Norah's is obviously still there. He said we should give it until 2-3 years of age, and if it is still there at that point chances are high that it will only be a cosmetic issue.

There were some other specific things we discussed, but again with the lack of energy. Overall the pediatrician feels Norah is doing great. She put on quite a show for him, going from giggling to giving him the wrinkled nose face, which she continues to dole out quite generously. In true Norah fashion she also gave his pants a lick. (I really wish we could figure out a way to keep her tongue in her mouth - it really grosses me out, so I can only imagine how Seth feels watching her tongue move from one object to another.)

9 months

According to Seth's baby notes from his mom, here is what he was up to at 9 months:

"At 9 months Seth is crawling everywhere. He can really speed up when heading for something he knows to be a no-no. He’s very good with thumb and first finger—can pick up the tiniest pieces of fluff on the floor. He likes to put his plastic blocks back into their canister. He practices his “d” and “g” sounds a lot. Sometimes it sounds like he’s saying Degas and sometimes god damn. If other little children want to pat or hug him, Seth’s little face crumples. He still doesn’t seem to fear strangers but it takes him a while to warm up to them. He fights taking his naps sometimes. He sleeps 12 hours a night. He weighs 20-9 and is 29 inches."


One area in which the differences are becoming apparent is size. Since her 6 month check up, Norah has gotten rounder and shorter. She now weighs 16-11 and is 26 inches long...with a good stretch. The first time the nurse measured her length, she noticed Norah had fallen off the charts. So, she re-measured and told Norah to give her a big stretch, and voila - 26 inches. She is in approximately the 20th percentile for weight (up slightly from 6 months), and the 10th (with the stretch) for height. Six month sleepers fit her perfectly; in fact she is in very few 9 months clothes at all.

From 8 to 9 months we saw significant change in Norah's mobility. She is now an expert at pulling herself up, and can do it against a flat wall with nothing to grab. She has learned how to slowly let herself down from a standing position, and seems to know to protect her head a bit when she falls backwards. She is still most comfortable with the army crawl, although she did recently crawl a bit on all fours so that may change soon.

Norah seems to love her mobility and makes use of it to explore, explore some more, and do more exploring. Every time she rounds the corner into the kitchen she heads straight for the towels hanging from the oven and pulls them down one by one. She has discovered things that are "not a toy," such as the AV equipment, plants and computer cords. Her teachers at daycare laugh that several times a day they don't see her in the middle of the room with the rest of the kids and find her in a corner under a crib.

Norah's eating and sleeping habits have not changed much in the past month. She is still typically alseep by 6:15 or 6:30 and sleeps between 12 and 12 1/2 hours, although she has started waking up a bit earlier (we're hoping that doesn't become a pattern). She probably eats around 10oz. per meal of solids (still twice per day), although that is a rough guess. I know everyone at daycare can't believe how much she can eat for her size.

Norah seems to be comfortable with just about anyone, although I have noticed that she is more aware of people around her. She now always watches me leave her room at daycare. It just about breaks my heart every day to leave her there with her big eyes looking back at me. Don't get me wrong - she is fine. In fact, she never cries when I leave (I'm sure the day will come), and in fact usually gives me a cheesy grin, giggles, and shakes whatever toy she has at the moment.
In addition to da, da, da, Norah also says ma, ma, ma more and more frequently. I have also heard na, na, na, and ba, ba, ba.

Overall we continue to have so much fun with Norah. She is good at entertaining herself (although we enjoy playing with her), smiles a lot, and makes us laugh. We talked about it tonight, and decided that we're going to keep her. :)

6 Months

Norah month by month since birth:



Norah turned 6 months last Wednesday. Seth's 6-month baby notes from his mom say:

"At 6 months Seth can sit without support for about 10 minutes and when on his stomach, gets up on all fours and rocks. He can wiggle a short distance for a toy he wants. He likes to play peek-a-boo. He got his 2 bottom teeth at 5 ½ months. He weighs 18-9 and is 27 inches."

Norah, on the other hand, weights just 13-7 and is only 24 1/4 inches long. Both measurements put her in the 10% percentile. She dropped in weight from teh 15th to 10th percentile, but when Seth and I asked a few questions about that our pediatrician's answer was, "To be honest we've spent too much time talking about it already. It's really not something to be concerned about." We did decide to increase the amount she is getting per feeding at daycare. She is still only getting 4 ounces in each bottle, but has seemed satisfied with that amount. Just this past week for the first time her teacher suggested adding a little more.

Norah received a positive report from the pediatrician overall. We are really happy with him - he has a laid back style and I feel supported and reassured every time we leave the office.

Sleep was one topic of discussion. Norah is typically in bed from 7pm to 7am, and gets up once between 2 and 3am to eat. I asked whether she will cut out that last feeding on her own, or if that is something we will need to train her to do. He said she can go 12 hours at this point without eating, and if we want we could try to cut it out. He suggested that we try to let her go if she is just fussing a bit, but that if she really starts crying I go ahead and feed her, and try again in a few weeks. We are really only interested in trying this on the weekend since if she is up fussing I'm also awake (Seth typically sleeps through it all). So, we (I) tried to let her go last night. She cried on and off for 45 minutes, and although sometimes she was quiet for 10-15 minutes at a time I ended up feeding her.

I don't really mind the feedings - she is very efficient and goes right back to sleep. The only issue is that sometimes I have difficulty going back to sleep. Plus, I have to be in bed for longer to make up for the time I am awake (I have always needed my sleep). So if the feeding is eliminated I'll literally have an extra hour in my day. Ahhh...the things I could accomplish with an extra hour.

We also discussed starting solids. Our pediatrician feels that developmentally, around 6 months is typically a good time to get babies used to eating with a spoon. He also feels the extra iron they get from rice cereal is beneficial. As usual, he was sort of nonchalant about it, although he did suggest trying a few tablespoons once a day to start out, gradually increasing that amount and adding in fruits and veggies.

Part of the reason I think we like him is that our parenting style fits his. I'm not stressed about solids, and really haven't done all that much reading yet. But I think we'll start giving Norah some practice just with rice cereal on the weekends for the next several weeks and see how it goes. We gave her more last night and this morning and she does get it down, but it doesn't appear to be extremely natural, nor does she especially enjoy the experience. So, we're not going to push it. We may get more serious about it if she does drop her last night feeding since we'll have to make up for those lost calories during the day. But otherwise, we'll just keep practicing and watch her cues.

Oh, one other bit of news - he thinks there is a good chance her eyes will stay the bright blue that they currently are. Yipee!

As for other things Norah is doing, she has definitley mastered rolling over and is sitting up more and more with less support. Even just two weeks ago the first thing she did when we sat her up was take a nose dive. But now we put the bobby pillow around her and she sits for quite a while - 15-20 minutes. She is clearly working on her stomach muscles, and I don't think it will be long before she can completely sit on her own. Her teachers at daycare said they have seen her get up on her knees a few times when laying on her stomach, but we haven't seen that yet so it doesn't count. Norah is very busy with her hands, grabbing everything in sight, playing with toys, and passing them back and forth between hands. And unlike her dad, no sign of teeth!

Four Month Pediatrician Visit

Norah and I went in this morning for her 4 month visit. According to the pediatrician Norah is doing very well overall. She weights 12 lbs, 6 ounces and is in the 25th percentile for weight, length and head size.

Prior to the appointment I had already shifted my approach to sleep a bit, and when I discussed this with the pedi he confirmed that I am in a good place. I have been using a book called, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" as a reference after having gained respect for it very early on, as it quite accurately predicted Norah's sleeping habits. After some rough nights over the past several weeks I started really second guessing myself and wondering whether we were making poor decisions. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like the book was putting possibilities in my head of things we were doing wrong, and of bad habits that Norah might be forming. I realized that I should be spending more energy on interpreting Norah's cues and making decisions based on instinct. I also realized I should not overanalyze one night. There could be a million factors affecting a single night of sleep, and even if we think we have it figured out we don't truly know the cause and never will.

I was ready to put the book aside for a while...and then my friend Lisa mentioned there was good 4 month information in the 5-8 month section at which point I promptly picked up the book to find the 4-month nuggets myself. We are dealing with something that is so unfamiliar that I am hungry for any information I can find. However, this time my approach was different. I was looking for information and guidance, but was prepared for discrepencies between what the book was saying and what was actually happening for us. I wasn't going to let it get me worried that we are making bad decisions, especially based on a night or two.

The the pediatrician confirmed all of this for me, which felt really good. For the past week or so, Norah has been taking very short naps - often just 30 minutes, sometimes closer to 45 minutes or an hour. Even though she appears to be quite rested when she wakes up, my fear was that it was affecting her nightime sleep. The pediatrician is not concerned at all about short naps, particularly because she wakes up rested. He said that her sleep habits are still forming and this doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be a poor napper. As long as it is not completely throwing her off at night he does not feel we should be worried.

Speaking of night - for a while she was consistently only getting up once a night, but more recently it has been twice. We have also gone through some rough nights where she is up even more often, but not necessarily to eat. Our instinct was that this was due to her being sick, or at least feeling uncomfortable for some reason. Seth would often rock her back to sleep, which works fine sometimes, but others it doesn't last very long. The pediatrician feels her more recent sleeping habits have likely been impacted by her being sick (he noted she still has some congestion from the RSV). I asked whether nursing more frequently (perhaps sometimes when she doesn't really need it) at night could form a habit and he thinks it is possible, and therefore something to be aware of. He recommended trying to rock her back to sleep when she wakes more frequently, and only when that doesn't work to try feeding her. Unfortunately for Seth this means more night duty for him since he generally takes over if she does not have to eat so I can get some sleep (my hubby rocks!).

I also talked to the pedi about solids. It's not at all that I am anxious--just curious. He typically recommends 6 months for two reasons. First, he feels vegetables can add some valuable nutrients to the child's diet. Second, it can be a good time from a developmental perspective to start training a child to eat solids. Some may be ready and some may not, but generally it is a good stage. Assuming I am still breastfeeding at 6 months (which I plan to be the case), I am not going to be in a huge hurry.

So, I there you have it - everything you ever wanted to know about Norah's sleep habits, and then some. For those of you who are parents, I'm sure a lot of this sounds familiar. And for you soon-to-be parents, this is what you have to look forward to. But don't worry - it's all worth it!

Pediatrician Visit

So it appears as though we definitely have the feeding thing down because Norah now weighs almost 10 pounds (9 lbs, 15 ounces to be exact)! We had her 2 month check up today (one week late) and according to her pediatrician all looks really good (well, except for a slightly flat head, but more tummy time each day should solve that).

I wasn't sure what to do about immunizations, but we ended up getting all of them. There is some controversy over whether some of them can cause neurological damage. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of research to support a link to neurological damage and most pediatricians still recommend getting them. We ended up concluding that either way it is a bit risky, but that not getting them was the bigger risk.

So, off we screamed. Norah actually did pretty well, and her unfamiliar piercing scream made me realize that she really doesn't cry all that much. If she is crying (and I would usually describe it more as fussing), she needs something.

I was also a bit concerned about two things related to sleep - where she is sleeping and how she is falling asleep. In terms of where, it is quite often the car seat. We feel she often seems more comfortable in her carseat, and whether that is becuase she is more upright (which helps with reflux symptoms) or just because it is cozier, the pediatrician feels it is okay to let her sleep there for another few more months.

And in terms of how she is falling asleep, we are often rocking her in her carseat or cradle. Over the past week we hae been working on trying to get her to fall asleep more on her own, and the pediatrician recommended we continue in that direction.

Otherwise, all is well and according to the pediatrician she is doing great!