Week 8: Feeling more in control

It is so hard to believe that Scarlett will be 2 months old on Friday! I almost can't remember life without her but 2 months sounds like she is getting too old too fast. Although she will always be the boss, Paul and I are definitely feeling more in control now that we're on a schedule (er, I mean a routine!). The first two days she fussed in the mornings when going down for her naps (or fought it tooth and nail) but now she seems to understand what is coming and goes right down 95% of the time. We miss all of our snuggle time, but the routine seems to be MUCH better for us and we think a lot better for her too. She hardly cries (not that she cried a ton before) and her system seems to be more regular. All three of us definitely get more sleep and it seems to be better quality, at least from our perspective. It has been a little less than a week, but I feel like a whole new woman! We've been able to work out regularly, clean the house, spend a little quality time together, and give the pets a little more attention. A big part of it is that we aren't as tired all of the time. We also look forward to her daily bath and story time and I think she does as well. She seems so happy!

Breastfeeding has been a little more of a struggle because she seems to prefer the faster flow of the bottle, but she still humors me at least once or twice per day. I'm still pumping every three hours or so, but that is going much better so I don't hate it as much as I did before. Things seem to be getting easier all around. We're still trying to master going out of the house while staying on the routine. On Saturday we went out to run errands and tried to time it so that we would be in the car during the times she was supposed to be sleeping (the car usually puts her to sleep). It worked pretty well, but she definitely wasn't 100% on schedule. On Sunday we went to brunch with Claire and Kyle (Scarlett's first brunch!) at Liberty Tavern. She was awake for most of the time this time, so again, she got a little off schedule. The good thing is that it hasn't seemed to phase her. She was right back in the groove once we got home. Amazing.

My dear friend Cheryl from L.A. got here last night and will be staying with us until Friday. I'm very happy about that because tomorrow will be Scarlett's first day at daycare, although probably only for part of the day. I will likely need someone to help distract me! Paul will be at work so I am very thankful to have Cheryl here to help keep my mind off of my baby being in someone else's care, even though I know she will be in great hands.