Happy Birthday McKamy

Once more I find myself writing a blog post about McKamy reaching another birthday milestone.  I promise I won’t do this every month until she’s eighteen!  =)

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My sweet baby girl is already two months old!  I cannot believe that so much time has already passed.  She has truly wiggled her way into our hearts and souls.  I have such a hard time remembering what it was like before she was here.  I love spending each day with her, helping her discover the world around her and watching her learn a little bit every day.

Giving birth to McKamy was really a special day (obviously).  I bonded with her pretty quickly, mostly from a psychological perspective – she’s my daughter.  It was mostly a head-thing at the start, the heart has come with time.  What I didn’t expect was how I would continue to bond with her and grow ever closer as she’s become more expressive, vocal, and interactive.  My heart is more and more attached to her each day.  I’d heard mothers talk about how they can love their child a little more with each new day but I never really understood it myself until Kamy.

I’m so excited about what’s to come with McKamy – waiting to see what her little personality will be like, what activities and hobbies she’ll be interested in, and seeing how our family grows with her.  At the same time, I’d be perfectly happy for her to remain just as she is for a little while longer … she is growing up so fast already!  I’m trying to enjoy each and every day with her, focusing on the little nameless moments that bring a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart.  There are times when I look at her and my heart just melts with love for her.  I will do anything for my darling girl.

Here’s what McKamy is up to now:

  • Becoming more vocal.  McKamy will now consistently make little “talkative” noises while she’s interacting with people or looking at something.  We aren’t quite to mimicking faces, but we are really getting close.
  • Using her hands.  She has really been opening up her hands and using them to grab on to things and pull them to her mouth.  When we place a ring in her hand she will hold on to it for as long as five minutes.  She’ll grab on to your finger and give it little squeezes as she discovers her grip.
  • Balancing.  She’s getting really good at balancing herself upright.  We spend a little bit of time each day working on her balance – both in a sitting and standing position.  I usually make her work pretty hard at it too – I hold her at her hips instead of her rib cage  and make her balance not only her head but also her torso.  It’s hard work!  She’s definitely getting stronger and has more control of her movements.

  • Still sleeping great!  Kamy will still sleep through the night and has added an afternoon or evening nap to her schedule.  Last night we even put her in bed not-totally-asleep and she fell asleep on her own.  Hooray!

  • Bottle feeding.  We now have the option to use a bottle with McKamy when I cannot feed her.  It allows us to make plans to be out for the evening or take care of stuff while Kamy plays with family.  We haven’t used it very often yet, but it is great that she is taking the bottle so well and I can be relaxed about running out for a few hours.

  • Being active.  McKamy is one active girl!  She is in nearly constant motion unless she’s sleeping.  If she’s on her tummy, on her back, or in your arms she is wiggling and squirming and stretching.  She LOVES to stretch her arms and wave her little hands in the air.  Her feet will twitch and flail.  She’s also starting to get ticklish – she’ll squirm when you mess with her feet or tummy.  She’s working on learning how to roll over: as soon as she figures out how to get her arm and shoulder out of the way, she’ll have it made!  Here are two videos of her moving all around – the first is short and the second is longer.  (Click “View HQ Video” by upper right corner of the video for higher resolution.)

Video

Video 2