After a week of torture waiting for Alex to return from his business trip, I finally got to tell him our big news! He was originally supposed to arrive home really late in the evening, so I was going to wait until the following day and tell Natalie the surprise first and then watch as she told him that mommy had a baby in her belly. However, I was worried that she would then tell the entire world our news before we were ready for it to be public knowledge, and Alex ended up coming home several hours earlier, which gave us some down time to catch up with each other before heading to bed. With the extra time together, I knew it was going to kill me to have to stay quiet and stick with my original plan, so I quickly tried to come up with a cute way to tell him without just blurting it out. When he walked in the door, we gave each other a big hug and the idea just came to me. Thank you, Jesus. I followed him around the house like a lost puppy while he slipped in to see the girls in their bedrooms and waited for the right moment. We were cuddled in the recliner and I told him, "We missed you. All five of us." (I was counting Layla) He said, "I missed you, too." *Pause* "Wait. Five of you?...Are you pregnant?" After I said yes, he got this big smile on his face and I told him how I had known for a week and didn't want to stress him out during his trip by telling him before he left. He just shook his head and took it all in. Then he started rationalizing and planning just like I had. We discussed some finances, the need for a vehicle with more room to accommodate three car seats, looked at his preferred SUV online, and I told him how soon we could find out the gender. I'm so glad he is happy and excited! I think he is actually more excited this time than he was the last time, which is kind of crazy to me, but hey, I'll take it! This is the last time there will be a pregnancy to announce, a baby to plan for. We should soak it all in as much as possible!
Showing posts with label Babies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Babies. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
In the Midst of Indecision
For months now, I have gone back and forth about having another baby. I had always planned on having four kids, but after Natalie was born, three sounded just fine to me. Then Julia was born. She started out a wonderful sleeper, but that ended at three months and even at 12 months old, she still woke up twice every night (now at 14 months old, she wakes once and recently slept through the night twice in a week! Progress!). From birth, she had a throat-grinding, painful sounding scream that took a very long time for Alex and I to get used to. Her temper is fierce and rises to the surface in an instant when you put her down, put her in the car seat, or when life just generally doesn't go her way. She is cute and smart, bashful and brave, but she hasn't made the should-we-have-another-baby-someday decision very easy. In my mind, I hoped that Alex would come around and agree that one more child would complete our little family and that Lord willing, we could become a family of five when Julia was about two and a half. Then I started getting baby fever. I blame it on Julia turning a year old. All the websites and books and baby updates start labeling your precious babe a "toddler" as soon as that one-year milestone is reached. Alex and I agreed that I was insane for feeling this way, lol. He was by no means ready to consider changing our family dynamic yet, if ever.
A couple of friends are having babies or trying to conceive, which I guess is pretty common when you're still in your twenties. Everyone around you gets married and within a few years, babies start coming and conversations change from buying houses, home decor, what recipes you make that are husband-approved to cycle-charting, morning sickness, labor and delivery plans, nursery decor, to how to get the baby to sleep at night. I think that as a twenty-something woman, it's only natural for me to struggle with family planning since I am still in the midst of that "ideal" time in my life to be having babies and keeping up with toddlers and, now that I have a 3 year old, a preschooler. I have had this conversation with more than a dozen people in recent weeks. "How did you know that you were "done"? Was it hard going from 2 to 3, or 4 or 5...? How long did it take for you and your husband to get on the same page? I'm just not sure. He's just not sure. I want my kids to grow up with siblings..."
Then I realized something wasn't quite right. I took a pregnancy test. And 3 minutes later, the future of our family was decided. Two pink lines appeared. I was pregnant. Me. Who struggled for 11 agonizing months to get pregnant the first time around. Who miscarried the second time. Who has to plan and try and endure the stress and heartbreak of things not happening as quickly as I would like for them to. Got pregnant without planning it. Without "trying". Holy cow. Um, yeah. I was stunned.
I didn't say anything to Alex because he was leaving for a week-long business trip in two days and I didn't want to blurt out that ready or not, he was going to be a daddy again, but have a great time on your trip and work hard! Good luck concentrating now that I've dropped this bombshell in your lap! I tested again the next day and confirmed that the first test wasn't a fluke. Alex left for his trip the following morning, and I spent the week just dying to tell him every time we talked on the phone. Never mind that he was on his lunch break or getting ready to go sight-see with co-workers or step back into a meeting. I have news to tell you and I want to tell you right now!!! Gah! I did call my doula because she was nearly booked up for Julia's birth month when I called her at 6 or 7 weeks pregnant. She is a vital part of my birth plan, so I couldn't take a risk on her not being able to take me on as a client!
In the midst of my indecision, I feel like God stepped in and said, "Would you chill out, woman?! I have this all figured out and you just need to relax and trust me. I've got this! This is the plan. Go along with it. It's all going to be ok." So now, 4.5 days later as I'm writing this (although I will post it later), I am feeling excited, nervous, a little stressed, still in shock, but I can't wait to tell Alex. I've been praying for God to prepare his heart. I don't want the memory of the moment I tell him to forever be negative because all he says is, "Well, guess there's nothing we can do about it now. We will never get a full night's sleep again!" or "Oh crap!" Ha! And the detail-lover in me is thinking about the finances, the need for a bigger vehicle to fit 3 car seats across the back seat because there is currently something like a meager 6 inches between Natalie and Julia's car seats right now, where is the baby going to sleep, when should Julia move out of the crib, should she move into Natalie's room or stay in her room with the new baby, what will the grandparents think because I know they think I already have my hands full, who cares what they think, who cares what anybody thinks, how much longer until I can tell more people, don't forget to tell so-and-so, don't forget to take your prenatal vitamins! It's a busy place in my brain right now!
Baby G-3 is due in early October. This is just further proof of God's sense of humor: after I miscarried, we purposely waited to try to conceive again to specifically avoid October as the birth month of our second child because there are 5 family birthdays and 2 anniversaries that month, including ours. God says, "Who cares if your kid has to share a birthday party with their cousins or your anniversary?! Ain't no big thang!" (Yes, God does talk like that, in case you were wondering.) So, here we are, our future mapped out before us. Thank you, Lord, for making the decision easier ;) Seriously. I mean that.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Baby #2: Boy or Girl?
Last Thursday, our little family headed to our doctor's office for a gender reveal ultrasound! They didn't offer this option when I was pregnant with Natalie, so we went a little further away to Lexington to find out early (16 weeks) with her. The excitement of a new baby joining the family is just too much for us to contain, apparently :) They quickly took us back to the ultrasound room where we got to take our very first look at Baby Godin #2. Seeing your baby for the first time, even if it's on a tv screen, is just surreal and oh so wonderful. So, after convincing the baby to move it's little foot out the way, the tech froze the frame and said, "Here it is! It's a..." I was honestly surprised at her announcement because the ultrasound looked very different from Natalie's, but we'll take her trained and experienced word for it...it's a girl!!!
Very early on in this pregnancy, I had hoped for a girl because I wanted to Natalie to grow up with a sister. I love my sisters dearly and can't imagine life without them. Getting to raise sisters who are close in age is sure to be an adventure. Disclaimer: After the initial excitement of this pregnancy settled down, I got excited about the possibility of having a boy as well. We had a boy name picked out, which really vamped up my eagerness to find out the gender, so I was going to be really excited either way! We are still working on choosing this baby's name, although we are finally making some progress! Alex and I both agree that choosing boy names is far easier for us as we have very different taste when it comes to girl names.
On the Saturday after our ultrasound, we invited our parents, local siblings, nieces and nephew over for a gender reveal party. I was absolutely exhausted and thus did not put forth as much effort into cute decorations or any party games as I would have liked to, but it still turned out nice. And the main focus is finding out the gender anyway, right? The week of the gender reveal, I learned to crochet baby booties and found a cute pattern for a boy's style bootie and a girl's Mary Jane style shoe and went ahead and made a pair of each. I wrapped each pink bootie in several layers of tissue paper for each set of grandparents to open.
My mom (in the blue shirt) said she had managed to stay neutral on the boy vs. girl debate, so she felt genuinely excited by the news that she would have a 5th granddaughter (there are no grandsons on my side so far!). My mother-in-law said she had anticipated a boy, but she was happy about having her 5th granddaughter as well.
We spend the rest of the party just visiting, noshing, and tossing baby name ideas around. We had a really great time!
Very early on in this pregnancy, I had hoped for a girl because I wanted to Natalie to grow up with a sister. I love my sisters dearly and can't imagine life without them. Getting to raise sisters who are close in age is sure to be an adventure. Disclaimer: After the initial excitement of this pregnancy settled down, I got excited about the possibility of having a boy as well. We had a boy name picked out, which really vamped up my eagerness to find out the gender, so I was going to be really excited either way! We are still working on choosing this baby's name, although we are finally making some progress! Alex and I both agree that choosing boy names is far easier for us as we have very different taste when it comes to girl names.
On the Saturday after our ultrasound, we invited our parents, local siblings, nieces and nephew over for a gender reveal party. I was absolutely exhausted and thus did not put forth as much effort into cute decorations or any party games as I would have liked to, but it still turned out nice. And the main focus is finding out the gender anyway, right? The week of the gender reveal, I learned to crochet baby booties and found a cute pattern for a boy's style bootie and a girl's Mary Jane style shoe and went ahead and made a pair of each. I wrapped each pink bootie in several layers of tissue paper for each set of grandparents to open.
We spend the rest of the party just visiting, noshing, and tossing baby name ideas around. We had a really great time!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
How I Found Out About Baby #2
In case you missed it, here's the pregnancy reveal post I wrote yesterday. I'm writing this weeks before I'll actually publish this post so that I don't forget any details. Sometime after our miscarriage in January, I started having this feeling that our next baby would be due in January (2014). That thought just wouldn't go away. I wondered if it was God whispering to me about His plans for our family's future, but, to be honest, I still doubted because I didn't want to get my hopes up and be disappointed if things happened differently. That's how this whole waiting-to-get-pregnant process has been for me. It's like a repeating cycle of vulnerability, hope, anticipation, and then putting on protective armor to shield your heart from the pain of disappointment and uncertainty. This second time around has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but still not nearly as much as it was before I got pregnant with Natalie. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't stress out about it like that again this time because ultimately, things truly do work out in God's timing. I know my journey doesn't look like anyone else's journey. So, the month came when I knew that if I did get pregnant, we would have a January baby. And things just felt different in my heart. I had a stronger positive outlook. I kept the doubt at bay, for the most part (again, putting up that protective shield in case my "intuition" was wrong).
Well, on a Thursday night, two days before I had told myself that I would take a pregnancy test, I went to bed super early because I was just really tired, and then I woke up super nauseated when Alex came to bed later. I managed to fall back to sleep, but woke up again at 4 and was really sick. Like, stomach bug sick. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take the pregnancy test at 4 a.m. Just a few seconds after the control line appeared, the test line appeared, forming that so deeply-desired plus sign.
Maybe it was because I physically felt so ill, but I didn't have nearly the same reaction this time as I did when I got a positive test with Natalie. I was excited and thanked God and vowed that I would not let my mind run wild, preventing me from sleeping the rest of the night (I still barely slept anyway because I kept getting sick). I think the thought of another early miscarriage happening a few days down the road probably factored in, too. After all, that was precisely why I was going to wait a few more days to test in the first place, but curiosity is a powerful thing!
After a rough night, my mom took Natalie later in the morning to help me out. I was pretty sure that I did indeed have a virus and not just really early on-set morning sickness, and tried to play it off as such to my parents. With Mother's Day just a little over a week away, I thought for sure that I could wait that long to surprise our moms with the news. And, I hadn't even told Alex yet! He'd been in a hurry to get to work that morning, so I figured it would be best to wait until after he got home so he wouldn't have the news of a new baby on his mind all day while he was trying to wrap up his work week.
My mom brought Natalie home for her nap and than a good friend took her to dinner before Alex got home so that I could rest some more. I wrote a quick note and taped it, along with the pregnancy test, to the cover of a baby name book I bought last summer and stuck them down in the most gender-neutral baby shower gift bag I had left from Natalie's baby showers. When Alex came home, I asked him to come sit next to me on the couch and he said, "But I don't want to catch whatever you have" and I said, "I don't think you can catch what I have" and I pulled the gift bag out and handed it to him. He was excited, but reserved about it being so early. Then he made a crack about having another winter baby. Oy vey. I just replied that if we had another girl, she could wear Natalie's hand-me-downs to save money and if we have a boy, well, we'd have to buy boy clothes anyway!
So there you have it! That's how I found out I was expecting baby #2!
Well, on a Thursday night, two days before I had told myself that I would take a pregnancy test, I went to bed super early because I was just really tired, and then I woke up super nauseated when Alex came to bed later. I managed to fall back to sleep, but woke up again at 4 and was really sick. Like, stomach bug sick. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take the pregnancy test at 4 a.m. Just a few seconds after the control line appeared, the test line appeared, forming that so deeply-desired plus sign.
Maybe it was because I physically felt so ill, but I didn't have nearly the same reaction this time as I did when I got a positive test with Natalie. I was excited and thanked God and vowed that I would not let my mind run wild, preventing me from sleeping the rest of the night (I still barely slept anyway because I kept getting sick). I think the thought of another early miscarriage happening a few days down the road probably factored in, too. After all, that was precisely why I was going to wait a few more days to test in the first place, but curiosity is a powerful thing!
After a rough night, my mom took Natalie later in the morning to help me out. I was pretty sure that I did indeed have a virus and not just really early on-set morning sickness, and tried to play it off as such to my parents. With Mother's Day just a little over a week away, I thought for sure that I could wait that long to surprise our moms with the news. And, I hadn't even told Alex yet! He'd been in a hurry to get to work that morning, so I figured it would be best to wait until after he got home so he wouldn't have the news of a new baby on his mind all day while he was trying to wrap up his work week.
My mom brought Natalie home for her nap and than a good friend took her to dinner before Alex got home so that I could rest some more. I wrote a quick note and taped it, along with the pregnancy test, to the cover of a baby name book I bought last summer and stuck them down in the most gender-neutral baby shower gift bag I had left from Natalie's baby showers. When Alex came home, I asked him to come sit next to me on the couch and he said, "But I don't want to catch whatever you have" and I said, "I don't think you can catch what I have" and I pulled the gift bag out and handed it to him. He was excited, but reserved about it being so early. Then he made a crack about having another winter baby. Oy vey. I just replied that if we had another girl, she could wear Natalie's hand-me-downs to save money and if we have a boy, well, we'd have to buy boy clothes anyway!
So there you have it! That's how I found out I was expecting baby #2!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Lately...
Playing with her cousins' tinker toys in PA in May
I've been spending more time doing this during Natalie's nap time:
So, life is pretty good right now. Snuggles, snacking, and sleeping sounds like a mom's dream come true, right? Well, another dream is coming true because I'm expecting baby #2! I'll share more details in another post, but I found out the good news the weekend before Mother's Day and am due January 11, 2014. This pregnancy has been fairly similar to my pregnancy with Natalie. Lots of nausea, exhaustion, a few food aversions and lots of excitement! God is soooo good!!!
Monday, January 14, 2013
He Give and Takes Away; Blessed Be His Name
I don't know why certain things don't happen the way we planned them. I could get all caught up in asking, "Why?", but that won't really get me anywhere. Sometimes it just not for us to know. But, what I do know is that God's ways are not my ways (Isaiah 55:8). His plans for my life are not plans to harm me, but to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). And He came so that I may have life and life abundantly (John 10:10).
Last week, I found out I was pregnant and then four days later it was confirmed that I had miscarried. It all happened so fast. At the first signs of trouble, I was praying and trying to speak life over the situation. I kept praying that this baby would live, but, clearly, that was not meant to be. It was devastating. My dream of how our family was going to grow was ripped apart. Our kids would have been 21 months apart, which was within my "ideal time frame." I was going to be due in September, so Alex and I would both share birthday months with one of our children. It only took 4 months to conceive instead of 11 long months like it did with Natalie. I was going to pregnant at the same time as several close friends. But despite how perfectly it all seemed to have come together, God had other plans.
It was amazing to me how quickly peace and calm returned to me. I have wonderful friends and family that started praying at the first sign of trouble and God answered. If there's one thing that I learned while I was waiting to get pregnant with Natalie it is that God's timing is perfect. If right now isn't the time for us to expand our family, then that means that there is a time in the future that is better, and I'm ok with that. As much as I'd like to analyze the situation and pick the "perfect" month for our next child to be born so that there aren't ten other family events or holidays going on during the same month, in the grand scheme of things, that won't matter. I'm going to be thrilled when I find out I am expecting again and will greatly anticipate meeting that precious little one, whenever they will be born.
The thought that keeps occurring to me is abundant life. Abundant means abounding, rich, to have plenty. Despite what the circumstances around me are, I choose to live a rich life. I want it to be full-to-the-brim, spilling over and touching others so that they might find abundance, too. I want to be intentional with my time. That includes personal time, time with Natalie and Alex, friends, and other family. Life is too short to dwell on things that I cannot change and get stuck asking why certain things didn't turn out like I planned. I'm blessed beyond measure with an amazing family, a precious daughter, and abundant grace given by a sovereign Lord who loves me just the way I am. I am thankful to have gotten a good report from my doctor today that there is no reason to be concerned and we can go on planning our family without worrying about health complications.
"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21 KJV
Last week, I found out I was pregnant and then four days later it was confirmed that I had miscarried. It all happened so fast. At the first signs of trouble, I was praying and trying to speak life over the situation. I kept praying that this baby would live, but, clearly, that was not meant to be. It was devastating. My dream of how our family was going to grow was ripped apart. Our kids would have been 21 months apart, which was within my "ideal time frame." I was going to be due in September, so Alex and I would both share birthday months with one of our children. It only took 4 months to conceive instead of 11 long months like it did with Natalie. I was going to pregnant at the same time as several close friends. But despite how perfectly it all seemed to have come together, God had other plans.
It was amazing to me how quickly peace and calm returned to me. I have wonderful friends and family that started praying at the first sign of trouble and God answered. If there's one thing that I learned while I was waiting to get pregnant with Natalie it is that God's timing is perfect. If right now isn't the time for us to expand our family, then that means that there is a time in the future that is better, and I'm ok with that. As much as I'd like to analyze the situation and pick the "perfect" month for our next child to be born so that there aren't ten other family events or holidays going on during the same month, in the grand scheme of things, that won't matter. I'm going to be thrilled when I find out I am expecting again and will greatly anticipate meeting that precious little one, whenever they will be born.
The thought that keeps occurring to me is abundant life. Abundant means abounding, rich, to have plenty. Despite what the circumstances around me are, I choose to live a rich life. I want it to be full-to-the-brim, spilling over and touching others so that they might find abundance, too. I want to be intentional with my time. That includes personal time, time with Natalie and Alex, friends, and other family. Life is too short to dwell on things that I cannot change and get stuck asking why certain things didn't turn out like I planned. I'm blessed beyond measure with an amazing family, a precious daughter, and abundant grace given by a sovereign Lord who loves me just the way I am. I am thankful to have gotten a good report from my doctor today that there is no reason to be concerned and we can go on planning our family without worrying about health complications.
"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21 KJV
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Year That Flew By
Four days before Christmas, my precious daughter turned a year old. I still remember the details of her birth so vividly. The crazy 21 hour labor, holding her for the first time and thinking that she looked like Alex's mom, learning to nurse, the overwhelming flood of uncontrollable emotions, the car ride home as a family of 3 (well, 4 if you count the dog, whom we picked up from my mother-in-law on the way home!). Such cherished memories. Every single one.
Natalie Grace, on your first birthday, I want you to know:
You have given my life more meaning and fullness than ever before. I am so full of love for you, I must tell you I love you at least 20 times a day and give you twice as many hugs and kisses. I love walking into your bedroom first thing in the morning and seeing your grin light up the room from behind your pacifier. Seeing your smile makes all the sleepless nights and early mornings worth it.
Your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is bananas and you have already started to say 'nana' and point to them to let us know what you want. That's pretty adorable, too. Speaking of food, you love everything except eggs and have been really pigging out lately. Your daddy and I think you're going through a growth spurt. (Here she is enjoying blueberry birthday pancakes - another big hit, surprise surprise!)
You have grown up so much in the past year and really have become a toddler before our wonder-filled eyes. Watching you rapidly scoot across the floor and then pull up and start walking never ceases to amaze me. You stay so busy going from room to room seeing what there is to explore. Currently, you enjoy playing with and trying to eat Layla's dog food, scavenging for leftover food on your high chair, watching Layla from the back door while she is outside and pulling food out of the pantry (are you noticing a recurring "food" theme here?). Your favorite activities include eating (obviously), being pushed around the house on your Fisher-Price school bus, story time, knocking down towers of stacking cups or blocks, wrestling with Layla, and dancing to music.
Your favorite food is probably more of a food "group" than one particular thing. You love sweets, but since we try to limit those, you definitely are a huge fan of fruit. You can never get enough bananas, peaches, pears, applesauce, oranges, and grapes (all of which are staples around our house).
I have always considered you to be an answered prayer. Before you were born, I prayed that you would have a sweet spirit and would have favor with people. Even though you are just a baby, I can already see that prayer being answered. People have been drawn to you since you were born and we have received so many compliments about your personality. I also prayed that you would have a close relationship with both me and your daddy. You definitely want your mama at certain times, but it warms my heart to see the bond you share with your daddy. He loves you so very much and loves playing with you. As you grow up, my prayer for you is that you fall in love with Jesus at a young age and serve Him all the days of your life. I pray that you will know His voice as a young child and will always listen to what He tells you. The world will try to steal away your innocence as soon as possible, but I will do everything in my power to protect that precious innocence and wonder. Nothing would make me more proud as your mama than to see you grow up to live out the destiny that God has for you. His plans are so amazing, sweet girl. I am so thankful that He chose me to be your mama. I also pray that our relationship as mother and daughter will continue to grow as you get older and that we can share countless precious moments together. I love you, Natalie Grace! You put a smile on my face!
Happy first birthday, sweet girl of mine!!!
P.S. I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday cupcake. You were so fun to watch digging into it once you got the hang of it!
Natalie Grace, on your first birthday, I want you to know:
You have given my life more meaning and fullness than ever before. I am so full of love for you, I must tell you I love you at least 20 times a day and give you twice as many hugs and kisses. I love walking into your bedroom first thing in the morning and seeing your grin light up the room from behind your pacifier. Seeing your smile makes all the sleepless nights and early mornings worth it.
Your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is bananas and you have already started to say 'nana' and point to them to let us know what you want. That's pretty adorable, too. Speaking of food, you love everything except eggs and have been really pigging out lately. Your daddy and I think you're going through a growth spurt. (Here she is enjoying blueberry birthday pancakes - another big hit, surprise surprise!)
You have grown up so much in the past year and really have become a toddler before our wonder-filled eyes. Watching you rapidly scoot across the floor and then pull up and start walking never ceases to amaze me. You stay so busy going from room to room seeing what there is to explore. Currently, you enjoy playing with and trying to eat Layla's dog food, scavenging for leftover food on your high chair, watching Layla from the back door while she is outside and pulling food out of the pantry (are you noticing a recurring "food" theme here?). Your favorite activities include eating (obviously), being pushed around the house on your Fisher-Price school bus, story time, knocking down towers of stacking cups or blocks, wrestling with Layla, and dancing to music.
Your favorite food is probably more of a food "group" than one particular thing. You love sweets, but since we try to limit those, you definitely are a huge fan of fruit. You can never get enough bananas, peaches, pears, applesauce, oranges, and grapes (all of which are staples around our house).
I have always considered you to be an answered prayer. Before you were born, I prayed that you would have a sweet spirit and would have favor with people. Even though you are just a baby, I can already see that prayer being answered. People have been drawn to you since you were born and we have received so many compliments about your personality. I also prayed that you would have a close relationship with both me and your daddy. You definitely want your mama at certain times, but it warms my heart to see the bond you share with your daddy. He loves you so very much and loves playing with you. As you grow up, my prayer for you is that you fall in love with Jesus at a young age and serve Him all the days of your life. I pray that you will know His voice as a young child and will always listen to what He tells you. The world will try to steal away your innocence as soon as possible, but I will do everything in my power to protect that precious innocence and wonder. Nothing would make me more proud as your mama than to see you grow up to live out the destiny that God has for you. His plans are so amazing, sweet girl. I am so thankful that He chose me to be your mama. I also pray that our relationship as mother and daughter will continue to grow as you get older and that we can share countless precious moments together. I love you, Natalie Grace! You put a smile on my face!
Happy first birthday, sweet girl of mine!!!
P.S. I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday cupcake. You were so fun to watch digging into it once you got the hang of it!
Monday, October 22, 2012
A Perfect 10! Natalie at 10 Months
Two of my first-time-mom friends' babies turned a year old this month and it has made me a little sad that Natalie's first year of life is quickly drawing to a close as well. Their babies are now weaned from bottle and breast and seem a little less baby-like and more toddler-like now. As difficult as nursing was for the first 11 weeks, and as much as I'm looking forward to a break from its demands, I also don't want to give it up because its a stage of my baby's life that we can never go back to once its over.
On a less-sappy note, Natalie has become soooo much fun! I've thought that a lot over the past 6 months as she has started doing more and her personality comes out, but this month she started dancing all.the.time. She stands up and wiggles her cloth-diapered bottom back and forth and waves her arms and even keeps the rhythm of the music sometimes! She'll start movin' and groovin' if a toy plays music or if we start singing a song or if we turn up something on Pandora. I swear it's the cutest thing ever! I took some video of her yesterday, but I don't know how or if I can upload it to Blogger...so much to learn...oy vey!
I didn't keep up with all the new foods that she has tried this month, but off the top of my head she tried chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice soup, chicken pot pie (yeah, we eat a lot of chicken...), beef stew, applesauce, whole wheat Ritz crackers, and a french fry (just one! Don't want them to become a favorite, or familiar, "vegetable" - and I use that term very loosely). Since I started making more baby food, I gave up her dinnertime nursing (around 4 or 5 pm) and feed her solids then. She gets oatmeal before bed every night, and we mix applesauce in with it for some flavor since we ran out of pumped milk and are now mixing it with water. If I had to pick a favorite food, I'd say it's bananas. She can eat a whole one in one sitting if we let her! Where she puts it, I don't know... She just loves sweet things in general, just like her mama. She also drinks several ounces of water a day from a sippy cup. This kid still loves to eat, although when I fed her soup, sweet potatoes and green beans yesterday, she cried every time she saw green beans on the spoon. Thankfully, she never spit them out, but she made it clear that she preferred the soup!
I am so thankful that Natalie has been healthy! Other than a runny nose and a cough twice, she hasn't had any health problems. We keep thinking that she's going to cut a tooth, but none have made an appearance yet. I love her gummy smile, though, and am going to enjoy it while it lasts! She's still growing like a weed, and has started wearing size 4 shoes.
Sleeping is still very sporadic. Natalie made progress this month by starting to sleep from 8:30 or 9 (bedtime has been too late, too often!) until 6:15 am, nursing, and then going back to sleep until around 8 am. Then she started waking up around 4 am and refusing to go back to sleep unless she was being held, so I brought her in our bed, where she fell back to sleep, kicked me until morning, but also slept until 7 and 8 am without nursing. It has become very obvious to me that she has been using me as a pacifier. We just have to figure out how to get her to sleep 11 or 12 hours in HER OWN BED without waking up for that 6 am feeding! I'm done with letting her cry. We've done that on quite a few occasions to get her to sleep until 5 or 6 am, and it's emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting for all of us.
Natalie is very serious around non-family members and takes a long time to warm up sometimes. A friend who is starting her own photography business asked to take pictures of Natalie for her portfolio, so we took pictures for over 3 hours last week. Out of 667 pictures, I swear, Natalie smiled in maybe 20 of them. 20! She was content and such a trooper, but just so serious! That, and she tried to put every single prop in her mouth. We joked that we're going to make a collage of pictures from that shoot and put the caption "Will work for food" at the top :)
It is such a joy and a privilege to be Natalie's mama. My heart is so full. Everywhere we go, people comment about how cute she is and I can't help but be proud of her. Alex and I ask ourselves how we ended up with such a beautiful little girl. God has blessed us indeed! She has such a sweet, cheerful, energetic disposition that we can't get enough of. She freely gives lots of hugs and kisses now, and it just melts my heart every time, even if she does pull my hair when she wraps her little arms around my neck. I can't imagine life without her.
On a less-sappy note, Natalie has become soooo much fun! I've thought that a lot over the past 6 months as she has started doing more and her personality comes out, but this month she started dancing all.the.time. She stands up and wiggles her cloth-diapered bottom back and forth and waves her arms and even keeps the rhythm of the music sometimes! She'll start movin' and groovin' if a toy plays music or if we start singing a song or if we turn up something on Pandora. I swear it's the cutest thing ever! I took some video of her yesterday, but I don't know how or if I can upload it to Blogger...so much to learn...oy vey!
I didn't keep up with all the new foods that she has tried this month, but off the top of my head she tried chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice soup, chicken pot pie (yeah, we eat a lot of chicken...), beef stew, applesauce, whole wheat Ritz crackers, and a french fry (just one! Don't want them to become a favorite, or familiar, "vegetable" - and I use that term very loosely). Since I started making more baby food, I gave up her dinnertime nursing (around 4 or 5 pm) and feed her solids then. She gets oatmeal before bed every night, and we mix applesauce in with it for some flavor since we ran out of pumped milk and are now mixing it with water. If I had to pick a favorite food, I'd say it's bananas. She can eat a whole one in one sitting if we let her! Where she puts it, I don't know... She just loves sweet things in general, just like her mama. She also drinks several ounces of water a day from a sippy cup. This kid still loves to eat, although when I fed her soup, sweet potatoes and green beans yesterday, she cried every time she saw green beans on the spoon. Thankfully, she never spit them out, but she made it clear that she preferred the soup!
I am so thankful that Natalie has been healthy! Other than a runny nose and a cough twice, she hasn't had any health problems. We keep thinking that she's going to cut a tooth, but none have made an appearance yet. I love her gummy smile, though, and am going to enjoy it while it lasts! She's still growing like a weed, and has started wearing size 4 shoes.
Sleeping is still very sporadic. Natalie made progress this month by starting to sleep from 8:30 or 9 (bedtime has been too late, too often!) until 6:15 am, nursing, and then going back to sleep until around 8 am. Then she started waking up around 4 am and refusing to go back to sleep unless she was being held, so I brought her in our bed, where she fell back to sleep, kicked me until morning, but also slept until 7 and 8 am without nursing. It has become very obvious to me that she has been using me as a pacifier. We just have to figure out how to get her to sleep 11 or 12 hours in HER OWN BED without waking up for that 6 am feeding! I'm done with letting her cry. We've done that on quite a few occasions to get her to sleep until 5 or 6 am, and it's emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting for all of us.
Natalie is very serious around non-family members and takes a long time to warm up sometimes. A friend who is starting her own photography business asked to take pictures of Natalie for her portfolio, so we took pictures for over 3 hours last week. Out of 667 pictures, I swear, Natalie smiled in maybe 20 of them. 20! She was content and such a trooper, but just so serious! That, and she tried to put every single prop in her mouth. We joked that we're going to make a collage of pictures from that shoot and put the caption "Will work for food" at the top :)
It is such a joy and a privilege to be Natalie's mama. My heart is so full. Everywhere we go, people comment about how cute she is and I can't help but be proud of her. Alex and I ask ourselves how we ended up with such a beautiful little girl. God has blessed us indeed! She has such a sweet, cheerful, energetic disposition that we can't get enough of. She freely gives lots of hugs and kisses now, and it just melts my heart every time, even if she does pull my hair when she wraps her little arms around my neck. I can't imagine life without her.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
On Cloud Nine - Natalie at 9 Months
Natalie hit the 9-month milestone on Friday and we went for her well-baby check-up today. She weighs 19.2 lbs and is 28 inches tall, putting her right at the 50th percentile for weight and just above the 50th for height. She's wearing size 3 shoes and mostly 12 month clothes (mainly to accommodate her cloth diapers! Haha!), although she still has some 9 month things that fit.
Our baby girl is just the sweetest thing. She has started giving us more and more big, wet, open-mouthed kisses and hugs around the neck. *Smile* She pulls up on everything, including the dog, and has started taking a few steps while holding on to something (mainly a big 4-ft bean bag chair in our family room). I predict that she will be walking between 10 and 11 months (Alex walked at 9 months and I walked at 10 months).
Natalie's interest in solid foods has grown to the point that she gets very cranky if we don't share with her while we're eating. Suffice it to say that my days of beinglazy laid back about introducing solids are over. I have to think ahead and make sure that I have something on hand that she can eat, like sweet potatoes or puffs or fruit, so that we can get through dinner! Recently, she wouldn't let me put her down on the floor because I had food in my hand, so I had to put my plate down first. Then, she let go of me to reach for the plate and proceeded to fuss at me to share with her. So, that day she tried spinach artichoke dip and she liked it! This kid has eaten every single thing we've ever let her try. Other than the artichoke dip, the other new foods she has had this month are plums, grapes cut into 8 little pieces, chicken and broccoli casserole and a teeny tiny taste of ricotta cheese from my lasagna. When she is ready for another bite, she tenses up her arms and face and makes a growling sound, to which we respond by telling her "no" and showing her the signs for "more" and "please". She loves her oatmeal before bed and likes to try and wipe her messy face on whatever is close by, be it the couch or our clothes. Needless to say, we are on high alert during feeding time. Our pediatrician said I could start replacing a few nursing times a day with solids, so I'm going to eliminate the 5 o'clock/dinnertime feeding and see how that goes. I'm not crazy about cutting back too much on nursing before her first birthday, primarily because I'm concerned about her getting enough nutrition from fruits and veggies compared to breastmilk.
A few other highlights from Natalie's 9th month are:
-Cruises in circles around our kitchen island while in her walker. She is a fast little thing and has become quite adept at maneuvering wherever she wants to go! It's hilarious to watch her cruise around and harass the poor dog!
-Enjoys her swing outside
-Crawls around the house very quickly and is more adventurous to wander into rooms away from mommy and daddy. We put a baby gate up to keep her in the family room with us.
-Natalie loves books. She gets excited nearly every time I pull one out for us to look at together. She pats the pages and likes books with flaps and places to feel different textures. I prayed that she would love learning and have been collecting a variety of books from yard sales so she would have lots of information at her fingertips. I recently read a blog post about how to instill a love of reading in your children and the writer suggested reading to your child every single day and always keeping books around when they play, even at Natalie's age. So far, that seems to be working for us!
-First 'real' family outing to a pumpkin weighing competition! I just love the pictures of her from that day!
-She has far less social anxiety and lets other people hold her for extended periods of time.
-Started taking baths in the 'big tub' instead of her baby tub.
-Might have possibly said "doggie", but it sounded a lot like "daddy"...I'm choosing to believe she said "doggie" because she was interacting with Layla at the time :)
I'm so afraid that I'm going to forget little details about Natalie at this stage, like the way she uses her heels to spin in circles when she's sitting on the floor, and the sound of her baby laughter. I just don't want to look back years from now, or even a few months from now and forget what life was like during this stage. I'm so thankful for every moment we have together. Even after a long day, I miss my baby when she's in bed for the night and have to linger over the crib and just stare at her and rest my hand on her for a minute before I can head to bed myself. Lately, I've been thinking that I need to put forth more effort to be intentional about my time with her every day. It's so easy to get caught up with housework and things that need to get done around the house and then before I know it, the day is over and I've missed opportunities to spend some quality time with her. We have been blessed with such a great baby and I want to enjoy every minute of her babyhood, as it is flying by so quickly!
Natalie's interest in solid foods has grown to the point that she gets very cranky if we don't share with her while we're eating. Suffice it to say that my days of being
A few other highlights from Natalie's 9th month are:
-Cruises in circles around our kitchen island while in her walker. She is a fast little thing and has become quite adept at maneuvering wherever she wants to go! It's hilarious to watch her cruise around and harass the poor dog!
-Enjoys her swing outside
-Crawls around the house very quickly and is more adventurous to wander into rooms away from mommy and daddy. We put a baby gate up to keep her in the family room with us.
-Natalie loves books. She gets excited nearly every time I pull one out for us to look at together. She pats the pages and likes books with flaps and places to feel different textures. I prayed that she would love learning and have been collecting a variety of books from yard sales so she would have lots of information at her fingertips. I recently read a blog post about how to instill a love of reading in your children and the writer suggested reading to your child every single day and always keeping books around when they play, even at Natalie's age. So far, that seems to be working for us!
-First 'real' family outing to a pumpkin weighing competition! I just love the pictures of her from that day!
-She has far less social anxiety and lets other people hold her for extended periods of time.
-Started taking baths in the 'big tub' instead of her baby tub.
-Might have possibly said "doggie", but it sounded a lot like "daddy"...I'm choosing to believe she said "doggie" because she was interacting with Layla at the time :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Eight is Great!
So, I think this blog has turned into an online baby book for my first born. It seems as though I can't think of much else to write about other than her life. Every once in a while I think about writing about something more personal, and then I doubt myself and don't write anything til it's time for another monthly update on Natalie. One of these days I'll get back into writing about other stuff...
Here are a few things that have happened during Natalie's eighth month of life:
-Started saying "dada" and "mama", usually when she's upset and needs one of us
-She loves to take steps when you hold her hands
-Tried prunes, green beans, navy beans, puffs (which she has mastered at this point), oatmeal, baked apples and asparagus
-Started using the convertible car seat
-Has become much more sociable, but also bashfully smiles at everyone who talks to her
-Started crawling very slowly on her hands and knees
-Pushed herself into a sitting position from laying down on 8/15
-Pulled up to standing in her crib on 8/16/12
-Claps her hands (so cute!!!)
-Traveled to another state (Ohio) and met her Aunt Kim and cousins, Ashley and Caitlin for the first time
-We had to lower her crib mattress so she didn't fall out when she stood up in bed
I'm so excited to watch my baby girl grow up. It's sad that time has gone by so quickly, but every day brings new joys and adventure with it. I can't imagine life any other way. We are so blessed!!!
Here are a few things that have happened during Natalie's eighth month of life:
-Started saying "dada" and "mama", usually when she's upset and needs one of us
-She loves to take steps when you hold her hands
-Started using the convertible car seat
-Has become much more sociable, but also bashfully smiles at everyone who talks to her
-Started crawling very slowly on her hands and knees
-Pushed herself into a sitting position from laying down on 8/15
-Pulled up to standing in her crib on 8/16/12
-Traveled to another state (Ohio) and met her Aunt Kim and cousins, Ashley and Caitlin for the first time
I'm so excited to watch my baby girl grow up. It's sad that time has gone by so quickly, but every day brings new joys and adventure with it. I can't imagine life any other way. We are so blessed!!!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Seven Months
I must say that having a baby in December makes it very easy to keep track of how old she is. One month old in the first month of the year, seven months old in the seventh month, etc. A friend's first born just turned a year old last week and it served as a reminder of how quickly these babies grow up!
During this last month, Natalie has changed so much (what else is new?!). Here are some of the things she's been up to:
-Rolling from back to belly and belly to back (as long as she's on a soft surface, like the bed or the couch. This child will NOT roll over on the floor!
-Pulling up on us or a dresser drawer. She LOVES to stand and has even started taking a few very wobbly steps like she's trying to cruise.
-I gave in and decided to let her sample a few foods here and there and have really liked my Munchkin baby food grinder to make small portions of food for her to try. She has tried zucchini, watermelon, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and peaches, in that order. So far, it looks like watermelon has been her favorite and carrots are her least favorite. I might not have gotten the texture of the carrots smooth enough for her liking though. We don't feed her solids every day; usually it's only when we happen to be eating something that we could also puree and give to her. I'm just not that into giving her solids yet. Baby-led weaning is sounding right up my alley about now :)
-She sticks her tongue out when Layla tries to lick her face. Gross, I know, so now we're extra attentive to keep their mouths away from each other! *Shudder* She also sticks her tongue out when we try to wipe her mouth off with a paper towel after she has eaten. Silly baby!
-Natalie has finally started saying a few syllables again. So far, she is saying "ma" and "ba". She also does this adorable thing where she curls her lips inward like you do when you're saying an "m" word, but she smacks her lips together over and over and it sounds like bubbles popping. Or, at least that's the best way I can think of to describe it!
-She now naps on her belly about half the time. The first time that this happened, she cried out and I went to check on her and her legs were sticking out through the slats in her crib, underneath the bumper and she was stuck! I really wanted to run and grab the camera before I rescued her, but I resisted the temptation and helped her out. Silly wiggle worm! The past 5 days have been horrible as far as naps go. I don't know if it's because of teething or what, but Natalie will.not.nap. She has gone from 3 naps a day (two long naps and a short nap) to two really short naps. On Saturday, she took two 30-minute naps. Has anyone else's child gone through this? She just lays in her crib and coos or she lays there and cries. Either way, no sleeping is happening. Ugh. I hope it's just teething.
-Socially, Natalie has grown by leaps and bounds. At just two months old, she literally screamed when anyone other than Alex or myself held her. The grandparents were devastated, to say the least. Now, she lets them hold her during church and when we visit with them. It's still not usually for extended lengths of time, but she's getting there. I hope we can work up to her staying with her grandparents for a couple of hours between feedings without her having a meltdown. All in time!
During this last month, Natalie has changed so much (what else is new?!). Here are some of the things she's been up to:
-Rolling from back to belly and belly to back (as long as she's on a soft surface, like the bed or the couch. This child will NOT roll over on the floor!
-Pulling up on us or a dresser drawer. She LOVES to stand and has even started taking a few very wobbly steps like she's trying to cruise.
-I gave in and decided to let her sample a few foods here and there and have really liked my Munchkin baby food grinder to make small portions of food for her to try. She has tried zucchini, watermelon, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and peaches, in that order. So far, it looks like watermelon has been her favorite and carrots are her least favorite. I might not have gotten the texture of the carrots smooth enough for her liking though. We don't feed her solids every day; usually it's only when we happen to be eating something that we could also puree and give to her. I'm just not that into giving her solids yet. Baby-led weaning is sounding right up my alley about now :)
-She sticks her tongue out when Layla tries to lick her face. Gross, I know, so now we're extra attentive to keep their mouths away from each other! *Shudder* She also sticks her tongue out when we try to wipe her mouth off with a paper towel after she has eaten. Silly baby!
-Natalie has finally started saying a few syllables again. So far, she is saying "ma" and "ba". She also does this adorable thing where she curls her lips inward like you do when you're saying an "m" word, but she smacks her lips together over and over and it sounds like bubbles popping. Or, at least that's the best way I can think of to describe it!
-She now naps on her belly about half the time. The first time that this happened, she cried out and I went to check on her and her legs were sticking out through the slats in her crib, underneath the bumper and she was stuck! I really wanted to run and grab the camera before I rescued her, but I resisted the temptation and helped her out. Silly wiggle worm! The past 5 days have been horrible as far as naps go. I don't know if it's because of teething or what, but Natalie will.not.nap. She has gone from 3 naps a day (two long naps and a short nap) to two really short naps. On Saturday, she took two 30-minute naps. Has anyone else's child gone through this? She just lays in her crib and coos or she lays there and cries. Either way, no sleeping is happening. Ugh. I hope it's just teething.
-Socially, Natalie has grown by leaps and bounds. At just two months old, she literally screamed when anyone other than Alex or myself held her. The grandparents were devastated, to say the least. Now, she lets them hold her during church and when we visit with them. It's still not usually for extended lengths of time, but she's getting there. I hope we can work up to her staying with her grandparents for a couple of hours between feedings without her having a meltdown. All in time!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Growing Up!
Natalie had her 6-month check-up last week. She weighed 17 lbs (70th percentile) and was 27.25 inches tall (just above the 90th percentile). Despite having her nap cut short, she was really content during our time in the waiting room and during the check up. She really enjoyed playing with the paper on the exam table :)
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I've been putting off introducing solids to her because of a family history of food allergies, but we have given her just a taste of a few things here and there. While we were visiting my parents recently, they had a little too much fun letting her sample some blackberry juice from a cobbler my mom had made.
After her check-up, we decided to give her a little more than a taste of veggies for the first time. I pureed some zucchini that we ate for dinner and Alex let her have at it.
By the end of dinner, she'd had enough and was ready for bed!
A friend was feeding her daughter some "puffs" the other day and gave me some for Natalie, but she kept gagging and nearly choking on them, so I decided to steer clear of them for the time being. I know the whole gagging thing is normal since they aren't used to having anything with texture in their mouths, but watching your beloved child react that way is kind of scary for a new mom! Natalie loves to mooch water from your cup, so I kept dropping water in her mouth from a straw, much to her delight. These days, sippy cups with water are good entertainment for her while I try to cook dinner, too. 
She's quite a ham. Everything within her reach is fair game. She spilled ice water on me at Cracker Barrel yesterday morning and then slapped her hand on some chocolate dessert that Alex was trying to eat today. There's never a dull moment in our house! It's a lot of fun to experience all of Natalie's firsts with her and not miss anything. She's changing so quickly and I'll have a mobile baby on my hands before I know it! I don't think I'm quite ready for that!
I've been putting off introducing solids to her because of a family history of food allergies, but we have given her just a taste of a few things here and there. While we were visiting my parents recently, they had a little too much fun letting her sample some blackberry juice from a cobbler my mom had made.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Six Month Update
Natalie turned 6 months old last week. Will someone please tell me how time manages to pass so quickly??!! One of the best parts of motherhood is watching my baby change and grow and learn new things all the time. There is never a dull moment!
These are some of the things Natalie has done during the past month:
-maintains better balance while sitting up
-can stay on all fours for a short time if we set her down in that position
-blows raspberries with her lips
-consistently sleeps from 7:30 pm to 5-6 am before feeding (sometimes she will wake up around 3 am and we give her the paci, but we decided to follow our pediatricians advice on "cutting her off" from feedings in the middle of the night to help train her to sleep and let me get more sleep, too)
-first trip to the water park (which she tolerated much more than I expected!)
-laughs more
-wrinkles her nose and makes a snorting sound which is hilarious!
-tries to drink out of a cup if we hold it up for her. It's adorable to watch her little lips moving trying to drink water! Talk about cheap, simple entertainment for her and us!
Her 6-month checkup with the pediatrician isn't until next week, but she weighed 16 pounds the last time I weighed her a couple weeks ago. I tried leaving her in the church nursery once, but she only lasted 10 minutes before they came and got me because she was hysterical. On one hand, I'm glad that she has a strong bond with me and I pray that we always have a close relationship, but on the other hand, I hope she doesn't have long-term separation anxiety. I know it's totally normal for her to have some separation anxiety, but I hope she decides that the nursery is more fun than clinging to dear ol' mom all the time :)
Natalie,
You are a blessing. I thank God for you each and every day and I'm still in awe that God gave you to us. You are beautiful, inside and out, and I can't wait to see what is in store for you. It's getting harder to remember what life was like before you were born, but that doesn't even matter anymore. My life is more abundant with you in it. You made my lifelong desire to become a mom a reality and with God's help, I'm committed to being the best mother to you that I can be. I love you!
These are some of the things Natalie has done during the past month:
-maintains better balance while sitting up
-can stay on all fours for a short time if we set her down in that position
-blows raspberries with her lips
-consistently sleeps from 7:30 pm to 5-6 am before feeding (sometimes she will wake up around 3 am and we give her the paci, but we decided to follow our pediatricians advice on "cutting her off" from feedings in the middle of the night to help train her to sleep and let me get more sleep, too)
-first trip to the water park (which she tolerated much more than I expected!)
-laughs more
-wrinkles her nose and makes a snorting sound which is hilarious!
-tries to drink out of a cup if we hold it up for her. It's adorable to watch her little lips moving trying to drink water! Talk about cheap, simple entertainment for her and us!
Her 6-month checkup with the pediatrician isn't until next week, but she weighed 16 pounds the last time I weighed her a couple weeks ago. I tried leaving her in the church nursery once, but she only lasted 10 minutes before they came and got me because she was hysterical. On one hand, I'm glad that she has a strong bond with me and I pray that we always have a close relationship, but on the other hand, I hope she doesn't have long-term separation anxiety. I know it's totally normal for her to have some separation anxiety, but I hope she decides that the nursery is more fun than clinging to dear ol' mom all the time :)
Natalie,
You are a blessing. I thank God for you each and every day and I'm still in awe that God gave you to us. You are beautiful, inside and out, and I can't wait to see what is in store for you. It's getting harder to remember what life was like before you were born, but that doesn't even matter anymore. My life is more abundant with you in it. You made my lifelong desire to become a mom a reality and with God's help, I'm committed to being the best mother to you that I can be. I love you!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Five Months!
I'm way behind on the monthly updates, so I'll start with last month's. Natalie had her four month check-up on April 19th. I was nervous to take her by myself since Alex had a lot of work to do. It's a 45 minute drive each way, which might as well be an eternity if the baby starts crying along the way. Thankfully, she rode well in the car and got a little cat nap in at the very end. She weighed 14 lbs 1 oz and is 24 inches tall. Both measurements put her in the 50th percentile.
Yesterday, she turned 5 months old! It makes me sad to think that so much time has gone by already and she is getting closer and closer to becoming mobile! I weighed her last week and she was 16 lbs! She has gotten much steadier while sitting, although we still have to support her. Right at 4 months, she would roll from tummy to back, but after a few days, she stopped and I don't know if it's because she has gotten lazy or if it's because she scared herself after rolling over one day, but she will NOT roll over anymore. Maybe she'll master that this next month. She also started giggling, mostly at Layla. It takes a lot of effort to get a laugh out of her, but when we do, it's one of the most precious sounds my ears have ever heard. For a while, Natalie went through a phase where she wouldn't let anyone but me and Alex hold her. It broke her grandmothers' hearts that she would scream and cry when they would try to get in some cuddle time. Thankfully, that stage passed quickly and she has become much more sociable letting complete strangers hold her (ie: the cashier at Hobby Lobby, lol). She loves to pass out smiles to everyone who talks to her and they gladly accept.
Sleeping is still sporadic at night. Lately, she has been waking up between 11 and 12 and then every 3 hours after that. I miss the nights when she would sleep at least 7 hours straight! Alex will be on a business trip later this week, so I plan on working with Natalie on this while he's away. I'm not a huge fan of crying it out, but sometimes it's the last resort and it works.
This child loves to wiggle and squirm and blow raspberries like no tomorrow. She has so much energy and is very inquisitive. Heaven-forbid she can't see what is going on around her and she miss out on some of the action! I wouldn't change any of this because these things are part of who she is and part of what makes her special, but it does make it difficult to sit through a church service. It seems like there are never enough workers to help with the babies in the nursery, so I've never left her back there, especially since she can't sit up on her own and do anything independently yet. So, we juggle her around between grandparents and such and take her out when she's noisy. I don't really like this arrangement because I feel like we're distracting everyone around us, but I don't have any better ideas yet.
I embroidered the onesie she's wearing below for her over the weekend and am happy that it turned out ok after having a bobbin crisis in the middle of it! Now I'm hooked on appliques and embroidery and my machine will finally get some serious use!
Every day I thank God that we have a healthy baby girl. I never want to take her for granted. She is such a precious gift and I still can't believe she's mine. I love you so much, Natalie Grace!
Yesterday, she turned 5 months old! It makes me sad to think that so much time has gone by already and she is getting closer and closer to becoming mobile! I weighed her last week and she was 16 lbs! She has gotten much steadier while sitting, although we still have to support her. Right at 4 months, she would roll from tummy to back, but after a few days, she stopped and I don't know if it's because she has gotten lazy or if it's because she scared herself after rolling over one day, but she will NOT roll over anymore. Maybe she'll master that this next month. She also started giggling, mostly at Layla. It takes a lot of effort to get a laugh out of her, but when we do, it's one of the most precious sounds my ears have ever heard. For a while, Natalie went through a phase where she wouldn't let anyone but me and Alex hold her. It broke her grandmothers' hearts that she would scream and cry when they would try to get in some cuddle time. Thankfully, that stage passed quickly and she has become much more sociable letting complete strangers hold her (ie: the cashier at Hobby Lobby, lol). She loves to pass out smiles to everyone who talks to her and they gladly accept.
Sleeping is still sporadic at night. Lately, she has been waking up between 11 and 12 and then every 3 hours after that. I miss the nights when she would sleep at least 7 hours straight! Alex will be on a business trip later this week, so I plan on working with Natalie on this while he's away. I'm not a huge fan of crying it out, but sometimes it's the last resort and it works.
This child loves to wiggle and squirm and blow raspberries like no tomorrow. She has so much energy and is very inquisitive. Heaven-forbid she can't see what is going on around her and she miss out on some of the action! I wouldn't change any of this because these things are part of who she is and part of what makes her special, but it does make it difficult to sit through a church service. It seems like there are never enough workers to help with the babies in the nursery, so I've never left her back there, especially since she can't sit up on her own and do anything independently yet. So, we juggle her around between grandparents and such and take her out when she's noisy. I don't really like this arrangement because I feel like we're distracting everyone around us, but I don't have any better ideas yet.
I embroidered the onesie she's wearing below for her over the weekend and am happy that it turned out ok after having a bobbin crisis in the middle of it! Now I'm hooked on appliques and embroidery and my machine will finally get some serious use!
Every day I thank God that we have a healthy baby girl. I never want to take her for granted. She is such a precious gift and I still can't believe she's mine. I love you so much, Natalie Grace!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Natalie at 2 Months
Yesterday, our sweet baby girl turned 2 months old. We went to the doctor for a check-up and she weighed 11 lbs 12 oz (75th percentile) and was 23.5 inches tall (close to the 90th percentile). We've opted not to immunize right now, so she didn't get any shots, but there was still plenty of fussing because she was sleepy.
Natalie is changing so quickly. We get lots of smiles out of her now, especially during diaper changes. I think she has the biggest most beautiful grin ever with her little dimples! Over the last few days she has become more vocal with cooing. I can't wait to hear her giggle! She has started chewing on her fists more in an attempt to find her fingers so she can suck on them, but she also uses a paci when she's trying to settle down to sleep. She has slept six hours straight at night three times, but usually only sleeps five hours, eats, sleeps three hours, eats and sleeps another hour or two before really waking up.
Another recent development is that since her doctor's appointment yesterday she has nursed without using a shield! She had problems latching on when she was born, so we ended up using a silicone shield to help her nurse, but it's so annoying and I regretted ever agreeing to use it! Once I got used to it, I hated fighting her to try and get her to nurse without it, so I gave up and let her have her way. After talking to the doctor, our doula and a friend who recently weaned her baby from the shield, I thought I'd try again and she did great! It's incredibly painful for me at this point, but I know my body will adjust and it's so worth it to be done with that dreadful invention!
We are so blessed to have Natalie in our lives. Even when I'm tired or in a bad mood, she can turn that around with a simple, sweet smile. She gets pretty fussy in the evenings and Alex and I can get frustrated with the crying, but after she has been in bed for a little while, I miss her like crazy! Life certainly hasn't been the same since she was born, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Life As A New Mom
Natalie is two and a half weeks old and I feel like my world has been turned upside down. Hormones, baby blues, sleep deprivation, breast-feeding complications have all contributed to the chaos that is now my life. I know that things will get better as we all adjust to this new lifestyle, but it has been harder than I ever imagined. We were so blessed for Alex to be able to stay home with us this long, but he returns to work tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I like having his company during the day and love being together as a family. We're both learning how to parent together and can bounce ideas off one another whenever something comes up. Like how we're going to get our sweet baby girl to sleep at night instead of staying up to party.
It was only by God's grace that I survived 21 hours of natural childbirth and it will only be by God's grace that I get through this transition and the rest of my life as a mom. I am so grateful for the help of my husband, parents and in-laws who have spent countless hours at our house cleaning, cuddling the baby, holding me while I cry, and just being wonderful help. I am also so grateful for all our friends and church family that have brought us food for the past two weeks. I couldn't even begin to think about grocery shopping much less planning and cooking dinner until now.
I always thought I'd be a natural at motherhood, but I'm quickly discovering how much I have to learn. I'm sure I'll be learning things daily from now until forever, but that's ok as long as God gives me the wisdom I've so desperately been praying for. He is faithful and with His help we'll be able to endure sleepless nights, exhausting days and everything in between.
It was only by God's grace that I survived 21 hours of natural childbirth and it will only be by God's grace that I get through this transition and the rest of my life as a mom. I am so grateful for the help of my husband, parents and in-laws who have spent countless hours at our house cleaning, cuddling the baby, holding me while I cry, and just being wonderful help. I am also so grateful for all our friends and church family that have brought us food for the past two weeks. I couldn't even begin to think about grocery shopping much less planning and cooking dinner until now.
I always thought I'd be a natural at motherhood, but I'm quickly discovering how much I have to learn. I'm sure I'll be learning things daily from now until forever, but that's ok as long as God gives me the wisdom I've so desperately been praying for. He is faithful and with His help we'll be able to endure sleepless nights, exhausting days and everything in between.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Natalie Grace
Natalie Grace arrived on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 4:58 p.m. weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and was 20 in long.
God is faithful. He got me through 21 hours of labor and natural childbirth and blessed us with this amazing little life! I find myself crying tears of joy and gratitude as I think about good He is to have chosen to give us this gift. I am overjoyed to spend my days as her mama and can't get enough snuggles and kisses from this precious little bundle. Praise the Lord, our daughter is here! Thank you, God for Natalie Grace!
We came home late Friday night and have been going, going, going ever since. Christmas Eve was spent going back to the hospital for a repeat bilirubin test, which came back with a good report. Then we went to my in-laws' to open gifts with Alex's side of the family. Natalie managed to sleep through the excited banter of her four older cousins and received an adorable rocking horse 1st Christmas ornament from her Memere and Pepere.
Christmas Day was spent at home with my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece. Bella was more than a little excited to hold her baby cousin!
We plan to stay home and relax tomorrow, which sounds amazing. I'm loving every minute of Alex being home on vacation and do not look forward to him returning to work in a few weeks. He took to being a daddy so naturally. He even sneaked Natalie out of her bassinet at the hospital (she stayed in the room with us, just to clarify. He didn't break her out of the nursery!) and cuddled with her in bed for a few hours the first night. He calms her down when she cries and has even succeeded at changing a couple dirty diapers. Nursing has been our greatest challenge, but Alex has been an amazing source of support. I wouldn't have survived the first three days of nursing without him. This has been the most fantastic adventure of my life thus far, but is already so rewarding. I can't imagine life without Natalie in it. Here's a couple more pictures for good measure! This is one of my favorites:
Layla has been really great with her. She lays at my feet when I feed the baby and looks for her when she comes in the nursery or when she's in her pack-n-play.
God is faithful. He got me through 21 hours of labor and natural childbirth and blessed us with this amazing little life! I find myself crying tears of joy and gratitude as I think about good He is to have chosen to give us this gift. I am overjoyed to spend my days as her mama and can't get enough snuggles and kisses from this precious little bundle. Praise the Lord, our daughter is here! Thank you, God for Natalie Grace!
We came home late Friday night and have been going, going, going ever since. Christmas Eve was spent going back to the hospital for a repeat bilirubin test, which came back with a good report. Then we went to my in-laws' to open gifts with Alex's side of the family. Natalie managed to sleep through the excited banter of her four older cousins and received an adorable rocking horse 1st Christmas ornament from her Memere and Pepere.
Christmas Day was spent at home with my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece. Bella was more than a little excited to hold her baby cousin!
We plan to stay home and relax tomorrow, which sounds amazing. I'm loving every minute of Alex being home on vacation and do not look forward to him returning to work in a few weeks. He took to being a daddy so naturally. He even sneaked Natalie out of her bassinet at the hospital (she stayed in the room with us, just to clarify. He didn't break her out of the nursery!) and cuddled with her in bed for a few hours the first night. He calms her down when she cries and has even succeeded at changing a couple dirty diapers. Nursing has been our greatest challenge, but Alex has been an amazing source of support. I wouldn't have survived the first three days of nursing without him. This has been the most fantastic adventure of my life thus far, but is already so rewarding. I can't imagine life without Natalie in it. Here's a couple more pictures for good measure! This is one of my favorites:
Layla has been really great with her. She lays at my feet when I feed the baby and looks for her when she comes in the nursery or when she's in her pack-n-play.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Mantle Makeover
A few months back, a friend posted pictures of her baby nursery on Facebook. She had incorporated an old fireplace mantle into the design and positioned the changing table in front of it and put a cute lamp and picture frames on top. I thought it was a really unique idea and added a lot of interest to the room. So, naturally, I wanted to find a mantle for Natalie's room, but I wanted it be turned into a bookcase. One of my mom's friends happened to have one that she was selling, so we snagged it and hauled it home.
My father-in-law is quite handy and was looking for a project to work on, so he offered to work on the transformation for us. He stripped off three layers of old paint and sanded it smooth until voila!
At my request, he also added some shelves in the back on both sides for extra storage to make use of every possible nook and cranny:
I love to just go into the nursery and stare at it. Is that weird? Natalie has quite a nice book collection already and I've been looking forward to rocking her and reading the Bearenstain Bears and Clifford. The "It's a Girl" banner was made by a friend for our baby shower and looks perfect hanging there. Stay tuned for the final "Man Cave Makeover" post with more nursery pictures (they're already on Facebook, if you want to peek)!
My father-in-law is quite handy and was looking for a project to work on, so he offered to work on the transformation for us. He stripped off three layers of old paint and sanded it smooth until voila!
At my request, he also added some shelves in the back on both sides for extra storage to make use of every possible nook and cranny:
I love to just go into the nursery and stare at it. Is that weird? Natalie has quite a nice book collection already and I've been looking forward to rocking her and reading the Bearenstain Bears and Clifford. The "It's a Girl" banner was made by a friend for our baby shower and looks perfect hanging there. Stay tuned for the final "Man Cave Makeover" post with more nursery pictures (they're already on Facebook, if you want to peek)!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
20 Week Ultrasound
On Tuesday, we went to the doctor for our 20-week ultrasound. I'm halfway through this pregnancy already...could someone please tell me where time has gone?! It was such a blessing to watch the ultrasound technician type the word "normal" into every category that she checked during the anatomy scan. Head, heart, kidneys, bladder, diaphragm, spinal column, placenta, brain, everything was in place, functioning, growing, just as God designed it to. That's an answered prayer. Here's the latest look at our precious baby girl!
She was moving her arms up and down and it looked like she was smiling at us! Granted, at 20 weeks, she still doesn't quite look human in the 3D ultrasound; head on she looked scary, but from this angle, she looked cuter, lol.
I went out to breakfast with a dear lady from church this morning and she gave me the cutest outfit from DaySpring for Natalie. I literally cannot wait for her to wear it.
It says, "Your love, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens". LOVE!!! And another dear friend gave me my baby shower gift a little early today...our first cloth diapers! I'm so excited it's ridiculous. Two FuzziBunz all-in-ones and a pack of newborn prefolds! I showed them to Alex and he kind of just raised an eyebrown and said, "Hmmm", but at least that's better than a, "Good luck with that," or something smart. It's so much fun to receive gifts for Natalie. My lifelong friend, Boo, sent her a super cute polar fleece jacket this week for when she's a little older. It's like Christmas around here! I've got to get in that giving spirit and figure out what to do for a baby shower later this month. There are way too many cute baby craft ideas out there! Hope you're enjoying this beautiful weekend!
She was moving her arms up and down and it looked like she was smiling at us! Granted, at 20 weeks, she still doesn't quite look human in the 3D ultrasound; head on she looked scary, but from this angle, she looked cuter, lol.
I went out to breakfast with a dear lady from church this morning and she gave me the cutest outfit from DaySpring for Natalie. I literally cannot wait for her to wear it.
It says, "Your love, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens". LOVE!!! And another dear friend gave me my baby shower gift a little early today...our first cloth diapers! I'm so excited it's ridiculous. Two FuzziBunz all-in-ones and a pack of newborn prefolds! I showed them to Alex and he kind of just raised an eyebrown and said, "Hmmm", but at least that's better than a, "Good luck with that," or something smart. It's so much fun to receive gifts for Natalie. My lifelong friend, Boo, sent her a super cute polar fleece jacket this week for when she's a little older. It's like Christmas around here! I've got to get in that giving spirit and figure out what to do for a baby shower later this month. There are way too many cute baby craft ideas out there! Hope you're enjoying this beautiful weekend!
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