My Babies

Just some photos of our two joys.  The days in which they will willingly pose for photos together are limited, so I may as well take advantage while I can!

Henry insisted in sitting in the baby seat.  I think he likes it more than Natalie does.

With Grandma Linda!

Matching overalls!

Natalie: Four Months

On November 17, 2014, Natalie turned four months old!

In month four, Natalie:

• Is a healthy, healthy girl.  To the tune of 98th percentile for height and weight!  At 17 weeks, Natalie weighed 17 pounds, 8 ounces and was 26 inches long.  Her head circumferences was 16 inches, which put her in the 50th percentile.  I was happy about that, because I was a bit concerned her head growth was lagging.  Luckily, her flat spot has greatly improved!  The pediatrician said it was barely noticeable.
• Can squeeze into some 3-6 month clothes, but mostly wears a mix of 6 months, 6-9 months, and 6-12 months, depending on the brand.  I am hoping her growth slows a bit so she can wear some of the cute things I have for her before they are seasonally inappropriate.
• Has kept her dark hair, and her eyes are still a mix of deep blue and brown.  Around her irises, they are like an amber, but the rest is a deep blue.  I have a feeling they will end up light brown, but we will see.  In looking at photos of Henry at Natalie's age, his eyes were already dark brown, so maybe she will keep her current shade.  We shall see!
• Has learned how to turn from her back to her belly, and does it every time you put her down. Unfortunately, she is not very good at turning back over, probably because she is so chunky, so she ends up like a beached whale and cries until you flip her over!  Kind of funny during the day, but not so funny at night when I am trying to sleep!
• Is, I hate to say it, pretty high-maintenance.  She does not like to be put down--in her bouncy seat, on the play mat, in the rock n' play, anywhere.  She will tolerate it for a few minutes but then starts whining.  So, I have learned to do lots of things with one hand while holding her.  I do love holding her, because I know it won't last forever, and it is a good workout, but sometimes mama just needs a break!  Dinner isn't going to make itself, Natalie ;-)
• Loves pacifiers now, as long as they are the MAM brand.  Won't use any other kind.
• Loves to laugh!  She continues to be very social.  She especially loves laughing at her brother's antics.  No sweeter sound than a baby's chuckle!
• Made her first (and hopefully last!) visit to the ER for croup.
• Survived my return to work.  It was fairly stressful leading up to the return, because Natalie flat-out refused to take a bottle for weeks.  It was so bad I ended up having a lactation consultant come assess the situation.  We had tried six different bottles, various people feeding her, various feeding positions, to no avail.  The consultant wasn't very helpful, honestly, I think because I had already tried so much.  She suggested getting a sippy cup made for young infants.  I was willing to try anything, so we looked for the sippy cup.  The store didn't carry it, but it did carry a bottle by the same manufacturer--Avent.  On a whim, we tried it, and what do you know, seventh time's a charm!  Natalie took it like it was no big thing.  It has a newborn nipple, and something about the combination of nipple type and flow worked.  So, I am back in the office three days a week.  And to be honest, it has been hard.  I really, really miss the kids during the day.  Henry will be in school full-time in just two years, so I want to soak up as much time with him as I can.  And, pumping sucks big-time.  Other than the commute, it is by far the worst part of the return.  Luckily, it is a short-term thing, as I plan to breastfeed for about another four months or so.  I am sure it will get easier, but for now, the transition has been difficult.
• Does not love to sleep.  Naps are really hit or miss.  If Natalie happens to fall asleep in the carseat, she often will sleep for another couple of hours once we are home.  But otherwise, she doesn't like to nap unless someone is holding her.  At night, she is in the mini crib, but without fail, she ends up in our bed at some point during the night.  Somewhere between 3-4 am, probably.  It happens usually when she is stuck Shamu-style on her belly.  Maybe once she masters rolling from stomach to back she will do that and go back to sleep on her own.  One (I, since I am the one who gets up with her every time) can hope.
• Although Natalie still wakes up at night, she is not eating at night any more!  This was a huge milestone.  Henry didn't sleep through the night without eating until he was 10 months old.  Natalie's chunky-monkey status is one reason for this, I think, and I also think she is just so tired from not napping that she catches up at night.
• Is super snuggly, and I love it.  I love to bury my face into her neck and soak up her warmth.  I will definitely miss these days when they are gone!
• Loves to stand up on your lap, just like her brother did.  She also enjoys the jumperoo for short periods.

Some photos of Natalie in month four:

Halloween

Life has been busy around these parts, so posting to this blog has taken a backseat.  But, I am back with a Halloween recap!

Halloween 2014 will not go down as one of the best days in our household.  On the Tuesday before Halloween, Mark came home early from work with strep throat.  He was laid up in bed with a high fever and chills for days.  Meanwhile, Natalie had gotten sick (again, thanks to germs from the pediatrician's office this time, I think).  What was a cold turned into croup.  Which is scary when your baby is three months old.  On Wednesday night, the croup seal bark began.  I worriedly called the pediatrician at 5:00 in the morning and made her an appointment for later in the day.  I then spent a half hour or so in the bathroom running the shower to create steam and open up Natalie's airways.  I took her to the doctor at around 10:00.  After waiting for 20 minutes, I asked what was going on.  I hate, hate waiting in the waiting room at the doctor.  I am paranoid that we are going to leave with something worse than what we came in with.  Half the time I am right.  Anyway, turns out the pediatrician was running behind and wouldn't be able to see us for at least ten minutes (you think??) and I had to pick Henry up from school at 11:00.  So, I ended up canceling that appointment and making another one for later in the day.  The doctor seemed surprised a three month old could have croup, but she confirmed the diagnosis and prescribed a steroid that she wanted me to use only if Natalie got worse in the middle of the night.  Apparently there can be bad side effects of steroid use in a baby so small.  Well, night two of croup came and at around 1:00 in the morning, Natalie started having trouble breathing.  She was breathing in rather than breathing out, with each breath.  I took her into the bathroom and ran the shower twice.  At around 3:00, it wasn't getting better, so I called the doctor.  She could hear Natalie struggling on the phone and said to give the medicine and take her outside, hoping the cool air would open her airways.  Neither thing worked.  At that point, the doctor recommended taking Natalie to the ER to get breathing treatments.  Cue my freak out!  Mark was out of commission, so I ended up calling my wonderful, wonderful aunt Lois who rushed over and went to the ER with me.  Natalie got a steroid through a mask (which was a pretty traumatic experience for both of us, as I had to hold her down so she wouldn't rip it off, as she screamed) and then a steroid shot in her leg.  Neither the pediatrician nor the ER doctor had ever seen a three-month-old with croup before; usually babies don't get it until 6 months or older.  So that was encouraging.  I was on pins and needles for the next couple of days, hoping that Natalie wouldn't have more trouble breathing, but the steroids did the trick.  

Anyway, long story short, Natalie did not get to wear her giraffe costume this year.  I took Henry out for a half hour or so, because we had been talking up Halloween for weeks.  He was a construction worker, and the costume was a big hit!  He had wanted to be a garbage truck (ha!), but I wasn't sure how to pull off that one.  I figured he would love dressing as a construction worker, since he can name pretty much every piece of construction equipment.  Henry loved his vest, hard hat, and goggles, and still wears them frequently.

Henry loved trick or treating!  His favorite part, I think, was ringing the doorbells.  He was a little shy and often was silent, even though we had practiced saying trick or treat and thank you.  I let him have a couple of pieces of candy that night, and two the next day.  Then I put his bag away and he never asked for more.  Mommy took care of the remaining candy!  

Hopefully next year Natalie will get to participate in Halloween.  I am already envisioning her toddling around with Henry, ringing doorbells and carrying her matching jack o lantern bag!

And, more photos of Henry, because that's what everyone really wants to see anyway.

Siblings

Henry LOVES his sister.  He is so sweet with her.  He loves helping give her baths, watching me care for her, and getting in her face to talk to her and try to get her to smile.  He says hi to her in the morning ("Hi, Nanie Noo!"--I often call her Natalie Noo) and talks or asks about her throughout the day.  Natalie, in turn, loves her brother.  She smiles for him even in circumstances where she is annoyed or fussy.  My hope is that they will always be close and love each other.

Oh the look of brotherly love kills me.

What a Difference a Year Makes...

November 4, 2013

November 4, 2014

Natalie: Three Months

 

Look who turned three months old on October 17, 2014!

This past month just flew by.  I feel like I blinked and Natalie is now three months old.

She is doing great!  In the past month, Natalie:

• Rolled over for the first time, from her tummy to her back!  Natalie squeezed this milestone in just in the nick of time, the day before her three month birthday.  
• Hasn't rolled from back to front yet, but she is really close.  She gets about 3/4 way over and then gets stuck.  I think it will happen in the next week or two.
• Loves to talk!  This girl is very social.  She can carry a whole conversation on with you and has varied cooing sounds and inflections.  I am hoping this means she will be very verbal.
• She legitimately laughs.  It is this adorable little chuckle that she does at least once a day.  Sometimes if you tickle her, but also if she is just really happy with what you're saying.  I feel like that's advanced for her age.
• Weighs about 14 pounds.  Natalie is still a chunky monkey.  I feed her about every three hours during the day.  She must be really efficient, because she rarely eats for more than 15 minutes, but she is obviously gaining weight.
• Is solidly in 3-6 month clothes.  She can even wear some 6 month onesies if the brand runs small.
• Is tolerating tummy time better.  She can push herself up using her arms when she is lying on her stomach, which I think makes her like tummy time more because she can look around.  
• Sat in the bumbo seat for the first time!  Natalie is so antsy and such a busy baby that I figured she would enjoy sitting up and looking around.  She does appear to like it, but her head control is a little less than I think is optimal for the seat, so I don't keep her in it for long periods of time.
• Has started relaxing her hands more.  She used to keep them in fists all of the time, but now she will stretch them out some.  Her favorite thing to do is to grab her dresses/shirts and pull them up with her hands.  It makes me nervous for her to sleep in a shirt or dress because I worry she will pull them over her mouth, so if she's alone I try to put her in a onesie or tuck the shirt into her pants.
• Sleeps great during the night!  Natalie now goes about 5.5 hours after her last nightly feed.  I aim to have her asleep by 10:15 or 10:30, and she will sleep until about 4:00.  A couple of times, after she hasn't slept well during the day, she has gone 8 hours without waking!  I, of course, wake up before then a few times to check on her because it makes me nervous, but it's pretty awesome to get such a long stretch of sleep.  I don't think Henry slept that long until he was 9 or 10 months old.
• Is still exclusively breastfed.  I didn't plan very well and didn't attempt a bottle (because I wanted to store as much milk as I could for when I go back to work) after the first time she had one until a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, Natalie refused to drink from it.  We tried a couple of different bottles and several different people feeding the bottle, but she wouldn't budge.  I've attempted a few times since, and she is getting a bit better.  She doesn't cry when you try to give her the bottle any longer, and she lets it move around in her mouth, but I don't think she has swallowed any milk.  So, we are going to have to step up our game before I head back to work in three weeks.  I am hoping that with my stash of frozen milk and pumping at work, we will make it to 5 months or so without any formula.
• Is not a great napper.  Natalie doesn't nap well, as a rule, unless she falls asleep in her carseat while in the car or on a walk.  If that happens, she can take 3 hour naps.  If it doesn't, I am lucky to get 1 hour stretches during the day.  It doesn't bother me too much, because I would much rather her sleep well at night, but it is hard to get things done at times because she tends to be fussy when she doesn't nap (shocking, right!)
• Loves her big brother!  Natalie loves to watch Henry and gives him smiles.  Henry loves the attention and sometimes asks Natalie to watch him as he does something.  He also loves to "cuddle" with Natalie when she is on her playmat.  While cute, it is nerve-wracking because I am constantly worried he will either get her sick or crush her.  But I try not to discourage it because I want him to like her and not resent her.  And it is adorable to watch!
• Seems to enjoy music.  Hoping she will be musically-inclined like Henry is!
• Is just the sweetest.  I am very attached to her, because I am the one who has spent almost all of the time with her since her birth.  I love just to hold her and nuzzle my face into her neck.  It's going to be hard to leave her to go back to work. 

And, because everyone loves photos, here are some more recent pics of our three month old.

She found her thumb.  Yikes!  Hoping this doesn't become a habit.

Oh, hey Mom!  Just looking around like a big kid.

I'm starting to like this tummy time stuff!