When I think back to when Eleanor was born, it seems as though it were many months ago and not just two short ones. Time is so interesting with a baby because they are constantly changing and growing. Even though only a month has passed since I wrote her one month update, I feel like Eleanor is incredibly different!
About a week after I wrote about the first month with Eleanor, my parents arrived for a 3-week visit. I’ve been anticipating this visit most of this year since I found out when they were coming, and after they were here only two days, I realised just how quickly it was going to go. Now, I have to keep asking myself, “Wait…did that just happen? Were my parents really here?” It went way too fast. The only thing that makes it better is knowing I’ll see them at the end of the year.
Most of Eleanor’s second month was with Grammy and Papaw part of it. It was so fun. About two or three days after they arrived, Eleanor began smiling in response to people, not just randomly or when she was passing gas. This made for a fun new “game” – make Eleanor smile. It was never ending, and I admit, very addicting! Her smiles melt my heart, and every time I get another one, I just want to smother her in kisses.
This past month, she has also been starting to find her voice. We are hearing lots of sweet little coos and mmms. We learned that Eleanor is actually a very good traveler, which is ideal considering we are a missionary family. She rode (mostly) happily in her car seat for all the ventures around Newcastle, the Hunter and Sydney while my parents were here. She did well in her pram, too. Speaking of prams – I don’t ever want to travel without one again. It’s the best for storing things, and our XL basket underneath got quite the workout over the past few weeks.
During the past month, she had her 6-week checkup and shots. She went from the 5th percentile at birth to now the 25th by gaining about 3lbs! She did well at the appointment until we had to do the vaccines, and as can be expected, she had a bit of a meltdown. Our Dr. handed her to Robbie, but he was laughing at her. I took over and held her tight – possibly for my own benefit more than hers because I was about to start crying too!
Eleanor also had her first couple overnight trips. The first one was only one night when we drove down to Sydney and stayed the night before picking up Grammy and Papaw the next morning. Even with one short trip, I learned. I learned from that trip to have a clear picture of what you may or may not be doing so you don’t bring too much. For that trip, we probably didn’t need the pram or my breastfeeding pillow or half the amount of diapers. The second trip was again to Sydney, but this time it was with Grammy and Papaw and for 4 nights. I think we did better packing for this trip, and again, Eleanor was a champ. (Please note in the above group picture that Eleanor is in fact smiling at the camera!)
A significant event happened during our trip to Sydney – Eleanor became the first dual-citizen in either Robbie or my family! She was born an Australian citizen, and in Sydney, we went to the US Consulate and got her US citizenship and passport. She pretty much slept through the whole thing and has no idea how cool she is.
As we wrapped up the second month of little Eleanor’s life, we said bye to Grammy and Papaw until December. She had her longest stretch of sleep at night as well – about 5 hours, fed and then went back to sleep for another 3 hours! She’s ready for the next size of diapers and in the middle of newborn (0000) and 0-3 month sizes (000). Her favourite thing right now is stuff above her head, such as her mobile in her cot (hello $10 DIY for the win!) and the play mat on the floor. She has the most smiles for these things, unless it’s first thing in the morning and then she’ll smile at pretty much anything. She’s a morning person! Oh no!
We love her so, so much – more every single day! I am looking forward to another month and another trip (this time on an airplane) with our sweet one!
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