Natalie's 3 months old and rolled! Auntie Kendra Visited.

Our little Natalie is 3 months old today! Wow, is she getting big. She's such a ham with all her sly smiles and cute little laughs. She's such a blessing to have around. In the last two weeks she's done many new things. Her biggest -- she rolled over for the first time on August 19, a little over 2.5 months old. So far, just from her tummy to her back. It's the cutest thing to watch -- sometimes very slowly. Below is a video we captured of it -- one of her slower times. The other night we got her to roll 5 times -- and luckily, Emile was home to see it!

This picture was taken right after she rolled the first time when I was trying to get her to do it again.

Her neck support on her tummy has gotten so much better and she's doing really great at sitting up when supported either by us or in her Bebepod chair. She still doesn't stay up for more than a minute or two before putting her head down on the mat moaning while she rests. :)


Natalie has also started grabbing at her toys on her playmat and bouncer with the goal, of course, being to get them in her mouth! She's figured out that if she reaches out and pulls on the monkey or bird on her bouncer, it will turn the lights and music on. It's so cute watching her figure this out.

Last night, Natalie slept in her crib in her own room for the first time! I was originally going to move her up there two weeks ago but couldn't bring myself to have her so far from us. But now it feels like the right time. She did great -- no problems getting her to sleep in the crib. And I did OK too! Having a video monitor helps a lot!

We also removed the bassinet sling portion of the little bathtub she uses so now she's just sitting in the little tub. On August 18, Natalie also discovered that kicking her legs and flailing her arms in the water to splash around can be a lot of fun.

Auntie Kendra came out to visit Natalie and me last weekend while Emile went to Emily's wedding in Boston. We had a great time hanging out with her. We spent a lot of time playing and exploring "downtown" Wake Forest. Unfortunately, Natalie wasn't in the mood for rolling while Auntie Kendra was here.

I started back at work this past Monday. It's been a little difficult to get back into it right away. I miss spending all day with Natalie. It doesn't help that things with the nanny, Charlotte, have not been going well. We're not connecting and I'm not thrilled with her approach to Natalie. And on top of it, Natalie is not taking a bottle from the nanny so she's spent a lot of time crying which is heartbreaking to me. She took a bottle from Auntie Kendra numerous times while she was here but won't from the nanny. I'm more than likely going to get a new nanny for multiple reasons -- I need to go with my mommy instinct!

If after finding a better nanny, Natalie still won't take a bottle from her, I may just give up trying to get her to take one and just come to terms with that fact that she's only going to exclusively breast feed. I'll just need to try to avoid work trips until she's on solids. I think that Natalie is starting to reverse cycle in that she's feeding much longer at night (at times for over an hour before going to bed and then again in the middle of the night, multiple times) and sleeping longer in the day. Plus, she's starting to get up every 2 hrs at night again. When I think back, she had started sleeping 4+ hrs right before I started giving her a bottle during the day. I think even with me giving her the bottle she's still taking much less (only 2-3 oz. at a time) than she would if she were nursing. After starting to give her a bottle during the day, she's dropped back to waking up every 2.5-3.5 hrs. And now that the nanny can't get her to take a bottle at all, she's down to every 2 hrs. She's going backwards!

Mommy's 32nd Birthday!

It's Mommy's birthday (and Uncle Paul's too)! The three of us went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Natalie was wonderful at the restaurant -- no major meltdowns thankfully! Emile got me a Wii Fit, two historical fiction novels and a "fuel belt" that holds water for while I run. Emile also got me a dozen red roses on Friday for being a good mom! :) We tried out the Fit this morning -- I think it's going to be a lot of fun although registering involves having the machine determine your weight and BMI -- not something someone just having given birth a few months before needs to know about on her birthday :) I have actually committed to running a half-marathon in Raleigh on November 2. I began training for it this past Monday! Now I can use the Wii Fit program for my cross training, strength and stretch days. This is something I've always wanted to do and what better time than when I have extra baby weight I'd like to get rid of. Although I didn't make my goal by my birthday, I have lost 69% of the weight I put on. Not much more to go now!

Over the last two weeks, Natalie has really started to "talk" a lot! It's so enjoyable to listen to - it's as if she has a really important story she's trying to tell. I finally figured out, with Emile's help, how to get videos on the blog so I've added two from when Natalie was talking and playing earlier this week.

Yesterday, I had a hair appointment so Emile was in charge of getting Natalie ready for the day. This is what happens when Papa takes over picking out her outfit! Natalie tried to tell him that little girls like to match.

Last weekend, while I was running errands, Emile and Natalie got to spend some alone time together. She was pretty happy with it -- she feel asleep in Papa's arms (note Emile has her cute orange monkey socks on :).


Natalie is getting much better with tummy time and lifting her head up now. She still throws a fit if we put her on her tummy for more than a minute or two but at least now she's lifting her head up.

Our friends, Ben and Brit, got Natalie a Bebepod chair. Since Natalie is getting pretty good with her head control and can now sit while assisted (I still need to get a photo of her doing that), we thought we'd try the chair out. I think it's going to be a few more weeks before we can let her sit in it for longer than a minute or two :)

I'm not sure she knew what to make of the toy on it.
Over the last two weeks, Natalie has started giggling out lot frequently (it's so adorable!) and she now loves to put everything her hands come in contact with in her mouth! Her favorite things to eat are her hands, her clothes, her bunny on her play mat (shown below) and the taggie her Auntie Kendra got her.



She's also getting much better at holding onto rattles and other toys.
We've also stopped swaddling her at night. She was breaking both of her arms out of the swaddle at night that it seemed pointless. She now sleeps mostly in footed sleepers -- they look so cute on her.


We're pretty sure she's now going through her 3 month growth spurt. Over the last few days, she has been really difficult to get to sleep at night and is wanting to feed every 1 - 1 1/2 hr (much more frequently than before). These are all things she did during her 6 week growth spurt. I'm hoping this doesn't last long and that she'll soon start sleeping through the night. We've only had a handful of nights where she slept 5-6 hrs at a time (maybe twice or three times).

Natalie's Photos, Family Visit and 2 Mo. Appointment

Last Thursday, I got to see Natalie's newborn photos taken by Lisa at Real Life Images Photography (http://www.rliphotography.com/). They turned out wonderfully! She did a great job of capturing Natalie at 6 weeks old. Natalie looks adorable in all the photos. As part of our package, we got to choose six photos to get blown up to 16x20, 8x10 and 5x7s. We chose numbers 009, 016, 025, 033, 047 and 048. Let me know if you're interested in purchasing any photos of Natalie! You can click on the photo below to make it bigger to view Natalie's shots.

My parents came to visit over the weekend. It had been two months since they last saw Natalie (the week she was born). They were pretty surprised at how much she has grown and what a little personality she has now! Natalie enjoyed spending time with her Nana and Grandpa.

Emile and my Dad went fishing on Falls Lake at Beaver Dam. Mom, Natalie and I went down to visit them before lunch. We didn't stay long -- it was super hot out.


On Monday, Natalie and I took my parents to Raleigh to tour the Capital Building. They weren't able to walk into the rotunda or see the Governor's office because the Governor was expected back at the building any minute -- those areas were restricted for the day.

My mom brought the dress we had given them over Christmas as our way of telling them we were having a girl. We tried it on Natalie -- it was a little tight now given that it's a newborn size and she's in 0-3 month sizes now. But it was cute to see it on her for a few minutes.

My parents also watched her on Saturday night so Emile and I could go out together. We went to dinner and a movie (Dark Knight -- awesome movie). We had a great time but about half way through the moving I started getting anxious to get home to be with Natalie. I knew she was being cared for but I just had an overwhelming feeling to be at home with her. This was the first time both Emile and I were away from her for so long (5 hours). I hadn't expected to have this feeling -- the whole car ride home I felt nauseous and very anxious! It was such a relief to be with her when we got there. I didn't want to put her down for bed. This definitely confirms my fears that I wouldn't have done well be gone for an entire weekend at the end of August for the two weddings we were going to go to. She's still so young and I would have been a basket case.

Natalie had her 2 month doctor's appointment yesterday. Poor girl -- she had four vaccination shots! She cried so hard and turned really red. It was heart breaking. I snuggled with her for a long time after. She slept most of the day. Dr. Hewett said she's doing really well. She's up to 11 lbs. 4 oz. (55th percentile) and 22" long (30th percentile). The doctor reassured me that the amount in which she can lift her head when on her tummy and what I thought was the start of a flat spot is nothing to worry about. She's right where she should be for a 2 month old and doesn't have a flat spot that would be of a concern to him. We have increased the amount of time she spends on her tummy this last week and I think it's starting to pay off. Yesterday before her appointment, I noticed she is starting to lift her head briefly so her chin is off the floor. The doctor also confirmed that her umbilical cord hernia is normal and should fix itself over the next year. He did state that she should be taking about 4 oz. of breast milk from a bottle -- right now, we can usually only get her to take 2-2.5 oz. I'm hoping she starts taking more once she's more used to it.

We have noticed that Natalie has found her "voice" as of last Thursday. Now instead of just a few coos here and there, she babbles on for quite awhile. It's adorable! I think she's going to be a big talker like her mom!