Family Update Part 2 - Adalyn

Oh Adalyn, Addy, Addy Girl, my Angel... I had every intention of calling Adalyn 'Sweet Pea' but for some reason Angel seemed more fitting and stuck. I'll admit that I find it very cheesy (and no, sweet pea isn't!) but I can't help it. It's what comes out every time I see her. So she is now subjected to me calling her Angel, Angel Baby, Angel Face, Angel Baby Face. Seriously. :) I just look in her face and can't help it!

Addy is already suffering from second child syndrome. I don't blog about her, take way less pictures and set her in the bouncer or swing to sit a lot more than I did with Bella. But I'm trying to get better with it all. Since I didn't blog much about her, and I'm too lazy to look back and what I did write, I'll do a quick recap of the last 2.5 months.

The first month was a blur. I forgot how tough the lack of sleeping was and how much breastfeeding sucks the first 6 weeks. Just like Bella, Addy was (IS) a great baby. She only cried when she was hungry, wet/dirty or tired. Unlike Bella (at least that I can remember?) she wouldn't sleep on her own for the first month. I spent a lot of time in our new Lay-Z-Boy with her. Eventually we got to the point where she'd sleep in the bassinet at night, but even today she only naps on me, in the carseat or bouncer/swing. This is what Bella was like too, though. (Oh yeah, another consequence of second child syndrome is that I'm constantly comparing her to Bella... oops.)

Around 5 weeks we got our first smiles, and boy what smiles! Addy smiles with her whole face - big mouth, eyes, cheeks (she may have a dimple!). You can just tell she is HAPPY. And she smiles so much! As a result, I spend less time showing her books/toys and more time looking into her face talking to her and making her smile. I can't get enough. And the giggles! She's started to giggle now and it's the best. Those don't come as easy, but last night when Jeremy came home from work all he had to do was look at her and she'd giggle at him. I would have video taped it but I didn't want to move and ruin the moment!

On the flip side, she can turn into what my sister likes to call 'angry bebeh'. One thing Bella didn't do was that hardcore, redfaced, can-barley-breath cry. Addy does it all the time - sometimes it means she's wet but most of the time it means she's tired/overstimulated/done playing. Or she wants me. She is VERY attached to me at the moment, again something that we didn't deal with when Bella was this young. Bella was always good about whoever holding her and feeding her. While I see Addy getting better, for the majority of the time she'll only calm down with me. You can also tell she likes to know where I am at all times. Of course it feels good but since I go back to work soon I know she'll have to get over it...

As the weeks march on she's not as gassy or stuffed up, which helps at night. For a week she slept 6-8 hours at at time and now we are back to waking up every 4 hours. I had a feeling it wouldn't last! But 4 hours is better than 3 so we are making improvements.

Other random things - she takes a pacifier to calm down but spits it out right before falling asleep, likes to look at books (one simply called 'Colors' is her current favorite), Daddy likes to sing her 'Teapot' and play 'seahorse' with her (she got a pink, stuffed seahorse for Christmas that plays music and Daddy likes to make it 'swim' in front her face), Mommy likes to sing her songs like "Addy, Addy Give Me Your Answer Do" and "Oh my Addy, Oh my Addy, Oh my Addy Clementine" (both of which Bella also sings to her - oh for cute!), and overall she just brings a lot of joy is a perfect addition to our family. I look forward to her and Bella growing up together and seeing their similarities, differences, breaking up a lot of sister-fights and dealing with girl drama :)