Two Month Check Up!

Our baby is growing up. Eva had her first two month check up and her first round of immunizations yesterday. Fussmunchkin is in the 90% with height, 75% for weight, and 50% percentile for her head. I was worried that we were overfeeding her since she nurses ALL THE TIME so it was a relief to see that she is right in line with where she should be given her genes. It was painful to watch them administer the shots. Eva was even more fussy than usual that evening. I kept telling myself it was for the best.

I can't believe how quickly she is learning new things these days. Just about every day I have something new to share with Jeff. Yesterday she discovered her feet. Since then she's been completely obsessed with them and does baby stomach crunches. It's really quite hilarious to see. Her face gets all serious and her eyes get really big whenever she goes up for the crunch. She's almost able to touch her feet but not quite.

Eva's other new trick is caller response. We've been working the coos pretty hard but now she thinks it's pretty cool that I echo whatever she does. If she gurgles, I gurgle. I coo when she coos. Her face completely lights up when I mimicc her. You can just see the synapses firing away as she processes all of this new information. I'm really enjoying the time off seeing her develop so quickly. It will be hard to leave her in a month and miss out on this time when I go back to work.

Important Milestone

Jeff here:

I have been jotting quick little notes on our kitchen calendar to track some of the milestones or "firsts" that have come to pass since Eva arrived on May 23rd. They are just short snippets, because I don't seem to find the time to write anything longer or seemingly more meaningful. Here are a few of the notes and "firsts:"

- Thurs June 11th: Possible first smile when tickled. JW made first pancake breakfast since birth, is life returning to normal?
- Fri June 12th: Almost no fussing today. At a loss for what to do with my time. Really.
- Sat June 13th: Great day, had visitors too. Retraction- turned into HELL night. No sleep until EIGHT 8am!
- Sun June 14th: Smiled at Jen while Jen held her.
- Monday June 15th: Smiled at ceiling fan while Jeff held her; Jeff's first run today
- Fri June 19th: Jeff's first martini since Eva's birth (thank god!)
---[No notes for a while, as she kicked in again with gale-force crying and wailing for days on end.]
- Sunday June 28th: First "coo," while given a bath.
- Tues July 7th: Met Grandma Kennan today.
- Fri July 17th: Truly noticed her feet for the first time.
- Sat July 18th: Spent most awake time trying to grab her feet, no luck yet.
- Sun July 19th: Jeff's first bike ride!! I think I see a light at end of tunnel.

Eva and Jen Duet

Jeff here again. Jen has been singing this song to Eva quite often since Eva was born. And we used to play it on the stereo before she was born. Watch and listen to see how excited Eva is with it now. This was taken earlier in the week, when Eva was 6 weeks old:

Grandma Kennan's Visit

Jeff's mom, Maureen, came to meet her granddaughter, Eva Marie Walker, last week. This is Maureen's first granddaughter in the family whereas Grandma McGill has fifteen other grandchildren to dote upon. Not only did Baby Eva get to meet her very first grandma, but she also got to enjoy a beautiful quilt that Grandma Kennan made her which is featured in this post. Jeff and I enjoyed seeing how excited Grandma Kennan was about every coo, smile, and move that our daughter made. Maureen soaked in every moment that she could of her granddaughter while she was here. Jeff was off during this time, so we also got a little adventurous and had a few outings as well. Grandma Kennan also showered Eva with gifts that she will undoubtably enjoy as she gets older. We have lots of pictures to commemorate this wonderful visit. Here's just a few to enjoy for now.

Eva's First Coos

So I mentioned in the previous posts that Eva was working up to a coo. After her bath on Sunday night she was in that glorious quiet, alert stage that we wait for with delirious anticipation. I started to interact with her with the usual "hellos" prompting her beautiful toothless grin. I always follow up with a serous of "coos." Up until this point she would try to mimic the sound but nothing would come out. You could tell that she was working SO HARD to make a sound. Her entire body started pumping with the legs kicking, eyebrows arching, arms extended out. As I lifted her up to my shoulder I heard a husky "coo" that was clear as a bell. I doubted the authenticity of the sound thinking, "nah, it couldn't be." Then, she said it again, three times in a row. This time she locked eyes with me and said it with a smile so it was clear that she was getting the caller response game that I had played unilaterally up until this point. To say that I was overjoyed is an understatement. Jeff was there too and we both did a little "coo" dance in the kitchen and tears welled up in our eyes. "She said "coo. She really, truly said "coo."

I tried to get a picture of this moment but I think the energy that she exerted was far too exhausting and she started to cry. But nothing could take a away the glory of this moment. We now have "coo" sessions every day. And, I might add, she is adding to her repetoire of sounds.

Eva's First Smile

OK, so this might not be the FIRST smile but you get the point. We've all heard that your child's first smile melts your heart. I even read that the endorphines released when your child smiles at you rival that of chocolate! When Eva first smiled at me I swooned, beamed, and then yelled for Jeff to come hither and witness this milestone first hand. At first her smiles were infrequent and always prompted by one of us. To be honest, she smiled at her Food Source more often though now Jeff is enjoying these moments as well. Now, we catch Eva smiling with abandon at the most random objects including the rim of the mirror or even at her burp cloth. It's as if these moments are dress rehearsals before the real thing comes along. The other day she even smiled unprompted when I got her out of the bassinette. I was so happy even though it meant the end of her afternoon nap.

We're seeing the beginning stages of her squeals too. She gets so excited when we talk to her that she'll let out a yelp in between smiles. Her legs get going at the same time, her eyes get wider. You can tell that she is working SO HARD to get a coo out but isn't quite there yet. We give her some quiet, alone time in the midst of these intense exercises in fear of overstimulating her.

To those of you who are helping us through the Colic Chronicles, these intermittent breaks of joy make up for the long hours of inconsolable crying that we are enduring day after day, and night after night....