Zara at Two Months!

My baby is two months old! Where did the time go? Zara is growing so fast and she changes so much every day, I can hardly believe it. It's already so hard to remember what she was like as a newborn, at a week, at a month. I take such delight in watching her grow, learning new things, and experiencing the world around her. She's such a joy and really is a wonderful baby. Here's her two month update:

General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.

In typical military efficiency, Zara's two month check-up isn't scheduled until the middle of November so she'll almost be three months old before then. According to my own measurements, Zara weighed in at 12 pounds, 8 ounces today, although she's tipped the scale at 13 pounds before and she's at least 23 inches long. She's starting to outgrow her 0-3 month clothes and is just about ready to move up to the 3-6 month clothes.

For comparison's sake, here's a picture of Zara at one month:

And here she is at two months:

What a little chunker. I also really need a better camera.

Zara loves to move her hands and fingers and often goes cross-eyed in her attempt to look at (okay, eat) her hands. She's started to really love to kick her little feet too.

Zara still has her beautiful dark head of hair though it does seem to be getting lighter at the roots. She has cradle cap but luckily her hair hides most of it. I've rubbed lotion into her scalp and that seemed to help. Mostly, she just looks like she's got a bit of dandruff. Also, she so has her Daddy's wild and crazy hair. It's ridiculous.

Zara had some pretty bad baby acne at the beginning of the month. It started to turn very red and scaly and she had little red bumps all over her face, neck, and scalp. I started to worry that it was a bad reaction to our laundry detergent, something I was eating, or possibly even Suyom. I tried to give up dairy (since that's the biggest culprit when it comes to baby food allegeries) but that lasted like a day. I love dairy way too much (and luckily, that wasn't our problem anyway). After doing some online research, I decided that it was most likely ezcema so I started washing Zara's face multiple times a day and rubbing lotion on her face to seal in the moisture. My friend also conveniently sent me a jar of organic nipple butter which had all the natural ingredients that I had read were especially helpful at curing ezcema so I started rubbing that all over her cheeks as well. (Thanks Tessa!) Within a week, the red scaliness had disappeared and her skin is soft and smooth again. She's still got some baby acne and a few bumps, but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be.

Zara is a still a hiccuppy baby. I'm afraid she got that from me.

Her eyes are still blue and have lightened up just a little bit more this month.

She's unsure of how she feels about bathing. She sits in her little tub and seems to enjoy to warm water but she's less sure when we start to soap her up and especially when we wash her hair. She tends to scream quite a bit when we take her out of the bath to dry her off and change her.

Eating and sleeping habits

Zara still loves to eat. Luckily she will take a bottle when I'm not around but doesn't have any problem going back to the breast when I come home. She rarely, if ever, uses a pacifier.

Zara is a great sleeper.....at night. During the day, not so much. She takes little cat naps but wakes back up as soon as I try to put her down. I just ordered a swing (which I really hope gets here soon) and I really hope that that will help calm her down or at least keep her entertained for a bit so I can get some things done during the day.

The last two weeks, Zara has taken to sleeping for six to eight hours at a stretch. She typically falls asleep around 10 p.m. and then wakes up between 4 to 6 am. I get up to change and feed her and then we get back in bed together (since David will have gotten up to get ready for work by then) and fall asleep together for another few hours. Of course, she doesn't do this every night and some nights are more difficult than others but I feel like I'm getting enough sleep every night.

Accomplishments and Firsts

Zara has gotten very good at holding up her head on her own. She can lift and turn her head on her own when she's on her stomach. She still really hates tummy time though.

Zara smiles ALL the time now. She loves to smile. In fact, sometimes she can't finish eating because she can't stop smiling.

I swear Zara laughed in her sleep the other night. It was the cutest sound ever.

Zara has started to coo and makes all sort of new sounds now. Most are very cute but she makes one sound that sounds like "ow" and she also does one in her sleep that sounds like she's barking.

Zara celebrated her first Halloween. She went as a baby Harry [Harriet] Potter. (I couldn't find any cute costumes that were small enough for Zara but I already ordered her costume for next year. I can't wait!)

Zara was blessed in church on October 17th. (See previous post.)

Zara also met her Grandma and Grandpa Hayman for the first time when they came to visit her and Korea this month.

I caught Zara doing this while taking this photo. Apparently, she can roll her tongue. Her Daddy is so proud.

Baby's favorite toys, places to go, etc.

Zara is quite the traveler. Not only has she visited three countries (in utero) but she's now traveled through most of South Korea including Seoul, Busan, and Gyeongju. She's a wonderful traveler which is a trend I hope continues because there's still a few Asian countries I'd like to check off my list before we leave Korea. But it's ridiculous the amount of things you have to pack for a baby. Sheesh.

Zara seems to really enjoy listening to music. Her new favorite song that we sing is the "Wheels on the Bus."

I picked up this play yard at a flea market the other day. I thought it would be a good toy to entertain Zara. She loves looking at the bright colors and hitting the little dangly toys. When she does, the mobile lights up and starts playing music. She's all smiles for about thirty minutes. Still, I'd say it was a good $6 investment.

And now, here's a few photos from the last month:


I think Zara looks more like David. But I see little glimpses of me in there too sometimes.

Baby pouty faces are so cute.

I just love it when Zara sleeps with David. So sweet.

Catching the tail-end of a Zara smile.

Sleeping on Mommy.

Her cute Halloween pajamas that my mom bought her.

Why are you always sticking that camera in my face?

Happy naked baby.

I love naked babies. My mom bought Zara that teddy bear (her first) at the Teddy Bear Museum gift shop at Seoul Tower while they were visiting. We named her Daisy.

Look at all those rolls of chub. Love it.