Dear Juniper,
You turn 2 months old this week. Yesterday we went to your 2 month check-up and you measured 12 lbs. 7 oz. and 24 inches; which means you’re in the 75th percentile in both weight and height. Despite your daddy’s fears that you’re going to have short legs like your parents, so far… not so much! Believe me, that’s good news!
Your second month of life has been full of activity… in the form of burping up cheesy ABSBM (already been swallowed breast milk) pretty regularly and at times, with great force! At just about your 1 month of life, you started vomiting up entire feedings, which was beginning to be a concern, especially when it shot out several inches on a couple of occasions. For awhile I was concerned that you might have colic, or hypertrophic pyloric stenosis or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or worse yet, intussusception—that’s what happens when moms notice that their child seems to have the signs and symptoms of EVERYTHING they happen to Google. Luckily I realized this propensity for moms to be over zealous in terms of trying to diagnose their own children, and I took you in to see someone more qualified than I, a pediatrician, to set the record straight. And just as your father suspected, you were just fine! Vomiting, burping and reflux are just normal everyday occurrences in the life of an infant. The projectile vomit was simply not projectile enough to be of any concern!
You’ve not only had an active digestive system, but you’ve been making huge strides in vocal and vision development, as well. In fact, this has been the highlight of the month! When you started to make some sounds (coos and gurgles) around the fourth week, I was SO excited that I kissed you, right smack on the lips! And when I did, you reacted with a huge smile, your eyes lit up, you gurgled and you “ga”-ed and? you kind of puckered up as if you wanted more! I can’t even begin to describe the elated feeling that coursed through my veins when this happened. Over the course of the month, this has become our own little way of communicating to each other. We’ve gotten better at it and now we have these conversations multiple times a day. But my favorite conversations with you are the ones we have every morning when we wake up and I lay you down on my pillow and you look up at me, shoot me a huge grin and YOU initiate the conversation. Each conversation is unique. On one occasion, you tried to slip me the tongue. I know it was an accident and that you thought I was Ewan McGregor… don’t worry, it’s forgotten—for now. Don’t think that I haven’t rolodexed that moment in my memory for when you turn 16… now I know you’ve the propensity to want to experiment with French Kissing. I’m not sure if that’s a product of your being conceived in Paris, or if mama should be proud of your assertive nature?
It’s not just the conversations we have that tickle my heart in undescribable ways. On 21 December, I came home from Christmas shopping, you were in daddy’s arms and you looked up at me and smiled at me in recognition for the very first time! Daddy was jealous… but not for long because now, you’re smiling and recognizing him, too. It was around the same time that your sleeping patterns began to change. Instead of having to get up to feed you every hour, you slept for four hours! IN A ROW! Just this little change in sleeping pattern made me love you exponentially more. It’s the little things that make mama happy. In the future, I’ll try not to quantify my love for you by the hours of sleep that we get.
Sometimes, I’ll have you in the baby carrier and I’ll happen to look down at you and I’ll catch you staring up at me. This makes me smile. The very first time this happened, I was so surprised to see you staring up at me that I startled you and you started to cry. I couldn’t help but laugh! Be assured that I quickly comforted you back to your happy state. Recently, you were in your baby carrier while I was working on the computer—something that mama does a lot—and you started making these “ga” sounds every five seconds, or so. When I looked down at you, you were staring up at me and you flashed me a smile. I’m not sure if you were actively trying to get my attention… but I’ll just go ahead and think so anyway. You are the smartest little cookie, ever!
Juniper, there are still times that I look over at you and I can’t believe that you’re mine. I think that that’s a product of not having planned this pregnancy. Because we weren’t trying to have a child, it just seems so surreal that we actually have one. But it’s a blessing that is given to only a select few and we are just elated that we are a part of the chosen. Your father and I are (please excuse the redundancy) completely and entirely enamored with you!
Love,
Your mama
