Five year checkup

With everything going on in December, I forgot to do one thing: schedule Natalie's 5 year checkup! By the time I remembered, I couldn't get her in before January, so I took her on Thursday. She did great! A couple of new experiences this time:
- an eye test with actual letters (she couldn't read past 20/30, but they weren't too concerned about that. I let them know about our vision issues, so they'll be testing her each year for sure)
- they took her blood pressure (normal; my mom had done it for her previously, but they had not yet at the doctor's office)
- she changed into a gown (per the directions of the nurse, but the doctor was then surprised that she was in it...I was just following directions!)

As we expected, everything is good. She's still tall and skinny - 44" (80th percentile for height), and 38.5 lbs (39th percentile for weight). And the best surprise of all was that she didn't end up needing any shots! I thought she did, but nope - we got them all last year. So she's all set for kindergarten in the fall! She was of course ecstatic to not have to get any shots, despite Rapunzel being present to keep her safe.

We saw the newest doctor at the practice - the only male doctor they have. I really liked him! He was very personable and interacted well with the both of us. After the appointment was over, he looked at me and said "You know her language is not normal, right?" I affirmed that yes, I was aware that she is above normal in verbal abilities, which he rapidly confirmed. He said it's very rare to encounter a 5 year old who can speak and understand the way she can (she rattled off multiple coherent stories to him while we were there). While we've known this for a while, it's always nice to hear from a professional who sees kids every single day! So that's my mommy brag moment for the week :)

Christmas 2012 roundup

Well, I certainly hope that everyone else had a more relaxing Christmas than we did. Last Friday, Evan started not feeling so well suddenly, and ended up with a pretty rough case of the flu. His parents arrived on Saturday for Christmas, and he powered through with us on a holiday tour of the White House (which I'll have pics of soon on here), but Sunday he just crashed. I took the kids with his parents to the Udvar-Hazy space museum so he could relax and rest, and Sunday afternoon he started feeling a lot better...around the same time I started to feel really cruddy all of a sudden. Monday (Christmas Eve) was rough - I was shivering from a fever pretty much all day, but felt ok on and off. I got a few pics of the kids outside enjoying the start of the unexpected snow fall

and I pushed through some last minute shopping with my sister in the morning.We had dinner plans out that evening, and I made myself get dressed up and go with everyone, despite feeling absolutely awful (which I think is fairly apparent when I look at myself in these photos).

 After getting home from dinner, I basically missed the rest of the evening. I have no idea how high my fever was, but it has to have been pretty bad. Evan forced me into bed, despite my sadness at missing Christmas Eve fun, and I know it was for the best. Luckily my sister took some photos for me of what they and the kids did while I was asleep. First up was setting out the cookies and milk for Santa

 Then was Evan reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas", as he does every year (it's his favorite tradition).

 After the kids went to bed, Evan did wake me up to help set out presents...I wasn't a big help but I was able to direct which gifts went to which person when that was in question. Pretty decent hauls for the kids, huh?!

 Natalie of course could not get through her pile fast enough on Christmas morning; Henry couldn't really care. We had to push him to actually get everything open, and he seemed really overwhelmed. Because of this, I'm going to ask everyone to go really easy on presents for him for his birthday. Opening gifts just isn't a high priority to him. It's actually not a bad thing! I did get a few shots of them opening their presents, of course. Natalie's favorite "set" of presents was her "big sister" doll from Santa. She was so excited to open it! To go with the doll (who we named Anna), Natalie had also asked for the chair she is sitting in, which is a beauty salon chair and accessories to do hair. Natalie loves it!

 Henry got a ton of little presents, mostly dinosaurs, trucks, and Mickey Mouse books/toys in various forms. I got this cute pic of him with the Mickey Mouse stuffed toy I got for him.

I lucked out and received two of the photography-related items I really wanted: Lightroom 4 software for editing photos, and an external Speedlite flash for my camera which is going to make photos requiring flash so much better! I also received this fantastic iPhone case.

Late Tuesday I started to feel better after a Christmas day nap (after Evan's parents and my sister left); it was nice to have my brain back! Since then I've continued to develop a wracking cough (with lovely green stuff to go with it), so I finally made it to the doctor today, and after 2.5 hours was given 3 prescriptions to help with it. Blech! It's nice to feel better, but it still hasn't been relaxing the past couple of days. My parents came on Wednesday, and they were really great - very helpful with the kids, and we had a really nice couple of days together. However, Henry has just been a pill. Which is a nice way of saying he's been a bit of an @$$hole. I hate to call my own child that, but it's true. He's been screaming for no reason, defiant, willful, and just generally a pain in the ass. I know this is fairly standard for his age (closing in on 3), but after a week at home together and Evan and I both recovering, it's more than we really feel like we can handle. My parents were very understanding, as they dealt with the worst of it, but there's not been much anyone has been able to do. We're trying a new thing tonight where his favorite toys get taken away when he screams, and that actually seems to be working some, so I'm going to try that again tomorrow and see what happens. The idea of 4 more days at home with this is utterly exhausting, so I'm hoping we can creatively come up with ways to distract him without resorting to electronics, which seem to be the only things that prevent him from freaking out. Wish us luck...and hope that the worst part of this phase is going to be over soon.

Natalie is 4: more info

 I realized while writing the previous post about Natalie's 4th birthday party that there were some miscellaneous things I wanted to include, and it was easier to just put them into a "wrap up" post than try to cram it all in with her party info.

Gifts: Natalie received some fantastic birthday presents, but luckily it wasn't the insanity of her party from last year! Her favorite gifts are probably the ones from us, her family (which makes sense, as we know her the best!), although her friends did really well too. Evan and I got her a Disney Princess kitchen, which she is loving. Aunt Carrie got her a pretend makeup kit, as she loves to pretend to put makeup on with me in the morning, and now she won't have to use mine to do it! Grandma & Grandpa Hoffman got her two Barbies she wanted: Sleeping Beauty & Belle (the first seems to be the current favorite). Grandma & Grandpa Macbeth got her a new dress up outfit (seen to the left) - she's definitely loving wearing it. A huge hit!

Doctor visit: Natalie's 4 year checkup went very well. Her stats are as follows.

Height: 40.75" (73%)

Weight: 32.3 lbs (26%)

So, tall and skinny, just as we know she is! Hence my needing to get her pants in the 4-6X section, as she needs the extra length in the legs. Her physical exam was great (no problems); for the first time they took her blood pressure (which she thought was really cool) and administered an eye test (which she also did well on, even though she didn't know what one of the pictograms was). The only negative was having to get 4 shots plus a nasal flu mist vaccine. She did pretty well with the shots; cried a little, but only really got upset with the last one, as it was the tetanus and I think we all know how much that thing hurts! The doctor's office gave us a sheet of "during the next year your child may start to do the following", and without sounding like I'm bragging too much, she can do pretty much all of them already. Her doctor was very impressed at how little instruction Natalie needed to do the things she asked; as we all know, one of her big strong suits is taking direction (at least from people other than Evan and I!). Very proud of my big girl.

Otherwise, let's see...I've already bragged about her school abilities, so everyone knows that. Her speech is absolutely amazing, and whether she knows it or not she's started saying some pretty funny things. Lately, the funniest ones are the statements that are unintentionally passive-aggressive. For example, if you're standing between her and the TV, she won't say "can you please move, I can't see the TV". Nope, it's "I can't see the TV." Not in a mean way, which is sometimes even funnier. In a second example, her favorite Christmas song is Jingle Bells, and she asked if I had a version on my iPod. I do, but only a very bluesy version by James Taylor. I put it on, and after about 30 seconds she says "this song is very...interesting." Way to be diplomatic, there, Talie.

But she's doing great (as is Henry; can't believe he's 20 months old already too!), and I couldn't be happier with them...even when she's refusing to nap or rest, and starts getting really whiny :)

Build-up to the actual birthday

After the big celebration on Saturday, we still had Henry's actual birthday to come! The weather warmed up for him to wear one of his birthday presents: new pjs!

 In honor of the occasion, Natalie had me paint her fingers & toes (purple & pink, respectively)

Here's Henry on his first birthday! Happy 1 year, big man!

 One more night of cake enjoyment!

On Friday I took Henry to the doctor for his one year checkup. He's doing great; still a peanut!
Weight: 19lbs, 3 oz (6%)
Height:  30 inches   (58%)
Head:   17 3/4 ins  (16%)

Our "homework" for the next 3 months is to get Henry to wave (which he's just started doing). clap, and point. No real indication of walking yet, but that's ok! We've definitely got a first word: "dada" or "ada" meaning Daddy! He said it a little bit at first, but it wasn't very consistent. However, now he says it any time he sees Evan, which is fantastic! First word just before 12 months - I'll take it.

Henry is 9 months old!

Last Wednesday (January 12), Henry turned 9 months old! On Friday he went for his 9 month well-baby checkup; luckily, he's back to normal (all illness is gone, the antibiotics are finished, and he's sleeping through the night again), and his check up went very well. Two notable things at the checkup:
1. He's a peanut! We think he's so big, cause he's bigger than Natalie at the same age, but compared to other boys he's tiny!
Weight: 17 lbs 10 oz (9th percentile)
Length: 28.5 inches (60th percentile)
Head: can't remember, but 28th percentile
     His weight is definitely low, but it's always been that way so the doctors aren't worried. I guess most baby boys are just chunkers! He's not; just like his sister, he's pretty long and lean. And he eats a TON, so that's definitely not a problem!

2. Henry crawled for the first time! He was on the table for the exam, and the doctor laid her otoscope down on the table, and he crawled right over to it. No more "inchworm"! Although, he still goes back & forth between the two; we only get a few inches of actual crawling before he's back down on his belly, but it's a start.

Other new things this month:
-- He can now go from lying down to crawling position to sitting, and back again. Makes him fuss less as he can get into a position he wants, versus the one we put him in!
-- He's stopped boycotting finger foods, and is back to eating puffs & rice crackers. Makes meal time much easier for us, as he can munch on those while we get to eat our dinner! We even had him try a little piece of spaghetti last week, and he ate it! I think we're going to start trying more small foods soon (cut up pasta, bread, etc).
-- While he's less fussy right now than he was in the previous month while sick, he still wants to be held a LOT. It's probably separation anxiety, and I love how snuggly he is, but there are times when it's frustrating cause I/we can't just hold him all the time!
-- While no words yet, he's getting really good at imitating our sounds, whether talking or nonsense sounds (tongue clicking, etc).
-- He's figured out how to pull himself up to standing in his crib, but no where else yet, although he's trying! He really does like to practice standing

-- Yesterday we finished up his first full haircut, cutting around the ears and the back (he was close to having a baby mullet). It looks really cute! Pictures soon, I promise (I have some before & afters).

Turning 3 years and 8 months

On December 10 Natalie turned 3 years old, and on December 12 Henry hit the 8 month mark. So, I'm combining an update about the two of them into one post.

On Natalie's birthday she got her big present from us: a kitchen set, with big bin of fake food to "cook"!

Henry, meanwhile, is closer & closer to crawling, although still no movement of the knees (he just army-man crawls around). He is spending more time up on his knees every day!

On December 15 we took both kids to the doctor: Natalie for her 3 year check up, and Henry tagged along as he wasn't feeling too great, and we wanted to have him checked out (this was prior to the stomach bug, but probably the onset, although we didn't know that at the time). [It turns out that Henry actually has had a sinus infection for the past couple of weeks as well, although he was only diagnosed today. We've started antibiotics and he's on the mend!].

Natalie's check up went great: she answered all of the doctor's developmental questions (telling colors, counting, telling her full name, distinguish girls from boys, drawing a circle, walking, and hopping), and we got her stats.
Height: around 3 feet (they actually forgot to write it down on the sheet, and I don't remember), 80%
Weight: 27.5 lbs, 18%
Yep, she's tall & skinny. Wish that we were all that way! She had her blood pressure taken for the first time, and it was good: 88/40. All in all, a good doctor's visit! She didn't like getting the flu shot (the expression on her face was of such shock when the needle went in, and then she only cried a little), but she did so well. Henry was weighed before the doctor checked him out: he weighed just under 17 pounds. He's a peanut, but only 10 pounds less than his big sister, showing what a true peanut she is! I'm sure part of that somewhat low weight was due to his not feeling well, so I think we'll be up closer to 20 pounds at his 9 month visit.

Happy 6 months, Henry!

On Tuesday, Henry turned 6 months old! I can't believe my little guy is so big.

And I mean BIG...but apparently only to us! Yesterday was his 6 month checkup, and here are his measurements:
Weight: 16 lbs (23%)
Height: 23.5 inch (53%)
Head size: 16.75 inch (18%)

So to us, he seems like such a big boy, but compared to all other little boys, he's just a peanut! I honestly thought that he'd be in a higher percent for length - he seems to outgrow his bodysuits so quickly! Maybe his torso is just really long, but overall he's average. Otherwise, the rest of his visit was good...or so I was told. For the first time, I didn't take him to the doctor. It's difficult for me to take off work right now, as my PTO days don't kick in until around Christmas. Plus, Evan had yet to take him to the doctor for a well check-up, so it was good for both of us. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health, and he handled his shots very well.

Here's my happy boy at 6 months:

Henry is four months!

Last Thursday Henry turned 4 months old!  He's getting to be such a big boy.

On Wednesday I took the day off of work, as Henry's 4 month checkup was at 11am, making it difficult for me to make the commute. Also, my parents were visiting from Monday-Thursday, so it was nice to be able to spend the day with them. They spent Tuesday with Natalie, and had a great time with her! She was a very good girl for them, which I am always happy to hear. The highlight of their visit for Natalie: in addition to getting to play with Rizzo and hang out with her grandparents, they bought her a Caillou DVD! So, now we can watch Caillou wherever she wants. Not sure if that's a good thing or not... :)

But back to Henry. We kept Henry home with us on Wednesday, and Mom and Dad came with me to the doctor's appointment. Henry did very well! He smiled and blew raspberries with Dr. Rethy, which she loved. He's gotten very smiley lately, and loves blowing raspberries with just about anyone.
Height: 25.5" (82%)
Weight: 14 lbs, 3oz (39%)
Note: it's funny to me that at this point Natalie was only 13 lbs, and in the 50%! Obvious differences in the standards between boys and girls...

Henry got his 4 month shots; he did cry, but settled down fairly quickly. I went back to my post about Natalie at 4 months, and she apparently needed Tylenol to settle down; Henry had no problems. Also, I didn't realize how much more Natalie was waking up during the night! Apparently we'd been having a rough time of it at this point, with her waking up every 1.5-2 hours. I do remember that at this point, I was only getting about 4 hours of sleep/night, which was really hard. That explains it! I wrote that at one point around 4 months she'd given us about 6 hours straight, which was good for her. Henry is SUCH a better sleeper! He goes pretty much every night from about 8pm to 5-5:30am, and has been for about the past 6 weeks. Amazing!

I'm trying not to make too many comparisons between the two of them, as every kid is different. But it really is amazing to be how much more laid back Henry is than Natalie was, and she was definitely a good baby! We're going to hope that he continues to be nice and laid back and doesn't throw himself into everything the way most of the little boys I know do. :) :)

2 month doctor visit

Yesterday I took Henry to his 2 month doctor's appointment. Yes, that should've happened 2 weeks ago, but unfortunately they didn't have any appointments until now (and I called back in May to schedule it!). The nurse said that it wouldn't be a problem (I was worried getting his shots late might be an issue).

Henry got a clean bill of health! Everything looked good, he was very smiley and babbling for most of the appointment. I was able to answer "yes" to all of the questions asked by the doctor "is he grabbing at this? is he opening his hands? is he holding his head up?" etc.

Weight: 12 lbs, 10 oz (49%)

Length:  24 1/2 inches (82%)

Head size:  15 1/4 inches (10%) - yes, my kids small heads.

Henry cried like crazy with the shots; many of you may not believe me, but in his 11 weeks of life, I've not ONCE heard him cry full out like that. There were big crocodile tears too. And when he looked at me, with eyes full of tears, making little whimpering noises, I almost lost it myself. Poor little guy! After about 5-10 minutes I got him calmed down and back in the car. We stopped at Target to pick up a few things, and he was fully passed out the whole time. When in doubt, sleep it off! He was really good last night, and went to bed around 7:30. 

He slept great through the night, going almost 11 hours without eating! He didn't even really wake up when I fed him this morning; eyes were closed the whole time. He hasn't spiked a fever at all from the vaccines, and Evan said he was super happy this morning. Looks like the trauma is over.

2 week checkup

I took Henry to the doctor today for his 2 week checkup. Bottom line of the visit: we have a super healthy baby boy!

He was 8 pounds at birth, had dropped to 7 pounds 8 oz when released from the hospital, and by 2 days later (4 days old) he was up to 7 pounds 13 oz. By the 2 week checkup, doctors want babies to be back up to their birth weight. Well, he measured up at 8 pounds 12 oz today! My little boy is a champion eater. I think we're going to have a big boy on our hands!

That puts him in 75% for weight, and he's also 75% for height. In comparison, Natalie has always been 75% for height, but never above 25% for weight! That's what's making me think he's going to be much more solid than Natalie has ever been. He's still in no way chunky, and I don't think he will be, but I can definitely see the solidity in him.

Henry's 25% for head size. Natalie's been in the 10-20% for head size her whole life; apparently I have small-headed babies. No complaints here though: I think that's one of the things that made both births so easy, and it means it's easier for them to hold up their heads, which is a good thing.

Henry was wide awake during his visit; no crying or anything! He was a good boy. He was able to follow a light with his eyes very well, and otherwise just got a very clean bill of health. We go back at 2 months, when he'll get his first shots and get checked out again.

Two year Checkup

I totally forgot to post about Natalie's two year checkup! It was last friday, and she did great. No shots were needed this time, which helped with the lack of fussing. :)

Height: 34 1/4" (75th%)
Weight: 24 lbs, 8 oz (just under 50th%)
Head size: ~18" (10th%)
- she still has a really teeny head! Not that I mind; I think that's one of the things that made labor with her so easy. Let's hope the little guy is just as small!

I was easily able to answer "yes" to all of the "Does Natalie do (X)" questions that were asked. She's right on target for what she should be doing! And on the information sheet they gave me for the things we should start noticing over the next 6 months...well, she can already do them all. Particularly the talking-related ones. We almost always get 4-5 word sentences now. I'll try and put a video up soon.

I have a few pics from our outing to downtown Leesburg for some holiday fun on Saturday; I'll try and get them up soon.

Also, seeing the midwife for my 24 week appointment/checkup in a few days, so i'll let you know how all of that is going. So far, great! This little guy sure does LOVE to move around. It's nearly constant, especially when I'm sitting still!

Poor sick kid

So, we spent our weekend taking care of super-sick Natalie. The poor kid came down with a sudden high fever (102 F) on Friday morning around 10am (while at daycare). Evan picked her up, I came home, and we took her to the doctor. Obviously we were concerned about H1N1 flu, and since she's in one of the high-risk categories, they did the culture for it. It came up negative, but our doctor let us know that the specificity of the test is pretty poor, so that doesn't absolutely mean she didn't have it, particularly as she had every symptom mentioned. So, we don't know for sure what strain of flu she had, just that it was a nasty one.

She had the high fever the rest of the day Friday, and all through Friday night. She basically just wanted to be held by me, so she slept on me for most of the night. We were in my bed for a while, and on the couch for a while; she was just clinging to me, burning up. I felt so bad for her. She would sleep for anywhere from 45-75 minutes at a time, and then wake up crying until she fell asleep again. I managed to doze on & off, but didn't get much until we put her in her bed around 5am, and then Evan got up with her after that and I was able to sleep until about 9.

Yesterday (saturday), her fever broke about 7am. Finally! She had a pattern of sleep for an hour, wake for an hour, for most of the day. She started doing a bit better last night, and slept in her own bed. She was up a bit at first, but slept through from 11-4am, and then til about 7am, which was good for all of us. Today was a better day; she had a normal nap, we ran an errand to get her out of the house, went on a couple of walks, and she played quite a bit. No more sign of fever; now she's mostly just congested, but even that's starting to drain and she's breathing better. Hopefully we're on the upswing, and over the next 48 hours or so she'll get back to 100%.

Here's a couple of pics of her from the past couple of days. The first is after a bath, when she was pretty happy (and right before she threw the towel off and had some naked time), and the second is playing with her drum today.

"18 month" Dr visit

Yesterday was Natalie's "18 month" checkup. Yes, she's a bit over 19 months now, but they didn't have an appointment that I could get to earlier than now. So, we went yesterday. Here's her stats:
Height/length: 33 inches (75%)
Weight: 22 lbs, 8 oz (10-25%)
Head size: 18.5 inches (50%) - up from the 10th percentile she's been in for so long!

So, still tall & skinny. She's dead on for everything the doctor asked me about, and is far ahead of the average for a kid her age in one thing: verbal ability! Most kids don't have this many words before they're 2! I knew she was verbal, but I didn't realize how much so. I love it, as I think it helps prevent some tantrums, as she's so good at letting us know what she wants.

She had 3 shots (last HiB, first chicken pox, and MMR), and no more until she's 4! Yay! She did very well, and let the doctor check her out. Cried with the shots (no surprise there - it hurts!), but stopped crying right after and was fine.

I asked the doctor about the rash in her elbows, and she thinks it's eczema. I was hoping not, but with Evan's history when he was a kid, it's not surprising. So, we're going to use Dove hypoallergenic soap (and shampoo if I can find it), just the Aveeno lotion we've been using, and try some Aveeno 1% hydrocortisone cream on the rash. Hopefully these changes will make the eczema better. At least now we have a plan of attack!

15 month checkup!

Last thursday was Natalie's 15 month checkup. She did very well: got a clean bill of health, and I was able to answer "yes" to every single question the doctor asked me along the lines of "can Natalie do...", with the exception of "does she feed herself with a utensil yet?". That she doesn't do, but I know she'll get there.

Height: 31 inches
Weight: 20 lbs, 8 oz

This picture was taken later that day...

The doctor told me that apparently for babies, pizza is "healthy" as they can get lots of calcium from the cheese. I have my doubts, but since we had workmen at the house last night (installing our new front doors and fixing our dining room ceiling), we made frozen pizza. Natalie LOVED it.

And last weekend Evan's parents came to visit to see Natalie before we head off to Australia. We had a nice time, even though the weather was kind of crummy! On Saturday we took care of some things around the house, and then went over to the Leesburg Outlets for a while (always fun!). On Sunday we went to brunch at a place we hadn't tried before; it was ok, but I think we'll try somewhere else next time. Here's Natalie all ready to go out!

9 month check up

On Monday Natalie had her 9 month check up. She is quite healthy!
Length: 26 inches (~ 70th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs, 13 oz (25th percentile)
Head size: can't remember, but only in 10th percentile!

I don't put much stock in those percentiles; as long as she's healthy I don't really care how she stacks up to other babies. But, what it does tell me is that she's long and lean. Don't we all wish we were? And she has a small head - I say that's why she was able to hold it up so early (before 2 months).

Otherwise, we got a higher dose of ointment to treat a fungal infection that she has - should be gone within a couple of weeks. It doesn't seem to bother her too much, but her skin is all raised and bumpy from it, so I'm glad the doctor figured out what's going on. She already looks MUCH better (the ointment works fast!), so should be out of the woods soon.

Our new carpeting is getting installed at the house as I write this - hopefully I can get pictures up tonight! But as Evan is going out of town for the rest of the week, I'll be single-momming it the next couple of days, so blog posts are more difficult. I'll do my best!

Happy 6 months!

Today Natalie turned 6 months old! I can't believe it's been half a year already. She's such a big girl now! The biggest milestones we're working on now are:

1) Sitting up. Natalie's definitely getting there! She's at the point now when if we sit her propped up in something (like my Boppy pillow), she actually sits in it and doesn't just slide right down. Also, if we sit her on a soft surface where she can make a little dent for herself to sit in, she uses her arms to help hold herself up! Not for very long (maybe 2-3 seconds), but she can hold herself sitting up on her own for at least that long. I think before long she'll be able to hold herself up for a lot longer, and start playing with toys while sitting up!


2) Eating solid foods. We had tried solids before (see the posts on May 9 & May 18), and it didn't go very well. So, we waited until about 10 days ago, and started up again. She is now eating solids twice a day: oatmeal in the morning, and veggies at night. Natalie ate peas for about a week, and seemed to be getting tired of them. So last night we tried carrots, and she LOVES them! Couldn't get enough last night or tonight; she ate 3 big spoonfuls both nights, which is more than she's eaten of any other food. Our pediatrician told us that the "orange" root veggies like carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes go over very well, so those will be the next ones we try after carrots for a couple more days. Then we'll go back to green veggies and try some green beans.

We're also adding in some fruit, but only after the veggies as we don't want her to develop a sweet tooth! Natalie wasn't a big fan of the peaches we tried as a "dessert" so I think in a day or two we'll try another fruit; the peaches may have been too sour. I think bananas or plums will be much better!

Also, Natalie had her 6 month checkup today and it went very well. She didn't fuss nearly as much as last time from the shots, which made me very happy (there were also only 3, compared with 5 last time). She's 26" long, and 14 lbs 4 oz, which puts her in 50% and 25-50% respectively. Her head size is only in the 10%, but they're not worried - she just has a teeny head! Must be why she could hold it up so early on and does so great now with sitting up. The pediatrician also gave us some advice on weaning her off of her 1am feeding, so we'll be working on that over the next week or two also.

Finally, here are some pictures from over the past week. Natalie's doing so much more now, and becoming so engaged in the world around her. It's amazing to see her doing more and more every day!

Feeling punky

The biggest news from the past week is that both Natalie and I got a little sick, although not with the same thing. I picked up a flu bug from somewhere, that left me with a fever Monday night and most of the day Tuesday. Luckily it broke, and even though I saw the doctor there wasn't anything they could do. Feeling better now, just waiting for my nose to get completely unclogged! Natalie picked up a little bit of a cold; no fever, just been stuffed up. It's made sleeping this week difficult, but she's just about over it now and is sleeping much better. For the duration of her cold, the pediatrician told us to hold off on solid foods, as that might have been contributing to her not sleeping well. We tried again yesterday, but she's not seeming very interested in the cereal yet, so we're going to wait another week. Breastmilk and formula seem enough for now, so we're not going to push it.

Otherwise, it's been an uneventful week. We've had some good playtimes this week, so here are some photos of Natalie enjoying herself. The first one is Natalie sitting up in my Boppy pillow - she's able to actually sit, supported, for a couple of minutes now!

This one is Natalie having some tummy time while wearing her cute shirt, skirt, and tights (the top & skirt were bought by Aunt Carrie!):

Finally, this picture is from this morning. Natalie was playing on the floor, and I went upstairs for a moment. When I came back down, she looked like this! She's obviously getting better at moving objects around.

4 month update

I forgot to update everyone this weekend on how Natalie's 4 month checkup went! I know not all of you care, but I have been asked by some. So, you all get to read about it...or not, you have free will. :)

Anyway, we had Natalie's 4 month checkup on Friday afternoon. I learned from the last one, and made the appointment after work, so I could take care of Natalie. She did VERY well. She's 13 pounds now (50 percentile), and 24 3/4 inches (75 percentile). Long and lean! She's hit all of her milestones, which is good, and the vaccinations went even better than last time. She cried, but not for as long and a little Tylenol helped. The pediatrician recommended we not start her on rice cereal until she's 5 months, as my history of asthma and Evan's eczema as a kid has her worried about Natalie developing food allergies. So, she'll be on just breastmilk for another month.

We then had a great weekend. I met up with a new friend in Leesburg (Christine; I met her through our friends Natasha & Adam from NYC), and we took our daughters for about 1.5 hour walk through downtown Leesburg and back home. It was a beautiful day, and we loved getting out for a while! Then, on Sunday we went to Fredericksburg to see my sister Carrie and her boyfriend to give them much belated birthday presents and hang out for a while. A pretty good weekend!

This week has been lovely - the weather is getting warmer and warmer, and Natalie seems to be starting to sleep a bit better. We've been having some sleep issues the past couple of weeks (waking up every 1.5-2 hours), but I think we've figured out a sleep plan we want to try and use, so we'll see how it goes! Last night she gave us almost 6 hours straight, which was great. I think we need to just wear her out a bit more, get her to sleep a little earlier, and get her used to self-soothing. Any and all advice is welcome!

Now for the cute pictures from this weekend. Enjoy, and I hope everyone is doing well!

Happy 2 months old!

Sunday February 10 was Natalie's 2 month birthday. We can't believe she's 2 months old already! It hardly seems like that much time has gone past. Definitely two of the best months I can ever remember, and there will only be more and more great months and years ahead.

Yesterday (Monday) Natalie had her 2 month checkup. She's very healthy: 11 pounds, 23 inches. She's in the 75th percentile for both weight & height, but only 25th percentile for head circumference. So, apparently she has a small head. However, that' s probably why she can hold her head up so well! Even our doctor was very impressed at how well she holds her head up at only 9 weeks old.

In addition to the well-baby checkup (and she is very well!), she also got her first set of vaccinations. Natalie was NOT a fan of the shots, emitting a pain cry that I had never heard before and had me getting teary as well. However, she calmed down, didn't develop a fever from them, and had a happy night last night, as you can see in the picture below (taken last night). What a smiley baby! In the past couple of weeks she's started smiling a lot more - I almost always get one when she sees me now!