Two Months

Happy new year!

Claire was two months old yesterday, Jan. 1, so here's a little update on what she's up to!

She's been smiling and cooing so sweetly. I'll croon "oooooh" and "ahhhhhh" and she'll smile and coo back softly. She's started to be able to entertain herself for up to 10-15 minutes on her play mat, kicking the inflated ball that hangs from it and looking at herself in the mirror. She's started to be more interested in her sister, who of course had to get in on the photo-shoot (with the star-shaped slinky she just broke).

She is still eating a lot, wanting to nurse every 1-2 hours when she's awake. She takes a good morning nap, starting in the sling and then being laid down, but has been able to be put down in her crib awake at night—a very important skill! Just as at her 1-month update, she'll sleep up to 6 hours for the first stretch of the night, and then wake another time or two in the few hours before dawn. She actually slept for 7 1/2 hours Christmas night, a nice gift for Mommy! 

People say she looks like Kate, and we definitely see the resemblance, but I think Claire's features are a bit more delicate with her little nose and chin, where Kate's face was more round. I've said from the beginning that our little All Saints Day baby is an "old soul," seeming very wise. I finally captured that "wise and reflective" face on camera...

We don't want to compare the girls too much, but it's inevitable to some extent. I just happened to photograph Claire wearing an outfit and laying on a blanket Kate had in some photos at about two months old (seriously, I didn't stage it—she happened to be wearing the outfit, and that blanket was sitting right there!) So here's a side-by-side look:

As I said, Kate's cheeks were a little rounder. Claire seems smaller to us in general, but it might just be that we forget how small little babies are! (I'll get her stats at our doctor appointment later this week.) They have about the same amount of hair here, though Kate had more originally and then lost some during her second month, whereas Claire has had the widow's peak (or as my dad called it, a faux-hawk) from the beginning. 

They're hitting milestones around the same points—smiling, cooing, kicking the ball on the play mat. I forgot how early certain things happen until I looked back in the week-by-week journal I had for Kate! (I'm keeping one for Claire too, since Diapers.com gave them away as freebies with each order around the time Kate was born.) Claire is a needier baby, always wanting to be held. Kate could be laid in the pack-n-play or on a blanket and nap just fine, whereas Claire prefers to be worn in the sling to fall asleep. Kate was sleeping through the night by now (an 8-hour stretch after her 11pm "dream feed"), and Claire still wakes 2-3 times a night. I don't mind, since I love nursing her, though I'm sure I'd enjoy eight hours of uninterrupted sleep! (The bright side of getting up a few times a night is that I get to enjoy that awesome "falling into bed" feeling several times a night, rather than just once!) 

I don't mind that Claire is a needier baby—especially if she's an easier toddler than Kate! They are each their own person, and I love to watch them both grow and especially how they interact. I love both my girls so much.