Alynne Tiffany- Week 2

Week 2

It's hard to believe that it’s already been two weeks since Alynne came into our lives! We are loving every minute of being parents.  It truly is such a blessing to be a mother (and a mother to the sweetest little girl at that!).  This week has certainly had its challenges (mostly at night, which I’ll get to).  We’ve been exhausted, and some times at a loss for what to do.  I am so thankful for friends and family who support us, and the encouragement I’ve received from other moms.
However, through all of this, it is only teaching me more and more about God’s love for his children.  When I’ve been frustrated or in tears even, Ron has reminded me that she is after all just a baby- incapable of taking care of herself and that she is absolutely dependent on us.  In the same way, we are absolutely dependent on God.  I already see the amount of mercy, love, and sacrifice we as parents make for our child, and it is just a glimpse of how Father treats us.  It is very humbling.  I also love how God orchestrates life.  It’s like with each new stage I enter into, He reveals more and more of himself to me- first with marriage and now with a child.  What a beautiful tapestry He is weaving that is my life.

Feeding

Alynne is such an excellent eater.  She’s already starting to form little rolls, a double chin and little padded feet hehe. I love it! I currently feed her every 2-2.5 hours during the day, and about the same at night.  Although last night she did go for 3.5 hours between feeding!

Sleeping
When it comes to sleeping, Daytime Aly and Nighttime Aly are two different stories.  During the day, she does wonderful with sleeping.  She sleeps in her crib most naps, falls asleep easy and doesn’t cry.  Even at the start of the night she does good.  She is doing excellent with her bedtime routine.  Even if she’s super awake, she’ll go down easily.  It’s when it gets to be about 1-2am that Little Miss decides it’s time to party.  She stays on a consistent eating schedule through the night, but she will not sleep in between feedings.  She seriously has stayed awake for 6-8 hours straight a couple of nights.  I definitely think she has her days/nights confused, but even still she shouldn’t be awake that long! So Ron and I started taking shifts to be up with her and try to help her sleep- rocking her, holding her, etc.  This allowed us to get a little more sleep, but still exhausting, and I obviously can’t hold her in my arms for 3 hours every night.  Last night we decided to let her cry it out and give her more of a chance to self-sooth.  She did excellent.  She cried for maybe 3-4 minutes and then fell asleep! She was able to put herself to sleep without our help three times last night.  We were so happy.  Around 5am, she needed our help, which was fine because we are making some progress!  Let’s hope that she continues to do well and starts sleeping more at night.  I would be thrilled if she would just wake to feed and then go right back to sleep!!

Temperament 

Alynne is seriously such a good baby.  We are so blessed.  She is so chill and a very happy baby.  She loves to be snuggled.  She is also becoming more alert.  When she is awake, she will just stare into your eyes, and it is just heart melting!

Physical

Aly is definitely growing! Also, her eyes are getting darker.  I don’t think they will be blue, however, they’re definitely not brown.  They’re more of a grayish color really.  And I swear her hair is already getting longer!

Milestones
First Thanksgiving!

Schedule

We start our morning routine at 8am every day.  From there she eats every 2-2.5 hours throughout the day.  She usually naps straight after each feeding, except after the first feeding and the early evening feeding.  After those feedings, she is awake for a good amount of time. 
We were doing our bedtime routine at 8:30, but we decided to change it to 7:30, so that it’s not so late by the time we actually get her down.  Right now her bedtime routine consists of a feeding, diaper change, getting lotioned up, changed, swaddled, read a Bible story, and prayed over. She does really well with it all. 
From there, I get her up around 10 to eat, and then we allow her to sleep as long as she can before eating, which is typically 2.5 hours.

Special Events

Grandpa was here all week.  Also, this week was Thanksgiving.  Ron’s parents, aunt, and cousin came over to join us and my dad.  It was really nice, and of course Aly was doted upon the entire time!