Daddy's Girl

I love to watch Jon with Natalie. I love that he treats her like a real person who has feelings and the ability to understand what is being said to her, instead of talking about her and over her like a lot of people do around babies. He will take the time to explain what he is doing or is about to do with her: "I'm going to give you a bath now, and then we can hang out on the couch for a while." And it is wonderful to watch her respond to him with coos and little facial expressions ranging from curious and confused to happy and delighted with little grins and grunts in between!

He was the first person who could 'talk' to her and have her 'talk' back to him in high and low pitched coos that are very long and expressive and sometimes include balled fists and shaking arms to get her point across even better. Natalie is already a Daddy's girl, and watching them together prompted this layout of some of my favorite pictures of them together:



Also, I have updated the photo montage of Natalie's week by week pics as of 7/22. Scroll down (or click the link to the left) to watch her grow week by week...and here is one more picture of Daddy's girl...

Bad time after shots - and cute pics

I'm taking a sec to write while Natalie sleeps - yay! She had a bad day yesterday and last night - fever on and off - head hot, and clammy little legs and arms. I felt so bad for her! She would start to nurse and then turn her head to me and yell out, like she was fussing at me! It was funny and sad at the same time. Usually nursing is the ace in the hole for whatever she's upset about - but she just didn't seem to be comfortable.

I finally had Jon put a little cool water in a bottle (first time but I was willing to try anything to cool her off/calm her down) and she would drink a little and then get upset again. Finally, Jon to the rescue, said we should try a bottle of breast milk from the frige, but not heat it up very much. She'd been nursing off and on so I didn't think she really needed a whole bottle, just some soothing, (and I didn't want to waste a heated bottle of milk since it's like liquid gold! Anyone who's ever had to pump knows what I mean!) but I was willing to try it. Worked like a charm and she drank the whole 4+ oz bottle!

She usually prefers nursing, hands down, so it must have been too warm for her, skin to skin contact and warm milk. After finishing the bottle, she sat with her Daddy, all calm and happy, for a little while anyway. We would think she was over it, then she would feel hot and clammy again. She would go to sleep and then wake up a few minutes later. Thankfully, she fell asleep about 11pm and then slept until 7am. She may look like her Daddy, but she sleeps like her Mommy! :-) And - yay - she doesn't have to get shots again for another two months.

Her's a pic from a few weeks ago that I just think is so cute - look at those cheeks! Her Mimi (Jon's mom) made the cute outfit she's wearing.



And here is the birth announcement I sent out to everybody I had addresses for. I have a few extras that I can send to work with Jon if anybody wants one, so go bug him :-) Everybody has been asking, and yes, talented Mimi made the outfit she's wearing in the middle of the birth announcement too! Look at those little shoes!



OK one more for today - I think Jon already sent around a different version of this picture, but I just thought the saying on her shirt and her facial expression were just priceless together...it's like she's saying, "nah nah na nah naaah!"

First Shots!

Natalie had her 2 month checkup today! She weighs 12.4 lbs (75th percentile) and is 23.5 inches long (90th percentile!) Doc says she's perfect, but we knew that!

Natalie SLEEPS! So why can't I get things done??

Last night Natalie slept 9 hours in a row! The previous 3 nights she slept 8 hours in a row! I know that anyone reading this who has had a baby/toddler/grade-schooler that did not sleep, or still does not sleep, is thinking, "Oh you are so lucky!" Or something meaner... :-) But she does NOT sleep during the day - EVER! OK let me take that back...she does not sleep at HOME! I can take her out to crowded restaurants where kids are screaming, and she sleeps like a champ! I take her out in her stroller at the mall and she rides around cooing at the ceiling (I guess?) until she falls peacefully to sleep - unless she's hungry - then look out!

But when we are home, it is a constant battle to get her to sleep anytime or anywhere. Not her crib. Certainly not the swing - she's figured out I put her in there to go to sleep so she starts fussing when she's hovering above the swing - before she even touches the seat! Jon and I have come to the conclusion that she just gets bored at home. She takes after me - I have to go out or I get stir-crazy.

BUT what this means for me is that I NEVER NEVER NEVER get things done at home now! The most I've done for almost a month is the bare minimum cleaning, and posting these three blogs! Usually it's while she's taking one of her few cat naps - 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there - and I'm just praying that she won't wake up before I can make myself lunch. When she finally sleeps, who wants to do the dishes? I'm so scared I'll wake her that I am almost afraid to click my nails on the keyboard!

On the flip side, Jon and I have been able to eat dinner together a few times after she's gone down for the night because we are not scared to death to wait a little while before going to bed. But by the time she does finally go down at night, I am exhausted from trying to keep her happy all day - who has the energy to get anything done?!

I have a friend who's babies took 4 hour naps during the day. Man, what's that like? During the day I have to remimd myself that she sleeps at night - and that is VERY important! We started Baby Einstein today - and she was watching it for a while, mesmerized...and then she fell asleep, almost an hour ago, and she's still sleeping. Is this the secret we've been looking for?! This is my favorite picture of Natalie sleeping...isn't she peaceful when she SLEEPS?!

Natalie's weekly 'watch me grow' pictures

Here is a weekly update of Natalie. We'll see if I can keep it updated...
Starting with her first 'size' picture (8 pounds - wow!) Then Mother's Day (just 5 days later) and then a pic each week since birth, posing with her favorite pal.

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And she SMILES!

Natalie finally started smiling! June 11th or 12th she smiled wide, at me (yay!), but I couldn't get her to do it again, so I was not going to count it. Then we went to visit my parents the day before Father's day, and my mom started talking to her when we first walked in the door - huge smile from Natalie! She started cooing and gurgling as well on June 22nd. Ignore the funny lady's voice on this video...but you gotta do what you gotta do to get 'em smiling, right!?!

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