Two Months.

One word to describe Elodie: relentless. When she gets crying, nothing will stop her except being held and walked around. Absolutely relentless. I don't think I could have sketched two more opposite babies, than Waverly and Elodie. I thought I was mentally prepared for our second baby to be different than our first, but now I realize there really isn't any preparation for that kind of thing, just expectation.

If I ever felt an abundance of confidence in the parenting department, I have, most certainly, been humbled by this new presence in our family.

It's really not been easy from the beginning. In the hospital, Elodie would have preferred to sleep 4 or more hours between feedings and, more often than not, I had to wake her up in the middle of the night to feed. At her 3 week checkup, she had gained only ounces above her birthweight and while I half expected it, having the same issue with Waverly, it still caught me by surprise. And I cried, thinking we'd have the same difficulties that we did with Waverly and breastfeeding would be, once again, unsuccessful. But we put her on a strict feeding schedule, supplemented a formula bottle once each night, and have since reached a gloriously happy breastfeeding medium.

Now our life is challenging in other ways. Have I mentioned that Elodie is relentless? Because this also came as a surprise to us since she was such a laid back newborn. Maybe she also misses the ease and comfort of "first worldliness" in South Africa. Just kidding. She doesn't care about that.

Seriously, though, she cries all. the. time. And just for good measure, she's strong as a baby ox. In the womb, I knew she would be a strong little baby as her legs and arms stretched into my ribs requiring more than just gentle coaxing to relieve my pain. My theory has been proven as true and in one of her fits of anger, she flails her arms, stretches her legs, and sends her head into a twirl and it becomes nearly impossible to keep a hold on her.

However, despite how difficult she can be, my heart overflows with love for her. It's amazing. I never feared that my heart would not love her like I love her sister, but until it actually happened, I didn't understand the possibility of my love multiplying. And her smiles are absolutely priceless. Probably more because they're so few and far between. Maybe she understands the theory of supply and demand...

Y'all she just cried for an hour straight. I timed it. Good thing she's so darn cute!