Helga

Add blogging to the list of things that get harder with two kids. Not only do I have significantly less free time and less energy, but I am faced with the challenge of giving equal screen time to both darlings. We've been a bit Jack-heavy recently (hard not to be, as he is so consistently engaging and amusing these days) so here is a bit about Ivy.

As a way of explaining the title of this post-- some of you may remember Gunther. Gunther was the name given to Jack's alter-ego, the pleasant, complacent baby who would show up from time to time, who looked a lot like our mercurial little boy but couldn't possibly be him... In Jack's case, Gunther had a habit of appearing when we were out and about with the baby, meaning no one would believe our complaints about the boy.

Well, Helga has been showing up around here the past few days. Helga and Ivy share the same blue eyes and ridiculously long eyelashes, and both are very good at chewing on their hands. The main difference we've noticed between the two is that Helga seems to tolerate being in the car. She does not scream as soon as we click the car seat in. She sits in her seat quietly, looking around and even, sometimes, smiling as we drive. She quietly drifts off to sleep as we cruise along. She might "talk" a bit when we stop at a long light, but she does not demand that we rock the car seat in order to calm her back down. Helga is really, really great. We hope she sticks around.

It is amazing to me how babies really do follow the timeline, like all the books say. Here we are, looking at 13 weeks tomorrow, 3 months. The end of the 4th trimester. And here we have a baby who is actually ready to be "born." This little girl is a real baby now, not a mushy anymore. She's getting more solid, holding herself out straight, holding her head up as we pick her up and carry her around. She loves sitting up and standing on our laps and and is in almost constant motion when she's awake, looking around and kicking and stretching and reaching. She reaches for and grabs toys in her baby gym. She loves holding her hands out in front of her, regarding them as she clasps them together, her eyes just slightly crossing as she examines them. She holds and chews on blankets and burp cloths. She absolutely adores the view from her changing table (what is it with the side of her white shelf??? Who knows, but she just gets blissed out and content when she looks at it) and her mobiles. She'll kick and coo and look at them for 10 minutes or more. She loves to look at us and have us sing to her and she laughs out loud and squeals and giggles and is really a very happy little girl, most of the time. When she cries or fusses there is almost always a clear reason-- hungry, overwhelmed, poopy, or tired-- and what's more, she actually calms down when we meet those needs. Almost all the time. She sleeps for a good 6-7 hour stretch (albeit still in the swing) at night and goes back to sleep easily (in bed with us) for 2-4 hours after that.

I think she might be a pretty good baby, actually.

Wow.