Two Month Victories

Two months old, and my has she changed! She is up 3 lbs 6.5 oz from birth, all from breastfeeding! Seriously, this is probably more of a mom accomplishment. She loves to eat, watch TV or look at bright lights, swinging in her swing...and most of all, mommy! 

To go on top of the breastfeeding accomplishment, Ellie finally learned to latch without using a nipple shield. Nipple shields are, for lack of better words, a pain in the butt. I had to clean them after every feeding, which was still every 1-2 hours. Then, when Ellie was hungry, it was always this scramble to find one that was close, or wash it quickly before she went into full-blown meltdown. Needless to say, the transition was heaven. No more nipple shields. I'm too nervous to throw them away though. Just in case. 

I would have to say, our biggest issue these first two months was definitely the never-ending diaper rash! She has had one documented since three days old. Pampers Sensitive caused a chemical burn. So we switched to Huggies Sensitive. She continued to have this nasty raw, blistery rash. I felt awful. We spent tons on diapers, creams, prescription ointments..I even went as far as to eliminate dairy from my diet to help; and that was probably the most difficult thing to do. Dairy is in everything. Finally, we gave in and tried this weird suggestion of cloth diapers. These helped tremendously! And they aren't as bad as everyone thinks. 1) Breastfed baby poop is water soluble, so it washes out easy peasy. 2) No blow outs (which Ellie is infamous for). 3) Money saver. PLUS 4) They have super cute prints.

Another not-so-fun issue: baby acne coupled with heat rash. My sweet girl looked awful. And apparently, this is normal. But no one warns you about it. Heat rash is very common, especially with breastfeeding. So there's your heads up. 

Unfortunately, living away from family, we miss all of the holidays. Our Thanksgiving was spent Facetiming with family (a blessing to have that technology) and individual pictures were taken of us holding Ellie. She was wearing an outfit that Lulu sent for her. 

Ellie and Daddy. Twins. 

And that was the gist of our first two months. Diaper rashes and baby acne. But beyond that, lots of loving and cuddles. I miss her being this tiny already.