Ada: 8 Weeks

Ada is now 8 weeks old. Almost two months! Her personality is blooming. She smiles. She coos. She plays on her activity mat. She grasps at links and rattles. She looks at EVERYTHING. She sleeps 7 to 8 hours at night. And sometimes a few hours more after a quick feeding. (I've been told to enjoy it now, as sleep patterns change like the wind.)

She's also spitting up all the time . . . STILL!

I think the biggest news this week is that I thought her reflux was getting better, but it isn't. Yesterday morning I woke to find she had slept for 8 hours (which initially scared me). I fed her and we laid back down for another couple hours before heading downstairs. That second time we woke up, she spit up all over . . . I mean a TON, probably two to three tablespoons . . . and choked several times. When we got downstairs, it continued. Listening to Ada choke terrifies me more than anything else ever has. All I can hear in the back of her throat is liquid. No air. She looks terrified, too. Completely helpless.

Thankfully after those two morning scares, she was much better the rest of the day. We have our 2-month checkup on Tuesday with the new pediatrician. I'm not thrilled at the idea of putting her on a stronger medicine (and don't know if that will be the suggestion). But the choking has to stop. It's been happening at least once a day. To stop it, I'm open to almost anything.


I've come to accept that unless I tuck Ada's pants into her socks, she will take them off as soon as she can. I know there's nothing unusual about babies not liking socks, but it's January in the Northeast. It's cold even with our heat on. Her toes feel like ice-pops most of the time, but she doesn't seem to care. She's rather have naked feet.

So, Ada wears her socks tucked into her pants that stretch over her too-big cloth diapers. She looks like a little old man sometimes. I've promised her that in spring she'll wear dresses and feel much cuter.


That 3-hour schedule I mentioned the other day? Yeah. It totally didn't work. We tried for two days, which may not be enough time. But I think, as many of you commented, Ada is too young to start planning out the day so rigidly. My plan for now is to let her dictate things for the next month and to then try again.

What I have gained, though, is a feeling of comfort letting her nap in her nursery. Now that we've done it for a week, once or twice a day, using the monitor (and we just have an old-school audio one) is much less scary. I'm learning what she sounds like. I'm learning to let her be away from me. And during the day, her reflux is less of a problem.

Once I get even more comfortable, we're thinking of moving her to the nursery. Maybe by 3 months.


Yup. Ada has a Sophie. So far, they aren't exactly friends. I think the squeaking noise is unsettling to her. Still, I can tell we'll be able to break out a whole bunch more toys soon. Ada's head control is amazing. She bats at things in her activity gym. She has a good awareness of her hands and is starting to get that way with her feet.

She even rolls onto her side quite frequently. (Notice the naked feet.) It's just too bad that her GERD flares up when she's on her back for so long. Usually we have to wait an entire hour or more before playing on the floor. Even then we have problems.


Despite all this movement and awareness, she can't find her thumb to save her life. She tries so hard!!!


We bought a new scale for Christmas. I weighed myself on it holding Ada. She weighs 11 pounds! Probably more now, since that weigh-in was over the weekend. I'm amazed at how she's grown on breast milk alone, especially in length. There are some 0-3 month clothes that -- with cloth diapers underneath -- I'll need to pack away this weekend. Oh. And her newborn stuff? It looks like doll clothing.

This girl is getting big! I can't believe how fast two months has gone. I know that everyone says stuff like this about their babies. But it's SO TRUE. Older parents tell me that I'll blink and she'll be graduated from college. I'm hoping the holidays are partially to blame for the lightning speed. We'll see.

Please keep thriving, but slow down, Ada.


(And no. That sock didn't last long.)


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