It's the Mitchells!: Cambria at Two Months Old

The month of April was blissful!

We had figured some things out that made us feel like we were the best parents in the world.

The biggest breakthrough we had was from Andrew. Cambria would get so fussy sometimes and we couldn't soothe her at all! We tried rocking, bouncing, swinging, patting, cuddling, etc. to no avail. One time, after a prolonged period of crying, Andrew just laid her down. That was it. She immediately turned her head to the side and fell asleep.

Lightbulb!

It turns out that our child is like every other child ever born in the history of ever and when she is tired, SHE CRIES. So put her to sleep, Mom and Dad! And we did. Cambria doesn't like a lot of fanfare when it is time for a nap. She simply needs a quiet place, her crib, and NO INTERFERENCE FROM HER PARENTS. Discovering that was probably our biggest parenting win of all.

Other things about Miss C that happened in the month of April...

She likes her swing. We don't put her in it very often but she seems to like it when we do use it. We make sure to turn on the mobile for her because she loves to watch it.

She is tickling on her chest, tummy and under her arms (April 6). We already knew that her neck and back were ticklish but it's fun to watch her respond to when we tickle her.

Cambria has the cutest Buddha belly. We love it! Because of that yummy tummy, she doesn't like to be held after she has eaten. She needs lots of room to digest. Again, no crowding, please, Mom! Cambria also needs a little space to "work it out" afterwards. She grunts and snarls and pushes and wiggles and strains and it is quite the 20-minute process. But her diapers never disappoint.

Cambria LOVES bathtime with Daddy. It is their special time to hang out together. Sometimes Mommy gets to help, too.

One of my all-time favorite photos of Cambria. So much cuteness in one snuggly photo!

Cambria likes her butterflies on her bouncy seat and spends a lot of her time examining them. It won't be long until she can reach them

And nap time. Cambria is a big fan of nap time. We gave up on swaddling her when we put her down for her daily naps and just tuck a blanket around her and under her bum to keep it in place. She sleeps about four times a day for 45 minute increments.

Cute onesie courtesy of Aunt Ashley

Cambria likes to tuck her thumbs between her second and third fingers. We tease and say, "Oh no, Daddy! Cambria got your nose again! She has your nose!" It is the cutest thing! But as cute as it is, it is nearly impossible to get a good photo of it.

Our first experience with projectile vomiting was on April 7 in the early morning. I had just finished nursing Cambria and I sat her up for a second. She suddenly let loose and I swear more came out than originally had gone in. It wouldn't stop and she couldn't catch her breath at all! I began to freak and and yelled for Andrew. He came running in to find Cambria, me, and the couch dripping with throw up. I was so scared! But Cambria (thankfully) was just chill as could be. Andrew cleaned up the couch and I changed C and then I just held her. She went right to sleep but I was still rather worked up. All day I just wanted to sit and snuggle her! It made me so grateful that we made the decision for me to stay home with Cambria (for now at least) instead of returning to work. What a blessing! There is nowhere I'd rather be than home with my baby girl.

So sick! Poor girl!

To cheer me up, my friend, Tara Smith, sent me the following link. I have watched it at least ten times and I still laugh to the point of tears every time.

Cambria started to hold on to things around April 8. She likes to grasp her blankets, Mommy's shirt when she is nursing and even a burp cloth if it's handy. When Cambria goes down for a nap, she loves to have a little piece of the blanket up by her cheek that she can hold on to. It is the cutest thing to see.

Andrew's classmate, Taylor Thornton, made Cambria some honorary Lynchburg College DPT onesies.

Yup.

Andrew had a camping trip with the YM on April 11 so it was our first night with just Miss C and Mommy--a little nerve-wracking to think about. Especially since Cambria had her two-month appointment earlier that day (14 lbs. 10 oz. and 23 3/4" long!) and I was worried about how she would do after her shots.

Shortly after this video, poor Cambria started SCREAMING! I suspect she had an upset tummy for some reason but I couldn't do anything to help her. I tried Tylenol for pain from her shots and mylicon drops in case she was gassy. It was so sad! She eventually calmed down and went to bed, poor thing, but what a night!

{When Cambria was three and a half weeks old, she had kind of the same issue and so I decided to restrict the dairy in my diet in case that was the reason. But I got lazy and wasn't watching my dairy intake as strictly as I should have so it was time to renew my efforts once again.}

Cambria's crying has been challenging for me. She generally only cries when she is tired and wants to lie down. It is hard on me to take Cambria anywhere because I am so afraid that she will get tired and become inconsolable out in public. I don't know why I am so anxious about it. Babies cry. But I just don't want to be *that Mom* with the crying kid that annoys everyone. So we stick close to the house and schedule errands around her naps. I also have a hard time leaving her at night because I am worried she might wake up and be hungry. This is definitely something I need to work on.

Cambria has started to nurse less frequently and it is extremely liberating. She only nurses on one side and for about five to six minutes at a time every two and a half hours. It's nice to not be leaving a permanent butt-print on the couch anymore. Other than blocked milk ducts (which happens about every other week or so when Cambria goes long stretches without eating), I haven't had any other problems with nursing. I never had to deal with the pain of engorgement so that was nice.

At Cambria's 2-month appointment I was asked if Cambria was grasping things. Um. No. "Is she extending her legs and locking her knees when you help her to stand?" I haven't tried that yet. "What about tummy time? Does she push herself up?" Tummy time with Cambria has been inconsistent to say the very least (*cough rarely happens cough cough*). So I became determined to right my wrongs. I bought a cheap activity mat the following week and plopped her down on it. She loves it! And she is grabbing things like crazy! Phew. Mommy guilt avoided. For now. But I better hunt up some multiplication flash cards so I don't embarrass myself at her 4-month appointment.

This new activity mat is so much fun, it wears Baby Girl out!

Reading Daddy's favorite book, "Are You My Mother?"

On April 13, Cambria was playing with Andrew and she was able to grab her pink flower toy and bring it up to her face. Good job, Baby Girl!

April 21 began the transition to Cambria's nursery. I put her down in her nursery crib for her naps to test the waters. She did great! I experimented with the door open, closed, my bedroom door opened and closed, etc. to make sure that I could hear her if she woke up. We decided not to use a baby monitor and I was a little nervous about it initially. It turns out that the nap time transition to her crib was super helpful in allowing Cambria to sleep better and sleep undisturbed. On April 23, during her morning nap, she woke up after an hour and stirred a little before putting herself back to sleep. Hooray!

Which leads me to a big Mommy goof of mine: as soon as Cambria begins to wake at all, I rush right in and get her up out of bed. It would be several more weeks before I would learn to be more patient and allow her to get up when she was really ready.

Oh, I never want to forget this cute, cute, cute half dollar birthmark on the back of her head. As her hair grows thicker and longer, it will be covered up and probably never see it again. At least the cute speckled birthmarks on the back of her neck will still be visible when she wears her hair up.

It became apparent April 26 that we had a thumbsucker on our hands. She started out with her fist and fingers but eventually settled on her thumb. Well, let's call her a thumb-chewer since she just chews away at her thumb instead of sucking on it.

Cambria got a cold from Daddy on April 26 that lasted a couple of weeks. But other than making her a little congested, it wasn't too bad, thankfully!

Also on that day (April 26 was eventful!), I was nursing Cambria and pulled up videos of her that I had taken earlier. When she heard herself on the video, her eyes got really big. You could just tell that she recognized those sounds as "baby sounds."

This. Girl.

The following two videos A) crack me up and B) show you what a rotten Mom I am for exposing our daughter to a screen at such a young and impressionable age. Truth be told, Cambria very rarely even watches TV. Or me for that matter. There is just too much to get done in the day to waste time with it. But The Chew has become my one hour break in the day and Cambria is usually down for a nap then and The Voice is something to pass the time when I'm bored at night and Andrew is buried in his school work.