Down Will Come Baby...

When Natalie was born, we received so many sweet cards and gifts from family and dear friends.  

In particular, one of Matt's co-workers sent us this gorgeous bench puzzle personalized with Natalie's name.  It was extremely thoughtful and just the cutest little gift.  

To show our appreciation, Matt wanted to take a picture of Natalie sitting up by the stool.  So he headed upstairs, set her down next to the stool, and took this picture.

 

Perhaps I should tell you that at the time this picture was taken, Natalie was about 2 weeks old.  Clearly not able to hold her own head up...let alone sit up straight, my dear husband propped her up only to get this picture of her in the act of tumbling right over.

I was downstairs when this happened and all I heard was Natalie start to cry and Matt say, "Oh..I'm so sorry!  That was Daddy's fault!" 

Ha!  Funniest thing ever.  So glad we have this picture to remember it!

*FYI:  I'm not laughing at the fact that my daughter fell...well, kind of...but mostly at how silly the hubs was to think she could sit there all on her own.  And just so you know, no babies were harmed in the taking of this photo...

Honey, Don't Eat the Children

The other day, Matt and I were preparing to take Natalie out grocery shopping with us.  This is quite the adventure as I need to get presentable myself, pack her diaper bag in case of emergencies, feed her, and then immediately leave as the girl is attached to my boob every two hours on the hour.  It takes a lot of coordination on our parts.

We were all sitting on the couch waiting for Natalie to get hungry when Matt presented his plan to us...

Matt:  "I'm going to take a shower as soon as you eat her."

Um, what?

He clearly meant "feed" her...and tried to play it off like that's what he said...but he couldn't fool me.

So add that to the list of motherly duties I have.  Making sure my husband doesn't mistakenly eat my child instead of feed her.

A mother's work is never done.

Look at my big girl!

Look at my big girl!

2 Months!

Natty Poo,

How the heck are you already 2 months old?  I can't believe how much you have grown and changed right before my eyes.  I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to be at home with you and love on your sweet face everyday.

 

Here are some stats about you straight from your doctor:

Weight:  11 lbs. 14 oz.  (75%)

Length:  23 3/4 inches (90%)  You are so tall little girl!  Mommy and Daddy knew you would be!

You had to have an oral vaccine as well as two shots at your appointment and you handled it so well!  You cried when they gave you the shots...but as soon as Mommy picked you up you stopped.  The nurses said you were very strong and I couldn't agree more!

Also, your doctor flipped you over on your tummy to check out how well you were holding your head up and guess what she said?  She told me you looked like a 4 month old!  Mommy is so proud!  Tummy time is paying off!  Good thing we practiced right before your appointment!

You're in size 1 diapers but I think you really need to be in size 2...but we're hoping we can use the rest of the 1's we have before you grow too much more.  You're into 3-6 month clothes already and the ones with footies are already snug.  You are so long little one!

You're still a crazy eater.  I feed you every two hours during the day and you only go longer if you are sleeping.  You don't really have a consistent nap schedule yet...but I'm finding more way to get you to sleep during the day.  You're loving your activity mat on your belly for a nap and will stay there for usually 45 minutes.  

Speaking of your activity mat, you LOVE it now!  It's like one day you all of a sudden discovered that it made noise and had toys on it.  You are a big fan of the mirror and like to look at the lights flashing on the top of it as well.  However, you still detest your swing.  Mommy is pretty upset about it seeing as she bought it for you herself. 

Sleep.  Oh Natalie.  Some days you sleep like a total champ!  We put you down around 7:30 p.m. and have gotten 7 hours straight out of you and then you go for 3-4 more.  It's lovely.  BUT, you have gotten into the habit lately of crying your little eyes out when I put you down.  You force Mommy or Daddy to rock you to sleep and we are less than thrilled about this trend.  Plus, Mommy kinda sucks at it.  You kept her up for 4 hours one night when Daddy was at work late and it was pretty much the worst night of my life.   But if Daddy's there to rock you, you're a peach.  Thanks little girl.  Makes a mama feel great...

You went on your first walk outside this month!  You still hate your car seat so I had to take you out and carry you in the baby carrier about 10 minutes in...but then you fell right asleep and loved it!  I'm hoping you adjust to your car seat soon because Mama's back cannot take carrying your heavy booty around all the time.

You've been making new friends like crazy this month as we have been invited to so many play dates!  I had no idea how much I was missing out on before I had you!  All of this fun was being had with mommies and their kiddos and I didn't even know!  I'm so glad that you will have friends to play with and not be stuck with your mommy all day, everyday!

You're still the happiest in the morning and chill out in your bouncer while Mommy eats breakfast and gets ready for the day.  Okay.  That's a lie.  I don't always get ready for the day.  Sometimes that just involves putting in my contacts.  That's getting ready, right?

We did get some pictures taken of you this month and you were absolutely darling!  You screamed all the way to the photo shoot but stopped as soon as I took you out of your car seat.  Then you were a dream!  The perfect model!  I can't wait to get them back!

You continue to amaze your Mommy and Daddy everyday about how much you have changed our lives.  But in all seriousness, we could not imagine life without you now.  You are a handful and completely needy but you're ours.  Our little miracle we had a hand in creating and we could not possibly love you more.

And how are you already bigger than Stitch?  Insane...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What do you wear when you don't have a single green shirt?

Green leggings of course!!!

GD...No...Not That GD

Remember when I was pregnant and got the diagnosis no one wants to get...gestational diabetes? 

Yeah.  Me too.

It was a day I will never forget.  It made my pregnancy a whole heck of a lot more difficult and had me worried out of my mind that I was going to produce a "fat baby" as the Internet so lovingly refers to those poor children.  I was in the doctor's office twice a week for 10 weeks making sure little Natalie was cooking away nice and slow.

Through a lot of hard work on my part (I mean seriously, Christmas was during this time!) I remained on my strict low carb diet and successfully delivered a regular 7 lb. 13 oz. baby who was in no way fat.  And I learned a ton about the disease.  Like it's just my crappy pancreas that gave me high blood sugar readings, not the fact that I was eating too much sugar. 

Anyways, I had to meet with my specialist this week for my 8 week post-delivery appointment.  I had to take the glucose test again (YUM!  not...) and this time it was a two hour test.  I got pricked at the beginning, middle, and end of the test.  On a Friday morning.  Where I had to bring my sweet baby girl for a three hour trip to the lab.  Yep.  Talk about a fun morning

But as of Monday, I'm in the clear.  I no longer have diabetes...which was expected but not totally ruled out. Yippee!!  I will say that the risk of me developing diabetes within the next 5 years is 50%...which I find ridiculously high.  So I'm getting back on the fit train and watching what I eat to prevent that from happening. 

But the fact that I no longer have to prick myself four times a day and inject insulin into my bulging belly is super nice :)

Die Hard!

You know that episode of Friends where Joey rents Die Hard?

The boys all gather to watch it at Ross's apartment and constantly yell "Die Hard!"

Even when they find out Joey has not rented Die Hard and Die Hard 2...just Die Hard two times?

Well, over the weekend Matt made me watch Die Hard.  He was astonished that I hadn't seen it.  Sometimes I think he forgets I'm a girl.  So like the good wife that I am, I sat through the entire thing.

And yelled "Die Hard" approximately 40 times.

I was sure I was annoying Matt...until he started yelling it too.

I love that man.

DIE HARD!

My Little Sleeper

Whose little girl slept 6 1/2 hours two nights in a row??

This girl!

Daddy and I could not be more excited!  All those books that said 6 weeks was the magic age?  Well, they were right.  I did not appreciate that "advice" (if you can even call it that) when she was 2 weeks old and not sleeping more than 2 hours.  Now, I get it.

Fingers crossed that this trend continues!

My Child is Gooey

I have a nickname for my little girl.

And to be honest, it's not very nice.  It's not lady like or cute.

But it always seems to come out of my mouth when I talk to her.

It's Goobs.

Weird, right?

It's short for Goober. 

I'm not sure why I've taken to calling her this.  And I'm sure she will not enjoy it when she's older.  But for now, it's our thing.

Well one morning last week as my husband and I were laying in our warm bed enjoying those precious seconds where Natalie was not crying...he said, "What's that nickname you have for Natalie?  Gooey?"

Yes honey.  I call her Gooey.

Come to think of it though, she usually is rather gooey.

All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Boobs

This pose?  Referred to around our house as the milk coma.

It's what I aspire to see after a feeding.  A full, satisfied little girl who will sleep quietly for at least a few shades so Mama can go to the restroom.

Yep.  We're going the breastfeeding route.  And believe me, it has not been an easy one.  In the hospital, Natalie did things to my nipples I did not even know were possible (and not in a good way, people).  The pain was unbearable.  She was crying, I was crying.  After about 2 days of feeding, I began to understand why people quit.

But I didn't want to quit.  It was (and is) important to me to breastfeed.  So I played through the pain.  And after maybe a week and a half...we got it!  In reality it was my problem.  The girl sucked like a pro but I could not figure out how to get her to latch for the life of me.  Enter husband.  My savior.  The man somehow figured out how to do it and taught me.  Yes.  My husband taught me how to breastfeed my child.  And I could not love him more for doing so.  All she needed was a little shove in the right direction.

Don't get me wrong.  We are still a work in progress.  Natalie has a tendency to flail her arms in front of her mouth preventing me from even getting to her when she's hungry.  This can lead to a very frustrating mama and baby some days.  And even worse...some nights.  Between the hours of 1 and 4 is not a good time to screw with Mommy.

And honestly, one of my nipples is currently acting up in an icky, blistery, YOWZA, way.  But we're learning.  I still say at least once every week that I want to quit.  Especially when the girl feeds every 2 hours during the day.  But then I seeing her little face when we get it right and I can't imagine giving that up for anything.