Natali is officially 3 months old. Kelli and I have sustained a life for 3 whole months. Not too shabby for amateurs!
Natali slept a lot today....and last night. I put her to bed at 10:30AM and she woke up after Kelli got up at 5:10AM. She might have slept longer, but I think the light of the bathroom and sounds of Kelli moving about woke her.
She did great today. Sleeping a lot more than normal. It was an awesome day until 1:16PM.
I was about to head out the door when I decided to change her diaper. As I laid her on the changing bad she began to cry.....no not just cry....she screamed a scream of pain.
Stunned. What had I just done. Did I tweak her back? Were there spikes on the changing pad? What!?!??!?
I looked her over. No blood. No bruising. Non-stop crying.
No amount of consoling would help her at first. I began going over the morning events....it hit me. Gas.
I fed her about 2 hours prior. She didn't burp. Didn't think much of it....till now.
My attempts at burping her normally failed. Off to mylicon drops.
We had used them in the past when she was really upset. The most misdiagnosed symptom of babies by parents is that of being gassy. In the past they had an "instant" effect...because she wasn't gassy, she was "cured" by the sweetness of the drops. Today was different.
The drops had ZERO effect on her initially. I walked around the house and patted her back. I felt powerless as I couldn't help my daughter who was writhing in pain. I hated seeing her in so much pain. I kept walking around the house trying to burp her. She would have moments of silence but then go right back into screaming. Tears rolling down her face, it pained me to look at her.
Finally after about 45 minutes she burped...and burped...and burped...and farted...and burped. I had never been so happy to hear burps and farts.
She ate a few ounces and we headed out for our errands.
I know this isn't the last time I will have to see my daughter cry....as long as she doesn't see me cry....it will be okay.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Either way....she doesn't sleep a lot during the day
Natali and I are bonding. Lots of funny faces back and forth. After a few minutes though she gives me the, "Yeah okay I get it, NEXT" look.
She doesn't sleep much during the day. Normally we watch Headline News till around 7:30AM. She then sleeps till around 9:30AM. Takes a bottle, watches a video podcast or two then back to sleep around noon till about 1PM...sometimes. She is then up until 3:50PM when Kelli gets home. Natali visits with Kelli and then is OUT for hours.
I joked with Kelli that Natali doesn't sleep much during the day because:
A. She REALLY likes me being around
B. She is thinking, "No way I'm falling asleep around this guy, he is clueless and might kill me"
C. She's taking every moment in as she doesn't know when I will be leaving again
Either way...she doesn't sleep a lot during the day.
This week it seems like the highlight of my day is the dirty diaper....and guessing when it will come. On bath days I fear her "letting it out" during the bath. So far it hasn't happened.
We did learn a new game today. I poke my finger above and below her lips. She tries to catch it. Eventually she will grasp my hand with her hands and latches onto my finger. We both squirm with delight (don't judge...I can squirm!) and play again.
She's been sleeping in her crib more....which is a good thing...as her bassinet is getting a little small.
She doesn't sleep much during the day. Normally we watch Headline News till around 7:30AM. She then sleeps till around 9:30AM. Takes a bottle, watches a video podcast or two then back to sleep around noon till about 1PM...sometimes. She is then up until 3:50PM when Kelli gets home. Natali visits with Kelli and then is OUT for hours.
I joked with Kelli that Natali doesn't sleep much during the day because:
A. She REALLY likes me being around
B. She is thinking, "No way I'm falling asleep around this guy, he is clueless and might kill me"
C. She's taking every moment in as she doesn't know when I will be leaving again
Either way...she doesn't sleep a lot during the day.
This week it seems like the highlight of my day is the dirty diaper....and guessing when it will come. On bath days I fear her "letting it out" during the bath. So far it hasn't happened.
We did learn a new game today. I poke my finger above and below her lips. She tries to catch it. Eventually she will grasp my hand with her hands and latches onto my finger. We both squirm with delight (don't judge...I can squirm!) and play again.
She's been sleeping in her crib more....which is a good thing...as her bassinet is getting a little small.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Natali is Natali.....and I'm okay with that
Natali will be 3 months old this week.....wow.
Yesterday we headed over to Wiley for lunch with Eric, Angela and Marin along with Jeff, Keri, Davis and Katelyn.
Jeff is one of my fraternity brothers. Jeff and his wife Keri had twins (one boy/one girl) on July 25th. So Davis and Katelyn are about 2 weeks older than Natali.
What a difference two weeks make...I hope.
Davis and Katelyn were content the entire afternoon. They ate, then laid on their backs and played with a toy and then quietly went to sleep in their car seats. Not Natali.
Natali was fussy. She didn't care to be put down. We fed her and waited. She was tired, but wouldn't sleep, fussy all afternoon.
At first I was a little upset with Natali. She is normally not this fussy. Here were these two twins, barely older than her, that were super chill. They were drinking 7 ounce bottles!!!!! Natali just got to 4 ounces. Ok I was more than a little upset. After thinking about it all night I came to the conclusion that yes all kids are different and I shouldn't discount Natali for being who she is. We also realized that she gets excited when new people are around and need to feed her more as...well she gets more hungry.
Enough of my rant.
Natali is getting bigger everyday. We did our own height measurement the other day and she is about 23 1/2 inches long.
Her personality is coming out more and more. Lots more quiet giggles and a ton of "oh Daddy you know I love you and you love me no matter how much I can be cranky" smiles.
My first week at home was a little rough. I am sure we will get in our groove soon.
Natali can't read yet...or tell time, so I will forgive her for a bit as her time is still off by an hour. Daylight savings time had no effect on her. She still got up around 3AM (now 2AM) ready to eat. She then got up at 5:30AM (now 4:30AM) ready to watch Headline News.
We looked at car seats yesterday. Natali is about to outgrow her infant seat. I came to the horrifying realization that traveling with her soon won't be so easy.
Right now we can keep her in her car seat in the car, pop in in the stroller, then use the same seat on the plane. Not for long.
Buy Buy Baby has the biggest selection of car seats AND employees who know everything about car seats (Babies' R Us is severely lacking in this area). An employee spent a good 30 minutes with us asking us about our lifestyle and what we want. We found a Sunshine Kids car seat (for about $250) that is a very safe seat that converts to a backpack for traveling. That will be our main seat in my car. For Kelli's car we looked at a few Britax car seats (also around $250). For a stroller we are going to go with a City Mini (about $230). The stroller folds up with one handle. Awesome.
Our current car seat rocks for two reasons; 1)Given to us by a family friend 2)Great brand. Once again a family friend helped us out. Eric and Angela are loaning us a very nice Britax car seat that Marin used. We can use it until Angela gets knocked up.....which probably isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Yesterday we headed over to Wiley for lunch with Eric, Angela and Marin along with Jeff, Keri, Davis and Katelyn.
Jeff is one of my fraternity brothers. Jeff and his wife Keri had twins (one boy/one girl) on July 25th. So Davis and Katelyn are about 2 weeks older than Natali.
What a difference two weeks make...I hope.
Davis and Katelyn were content the entire afternoon. They ate, then laid on their backs and played with a toy and then quietly went to sleep in their car seats. Not Natali.
Natali was fussy. She didn't care to be put down. We fed her and waited. She was tired, but wouldn't sleep, fussy all afternoon.
At first I was a little upset with Natali. She is normally not this fussy. Here were these two twins, barely older than her, that were super chill. They were drinking 7 ounce bottles!!!!! Natali just got to 4 ounces. Ok I was more than a little upset. After thinking about it all night I came to the conclusion that yes all kids are different and I shouldn't discount Natali for being who she is. We also realized that she gets excited when new people are around and need to feed her more as...well she gets more hungry.
Enough of my rant.
Natali is getting bigger everyday. We did our own height measurement the other day and she is about 23 1/2 inches long.
Her personality is coming out more and more. Lots more quiet giggles and a ton of "oh Daddy you know I love you and you love me no matter how much I can be cranky" smiles.
My first week at home was a little rough. I am sure we will get in our groove soon.
Natali can't read yet...or tell time, so I will forgive her for a bit as her time is still off by an hour. Daylight savings time had no effect on her. She still got up around 3AM (now 2AM) ready to eat. She then got up at 5:30AM (now 4:30AM) ready to watch Headline News.
We looked at car seats yesterday. Natali is about to outgrow her infant seat. I came to the horrifying realization that traveling with her soon won't be so easy.
Right now we can keep her in her car seat in the car, pop in in the stroller, then use the same seat on the plane. Not for long.
Buy Buy Baby has the biggest selection of car seats AND employees who know everything about car seats (Babies' R Us is severely lacking in this area). An employee spent a good 30 minutes with us asking us about our lifestyle and what we want. We found a Sunshine Kids car seat (for about $250) that is a very safe seat that converts to a backpack for traveling. That will be our main seat in my car. For Kelli's car we looked at a few Britax car seats (also around $250). For a stroller we are going to go with a City Mini (about $230). The stroller folds up with one handle. Awesome.
Our current car seat rocks for two reasons; 1)Given to us by a family friend 2)Great brand. Once again a family friend helped us out. Eric and Angela are loaning us a very nice Britax car seat that Marin used. We can use it until Angela gets knocked up.....which probably isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
220.....221....whatever it takes
Ron Richardson: Yeah? Are you gonna make it all 220?
Jack Butler: Yeah. 220... 221, whatever it takes
Day 3 of being Mr. Mom. So far so good.
Each morning starts the same. Natali wakes up between 3AM and 4:30AM. Kelli leaves at 6AM. I then turn on Headline News/The local news and lay in bed. Natali is already normally awake. I prop her up in the bed and we watch the news together.
Monday we made did a few errands. Stopped by Target for post Halloween shopping and to pick up some formula. We then swung by Lowes to get supplies so I could install a dimmer in the living room. All went well. Natali pooped right at noon. I did fine.
Tuesday was cold and rainy. Once again right at noon came the dirty diaper. I figured as long as she stayed on schedule I could prep myself. I didn't leave home until Kelli got home. Natali slept a lot...past 7PM. Bad. Tried to wake her up at 9:30PM to get a good feeding in before bedtime. She was like a drunk teenager. Eyes half open, bobbing about. I got 2 1/2 ounces down though.
Today she woke up at 3AM slightly agitated, but not fussy. She took 4 ounces and then surprised me with a poop. So much for staying on schedule. We watched the news and then Up in the Air. Natali is much more expressive now. While watching the movie on the floor I placed her one her back and made funny faces. She enjoyed it and giggled and smiled a lot. I then decided we needed a trip to Grapevine Mills Mall. First I wanted coffee. Got a new huge mug, wanted some coffee from Quick Trip. Brought Natali inside. Don't know how people with two kids do this. No way I could control two kids and get coffee.
Natali had been up since 7 AM. She might have slept in the car on the way to the mall. Awake at the mall for a good 90 minutes. Fed her once while there. She might have slept on the 20 minute ride home. Awake once I got home. She slept maybe 40 minutes between noon and 4PM. Not fussy....just not wanting to sleep.
It will be a challenge keeping myself busy over the next two months.
Jack Butler: Yeah. 220... 221, whatever it takes
Day 3 of being Mr. Mom. So far so good.
Each morning starts the same. Natali wakes up between 3AM and 4:30AM. Kelli leaves at 6AM. I then turn on Headline News/The local news and lay in bed. Natali is already normally awake. I prop her up in the bed and we watch the news together.
Monday we made did a few errands. Stopped by Target for post Halloween shopping and to pick up some formula. We then swung by Lowes to get supplies so I could install a dimmer in the living room. All went well. Natali pooped right at noon. I did fine.
Tuesday was cold and rainy. Once again right at noon came the dirty diaper. I figured as long as she stayed on schedule I could prep myself. I didn't leave home until Kelli got home. Natali slept a lot...past 7PM. Bad. Tried to wake her up at 9:30PM to get a good feeding in before bedtime. She was like a drunk teenager. Eyes half open, bobbing about. I got 2 1/2 ounces down though.
Today she woke up at 3AM slightly agitated, but not fussy. She took 4 ounces and then surprised me with a poop. So much for staying on schedule. We watched the news and then Up in the Air. Natali is much more expressive now. While watching the movie on the floor I placed her one her back and made funny faces. She enjoyed it and giggled and smiled a lot. I then decided we needed a trip to Grapevine Mills Mall. First I wanted coffee. Got a new huge mug, wanted some coffee from Quick Trip. Brought Natali inside. Don't know how people with two kids do this. No way I could control two kids and get coffee.
Natali had been up since 7 AM. She might have slept in the car on the way to the mall. Awake at the mall for a good 90 minutes. Fed her once while there. She might have slept on the 20 minute ride home. Awake once I got home. She slept maybe 40 minutes between noon and 4PM. Not fussy....just not wanting to sleep.
It will be a challenge keeping myself busy over the next two months.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
A perfect lady
We went to a friends wedding over the weekend. Natali was silent thru the ceremony. During the reception she got a little fussy. Overall it went well. She also wore a dress for the first time.
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She is "talking" more and more. Just random sounds. She is looking around nonstop now. When we went shopping today she "insisted" on being held in my arms like a football so she could see ahead of her and side to side.
Natali has finally graduated to 4 ounce bottles. Previously we fed 2 and 3 ounce bottles. Now she will take 4 ounces nonstop. I feel so proud when she finishes a 4 ounce bottle....odd...bleh.
Tomorrow starts my first day as Mr. Mom. I am only worried about dirty diapers. I had to call Kelli in yesterday after an especially dirty diaper after I had dry heaves. Bleh.
[nggallery id=11]
She is "talking" more and more. Just random sounds. She is looking around nonstop now. When we went shopping today she "insisted" on being held in my arms like a football so she could see ahead of her and side to side.
Natali has finally graduated to 4 ounce bottles. Previously we fed 2 and 3 ounce bottles. Now she will take 4 ounces nonstop. I feel so proud when she finishes a 4 ounce bottle....odd...bleh.
Tomorrow starts my first day as Mr. Mom. I am only worried about dirty diapers. I had to call Kelli in yesterday after an especially dirty diaper after I had dry heaves. Bleh.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
11 weeks old
Natali is 11 weeks old today. It's amazing how fast time flies. She is doing really well with sleeping lately. I usually get at least 5 hours straight sleep out of her, then one feeding and another 3 hours or so of sleep. 2 nights in a row she even slept for 6.5 hours straight. I think we are doing pretty well with that. Hopefully we will get a full nights sleep by the end of this year. Natali's development seems to be right on track as well. She has been able to lift her head up for a while now, but just in these last few days she has really started to spend a good amount of time pushing herself up with her arms. We let her sleep on her stomach during the day (when we can frequently check on her) and I often find her laying in bed pushing herself up to look around when she wakes up. She really likes to stand too and seems to have very strong legs. As Darren mentioned in a previous post she has become much more vocal in the last week or so as well and now has quite a range of sounds. It is very cute to here her make those noises. :)
We visited my brother and sister in law in New York a week or so ago and my sister in law Jenny apparently has a magic baby swing. Up until that point Natali hated her swing. We couldn't put her in it while she was awake because she just cried the whole time. When we were in New York Jenny decided to try putting her in the swing and she suddenly loved it. She has her swing set to swing side to side and she also doesn't have a canopy on hers like we have on ours. I guess those things were pretty important. We came home and turned our swing so it moves side to side and took off the canopy and now Natali loves her swing too! It's nice to be able to put her in it when I need to do something and she frequently sleeps in it during the day now too. It makes me very happy!
I start back to work on Monday and I have a lot of anxiety about it. I am not in the least bit worried about leaving Natali. Darren will be staying home with her for the next 2 months, so that is not a concern. I know I will be more anxious leaving her when she starts daycare, but that is a little while longer. My main concern is having been away for so long. 12 weeks is a long time to not do a job. Will I remember everything right away? How long is it going to take me to get back into the swing of things? We are pretty short staffed there now, and I know they will be glad I'm back to help. I'm sure it will all go smoothly, but it still makes me nervous. I know there are some new contracts that have come in while I was away and there may have been a few changes to existing contracts that I don't know about. It's the small details that can really get a person mixed up in my job and there are lots of small details. I guess I just have really high expectations for myself and I am scared that everyone else has these really high expectations too. It's a lot to live up to. I'd like to think I can jump back in without missing a beat, but is that really possible? I'm sure it will all work out just fine, but it's still a bit scary. In the past I always felt out of the loop after a week of vacation, but to come back after 12 weeks off? Hopefully after a day or two it will feel like I never left and everything will be like normal. I am definitely ready to work again. There are only so many Judge shows and episodes of Maury that I can stand.
We visited my brother and sister in law in New York a week or so ago and my sister in law Jenny apparently has a magic baby swing. Up until that point Natali hated her swing. We couldn't put her in it while she was awake because she just cried the whole time. When we were in New York Jenny decided to try putting her in the swing and she suddenly loved it. She has her swing set to swing side to side and she also doesn't have a canopy on hers like we have on ours. I guess those things were pretty important. We came home and turned our swing so it moves side to side and took off the canopy and now Natali loves her swing too! It's nice to be able to put her in it when I need to do something and she frequently sleeps in it during the day now too. It makes me very happy!
I start back to work on Monday and I have a lot of anxiety about it. I am not in the least bit worried about leaving Natali. Darren will be staying home with her for the next 2 months, so that is not a concern. I know I will be more anxious leaving her when she starts daycare, but that is a little while longer. My main concern is having been away for so long. 12 weeks is a long time to not do a job. Will I remember everything right away? How long is it going to take me to get back into the swing of things? We are pretty short staffed there now, and I know they will be glad I'm back to help. I'm sure it will all go smoothly, but it still makes me nervous. I know there are some new contracts that have come in while I was away and there may have been a few changes to existing contracts that I don't know about. It's the small details that can really get a person mixed up in my job and there are lots of small details. I guess I just have really high expectations for myself and I am scared that everyone else has these really high expectations too. It's a lot to live up to. I'd like to think I can jump back in without missing a beat, but is that really possible? I'm sure it will all work out just fine, but it's still a bit scary. In the past I always felt out of the loop after a week of vacation, but to come back after 12 weeks off? Hopefully after a day or two it will feel like I never left and everything will be like normal. I am definitely ready to work again. There are only so many Judge shows and episodes of Maury that I can stand.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Understanding my daughter
Natali is two months old and still hasn't said her first word. She has been very vocal lately though. All kinds of sounds coming out. I know she won't be talking for a while, but she is expressing herself already.
I have come to learn what her cries mean. She has a distinct "I'm hungry now dammit!" cry. There is also the, "I'm not sure what it is, but something isn't right!" cry. The "I'm tired and am going to give the bare minimum cry/yawn" cry....that's the funniest.
Next Monday Kelli and I swap roles. I will be the primary caregiver. I think I lucked out as I get to spend time with her while she is doing more than eating, pooping and sleeping. She enjoys standing on my chest and looking around. She is starting to pick herself up when placed on her chest.
I thought Natali and I would be flying around the country a lot. Eh...not initially. I have spent way too much time in airplanes this month. I have personally flown 70 hours and been in the back as a passenger for at least 28 hours. I just want to sit on the couch and relax.
I have come to learn what her cries mean. She has a distinct "I'm hungry now dammit!" cry. There is also the, "I'm not sure what it is, but something isn't right!" cry. The "I'm tired and am going to give the bare minimum cry/yawn" cry....that's the funniest.
Next Monday Kelli and I swap roles. I will be the primary caregiver. I think I lucked out as I get to spend time with her while she is doing more than eating, pooping and sleeping. She enjoys standing on my chest and looking around. She is starting to pick herself up when placed on her chest.
I thought Natali and I would be flying around the country a lot. Eh...not initially. I have spent way too much time in airplanes this month. I have personally flown 70 hours and been in the back as a passenger for at least 28 hours. I just want to sit on the couch and relax.
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