If I have learned anything this month, it is that Emmaline is not Rylie – which makes total sense when you think about it but I was a little naive and thought that since baby #1 was easy, so would baby #2! Yeah, I can see God laughing at me 😛
But even though Emmaline’s differences are challenging right now (an example would be Rylie was sleeping through the night by now, but Emmaline still enjoys waking up in the middle of the night loudly requesting nourishment and then stays awake for another hour to two fussing for no reason), we are so excited to watch her grow and develop into her own little person.
Likes:
- staring at ceiling fans
- being talked to
- being held upright and facing outwards
- eating
- being sung to
- being kissed by Rylie (sometimes 😉 )
Dislikes:
- being kissed by Rylie
- being sat on by Rylie
- being held by Rylie
Food:
I went back to work when Emmaline was 6 weeks old, and thankfully she transitioned into using a bottle well. I pump twice at work and either nurse her or pump as soon as I get home (depends on when she last ate). Unfortunately, we noticed that even though she’ll drink a 4oz bottle no problem, when it comes to eating directly from the source, she snacks. I asked some mama friends if there was anything I could do to help Emmaline and they suggested spreading out her feedings, so we worked on stretching out her feedings to every 2 1/2 – 3 hours. It has somewhat helped, but we might end up becoming an “exclusively pumping” situation… we’ll see.
Sleep:
We’ve got Emmaline on an Eat-Play-Sleep schedule, which worked really well for Rylie and helping her sleep through the night. Emmaline will wake up around 7/7:30am, eat, and then immediately fall back asleep until about 10am which is when she starts her routine of eating and then being awake for a bit before taking another nap.
Sadly, she often wakes up in the middle of the night (typically between 1am and 2am) hungry and will scarf down a 3-4oz bottle like it’s nothing. After she’s eaten and I’m hoping she’ll fall back asleep, she will end up staying awake until 4am looking around the room with wide eyes or fussing for no obvious reason. I’ve been praying a lot for wisdom on how I can help her sleep through the night.
Life:
Emmaline smiles often now and it completely melts me <3 Even her little smirks are just too sweet.
I really believe that God puts some extra patience in second children because of all that they endure with the oldest child. Rylie has become obsessed with Emmaline over the last couple weeks and wants to be right next to sister at all times. One time Emmaline was lightly fussing (I don’t know if I can call it “discovering her voice” but she wasn’t distraught or anything…) and Rylie, who was sitting at the table eating dinner, turned her head and responded with her toddler-gibberish. Aaron and I just looked at each other with “oh my gosh, that is so stinking adorable!” faces 😛
Me:
I feel like this last month I started embracing more outside of the house activities with Emmaline, which was a lot of fun.
Aside from taking her to the beach in Florida, our commencement for Highlands College, Celebrating Mother’s Day, dedicating her at church, leaving her with a sitter (family) for the first time and going back to work after a wonderful maternity leave, just living the day to day with her and learning more and more about her has been an adventure.
I came home from work the other day and commented on how big she suddenly appeared and I shared that I could already tell her growth was going to go by very quickly for me because of my working schedule. I was blessed to be a stay-at-home-mom with Rylie for the first 8 months of her life so her development went slowly to me because I lived the day-to-day with her. So with Emmaline I can tell it’s going to be different.
A lot of people have asked me how I’m adjusting to being back at work, and I’ll admit although I haven’t cried, I do really miss being with my family all day. But I am content in knowing that this is the assignment God has given me for this season and He will give me the desire of my heart in His timing. But until then, I am extremely intentional with the time I do get with my family and I make sure I absorb as much as I can.
Rylie is so anxious for her sister to be more interactive, but until then, she adores her sister and is all about giving multiple kisses and giving her hugs. As for Aaron and I, life with both of the girls has been great! We’re still trying to find our rhythm but we’re on the right track. 🙂
Previous Months:
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Curious what Rylie was like at 2 months old? Check out her monthly update 😉
