Gaby
Month Two: A Transformation
The second month began with a surprise—Sasha was unrecognizable! She had grown and changed incredibly.
Our whole second month felt like a 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 about being in good company that makes everything easier. 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 fed both Sasha and Semyon because Oksana suddenly lost her milk supply and her little one cried constantly. 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 had noticed that Sasha had developed the unfortunate habit of turning her head only to one side while lying on her back. The masseuse agreed this wasn’t good and warned it could lead to torticollis. To encourage Sasha to get used to the other side, she made a special pillow that tied around Sasha’s 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 relaxed, more active, and held her head beautifully; meanwhile, Semyon started sleeping more and crying less.
By six weeks, 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); and she would get up around 7–8 a.m. She also started having more adult-like bowel movements—once or twice a day, rather than practically every feeding as in the first month.
With each passing day, my love for Sasha grew deeper. I was terrified of missing even a minute of her life, since she was changing so rapidly, learning new things every day, and growing right before my eyes.
At two months, she measured 59 cm (+2 cm) and weighed 5.55 kg (+1.15 kg).
As for Sasha, we affectionately called her Bomb, Boom-Boom, and Little One.
