The second month was a time of overall improvement. It was during this time I made my post about how everyday is not like the next: some days went quite smoothly, others Cordelia was hard to console and I was very worn out by the end. But in general, my body was recovering from having given birth and I started to have more energy. It was surprising to feel it coming back, even with little sleep. It made me realize how draining being pregnant had been to my energy levels. Making a person was hard work! We started going on evening strolls around the neighborhood. Breastfeeding improved a lot, though sometimes her latch still felt very tight as she wouldn't open her mouth as wide as she could. But it got easier to be out of the house and do stuff, as she could wait a little longer between feedings.
Around the first week of July or so we had a whole 7 day long heatwave, everyday reaching tripple digits. And there was no wind even at night and with air conditioning only in the living room, our apartment could not cool down. I was nervous to swaddle Cordelia at night and that she would still overheat, but with two fans running and the window open, she did ok. By day, I took naps on the couch under the air conditioning, while holding Cordelia. It actually let me get quite a bit of rest and she loved being so close to me.
I brought Cordelia to school to see my group a few times. Everyone was glad to see me and meet Cordelia. Maylis told the kids they could only touch her toes, which helped me feel a little better about her being around all the preschooler germs. I wiped her feet when I got home though! But she didn't get sick from her visits and actually slept through a lot of the noise. She sleeps really well in busy, loud places, like restaurants too. The general humming just becomes white noise. A five year old boy told me her feet felt soft like an apricot. I was so impressed with his creative imagery.
This month we started cloth diapering. Judy had passed on her gdiapers to us. They have a cloth cover, a nylon snap-in liner, and have a fleece/hemp insert for catching the pee and poop. There is more hardware than with disposable diapers, so it takes a bit longer to change, but not much, when you consider how much time you normally spend at the changing table, kissing tummies and bicycling legs. (We always sing a song I made up: "I like to ride, I like to ride, I like to ride my bicycle. All over the town. All over the town.") We do rinse poopy diapers in the toilet with a sprayer we invested in, before adding them to the laundry wet bag. I wish our apartment had its own washing machine, but even having to pay for diaper loads is ultimately saving us money, maybe around 10 cents a diaper instead of 20-25, if we wait to wash diapers until we run out of our supply. We still use disposables often when going out, although we sometimes take a wet bag, and she wears huggies to bed as they seem the most absorbent. I'm glad Jason is committed, I am not sure if I would stick with it as much. Disposables do have the convenience factor and they can hold more. But we actually haven't had much beyond minor leaks with the gdiapers, not many huge blowouts. Once we stopped closing the disposable diapers too loosely, I actually discovered an appreciation of Pampers (though at first they were the leakiest!). I got a bunch of pampers as gift bags, and even a whole diaper cake from one of the classrooms at school. So I am still going through those, if she should need to wear a disposable during the day time.
So yes, cloth diapering, driving a hybrid car, and... making trips to the farmer's market. Jason said Cordelia was officially a hippy baby. It was really fun going to market on Tuesday mornings and getting fresh produce. I will miss going as a family when I return to work.
Cordelia was a very smiley baby. When she felt happy, she showed it by entirely lighting up. She started talking and cooing and making all kinds of noises to express herself. We called it singing her Baby Song. She laughed for the first time before she turned 8 weeks old, pretty early as I understand it. It was in the midst of a very fussy day... Jason had gone in to work on a Sunday and I was alone with her all day and evening. I grabbed my camera to record it for him. And once we had heard the sound of her adorable laugh, we performed like fools trying to get her to do it again. Farts, raspberries, and trills all eventually became sure fire ways to set her giggling.
For the first two months Cordelia had pretty bad flare ups of baby acne. She had red spots all over her face and was very blotchy. She also had funky gunk on her eye brows, more of a crust like cradle cap would be. A nurse said I could put olive oil on her eyebrows and scrub it with a tooth brush. It took me a while to try it, but it did help. We wondered if the acne was a reaction to soap at bath time, but we were told no, it was hormonal. All her pores were getting used to being in the air. By her 2 month well baby check up, her face was finally starting to show signs of clearing up. But the eye brow crust was coming back and full on cradle cap were setting in, so it was a trade off. We saw Dr. Huang for the first time and I really liked him, so unless she ever gets Kaiser insurance again, I think I will take her to him. He recommended a bit of cortizone cream to put on her eyebrows and that it could clear up in as fast as a day. It did work quickly! I tried olive oil on her head for the cradle cap, or crap as I should say, but it turns out baby oil worked much better. It is great to no longer have to deal with the temptation of picking at it while breastfeeding.
At 2 months, Cordelia was a full two feet long and weighed 11 lbs 6 oz. She was in the 95th percentile for height and the 50-75th for weight. She had to have five shots and one drink for her first round of immunizations. I was pretty freaked out about it, no doubt spurring my panic when I discovered her car seat straps had become twisted when I was trying to leave for the appointment. I called Jason in a frenzy, with Cordelia screaming, trying to take the car seat apart to untwist it. Ay! Not a parenting moment I want to relive. The looming shots made me even more stressed. Poor baby, it was the first time I heard her cry in pain--- a sound I shall not forget. I nursed her as soon as they were done sticking her and she was smiling by the time we left. She ran a fever that evening and night, but it did not seem to bother her too much.
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