The Collins': December 2015

I'm not sure where time goes. I'm already nearly done with my maternity leave and it breaks my heart. I have had such good time with my girls but this maternity leave has felt so different. With Violet, it was just her and I, so I was able to dedicate all of my time to her. With Avery, Vi has been home with us, so I feel like I've had to split my time between the two girls. It almost feels like I've had less time with Avery and probably because I have. We have done some good bonding and nursing is going well, but I feel very sad that I have to leave her already. I knew having a baby in residency meant less time to bond, but it doesn't mean it hurts any less. I just try to remember that I am doing this for my family and for our future, so I can provide for our girls and give them a good female role model. It helps to also think that many many other female physicians have done this and lived to have their kids love them through it :).

Avery is a very good little girl, but she is pretty different from Violet. She is extremely strong. She holds her head up and her arms are incredibly strong. When we do tummy time, she often will roll from tummy to back when I'm not looking, and that started when she was 3 weeks old!! She is a fiesty one. With this strength comes some fight. She often fights to go to sleep. She is really only happy being held or flat on her back on the ground or on her changing table. She's not very tolerant of her swing or her bouncer. Avery makes good eye contact now and can track objects across the room. She is also smiling more and starting to coo which is fun. Her sleep is hit or miss and this is where she varies most from Vi. Most nights, we can put her down at 830 or 9 and she makes it until 2, then shes up again at 6. But some nights when she wakes up at 2, she fights going back to sleep and is up for 2 hrs. I think part of this is that we have her sleeping in her crib in her room, sleep training her to prepare for work, and she is fighting this a little. I think if she had it her way, she would co-sleep day and night. She loves to be snuggled up close to me and my boobs. Violet was much more independent and was much happier to sleep on her own. Vi also could fall asleep on her own if we put her down awake. Avery has yet to master this skill, as much as I try to teach her to do it. And while she feels like a more difficult baby than Violet, I can't complain too much. She is easy to soothe and will sleep by herself for 4-5 hr stretches. I have two good girls and I love their differences (one is my fighter/strong little baby, one is a sleeper/very compliant little lady). I can't wait to see what those look like as they age.