Month Two: A Transformation
The second month began with a surprise—Sasha was unrecognizable! She had grown and changed incredibly!
Our entire second month was a true summer vacation. We spent it at the dacha with my friend and her son, Semyon, who was three days older than Sasha. We had a wonderful time! The little ones enjoyed a break from the city dust, while we took a breather from our husbands, grandparents, and the usual hustle and bustle.
There’s something so much easier about being in good company! We lived at the dacha just the two of us, but it felt effortless—we worked together, helped each other, and chatted non-stop! In the evenings, despite being utterly exhausted, we would talk until 2 a.m., sipping tea and pumping milk together. The kids adapted well to the rural setting, spending most of their time outdoors, which meant they napped a lot.
Throughout the second month, I was feeding both Sasha and Semyon—Oksana suddenly lost her milk supply, and the little one was crying all the time. But soon enough, her milk came back, and everything fell into place (though Semyon continued to enjoy my milk, which meant I didn’t have to pump as much). Along with the feedings, I grew quite fond of Semyon, and upon returning to Kyiv, I even became his godmother.
At one and a half months, I asked our dacha neighbor—a professional masseuse—to give Sasha a massage. I noticed that Sasha had developed an unfortunate habit of turning her head only to one side while lying on her back. The masseuse agreed that this wasn’t good and warned that it could lead to torticollis. To encourage Sasha to love the other side, she crafted a special pillow that tied around her shoulder during sleep, preventing her from turning her head to her favorite side (which we jokingly called “the overcoat”).
The massages yielded amazing results: Sasha became completely relaxed, more active, and held her head beautifully; meanwhile, Semyon started sleeping more and crying less.
By one and a half months, Sasha began to “coo” and absolutely loved it when we talked to her.
By the second month, Sasha had established a routine: she would go for walks for about an hour between feedings; she went to bed around 8-9 p.m.; she didn’t wake up at night, only stirring once around 4-5 a.m. (and instead of crying, she would start sucking on whatever she could find, like the sleeve of her onesie—which would wake me up); she would get up around 7-8 a.m. She also started having more adult-like bowel movements—once or twice a day, as opposed to practically every feeding during the first month.
With each passing day, my love for Sasha grew deeper. I was terrified of missing even a minute of her life, as she was changing so rapidly, learning new things every day, and growing right before my eyes.
At two months: 59 cm (+2 cm); 5.55 kg (+1.15 kg)
As for Sasha, we affectionately called her: Bomb, Boom-Boom, and Little One.