Elia turns two months. At two months, Elia is 8 pounds 2.4 ounces, has begun to coo, rolls over from front to back, almost rolls over from back to front, and like her sister at two months, has learned to get out of a blanket if you throw one over her. Also like her sister at the same age, she started size one diapers, went to child care for the first time, and has begun to sleep longer. We have begun carrying her in the Baby Bjorn in addition to her stroller.
Elia is just coming into her own. If you look at the pictures, you can practically see it in her eyes. She smiles a lot and loves to be cuddled. She sleeps more than Curie did, but she is also younger at the same age. She will lie on her back unperturbed for long periods of time, she tracks when you hold her, and she has begun to self-soothe with her hand in her mouth (both girls are likely thumb suckers with orthodontic bills in the future).
If it seems that Curie seemed more alert in her pictures, it is because with one child it was easier to capture when she was alert. With Elia, we take the pictures we can and cherish the time we have with each of our kids.
Curie, like her parents, loves to hold Elia, though often in awkward ways, the other day Curie bent over and said “Mommy, I want to give Elia a piggy-back, put her on my back.” This month we all caught colds, and as a baby it takes longer to get over it, so she coughs and has to learn to breathe through her mouth. You would think that with our second baby we would be less at the doctor’s office at a drop of a hat, but we go anyway, including rashes and such, Dr. Dierks, our pediatrician is patient with us and reassures us. Curie has been fascinated with going to the doctor with Elia, though very protective; at the last visit, Curie told us not to take Elia since she was going to get shots.
This month we visited the Air and Space museum twice, Erin’s parents came to visit, and Albert resumed racquetball; Erin gets ready to return to work and we gear up for a different routine. We get a little more sleep, but the weight of being on all the time does take its toll. The days go really fast and if you don’t take the time to appreciate it, carve the time to be a part of it, remember that this time is fleeting, you will miss too much. With work, obligations, family challenges, and the inexorable push of time, we are learning to appreciate every moment no matter how small and be grateful for what we have.
