4 Months

Our little girl turned 4 months old today and had her routine checkup this morning. Tiffany took her in for two sets of shots and some drops in her mouth. She seems to have reacted okay to them, but is sporting a sizable silver band aid on each thigh. She weighed in at just under 13 pounds 3 ounces and is already over 2 feet tall at 2 feet, 1 and a quarter inch. She’s in the 85th percentile for height and the 40th percentile for weight so I guess we have a long “skinny” baby.

Her height explains why she’s been powering through clothes as of late. Every store/brand seems like they have different standards for what “3 months” should be as far as a size is concerned. It’s not as if we’re talking about a 30-year size where there’s decades of time for a person to grow to a different size and shape than someone else. We’re talking about 90 days, how can one outfit be too big and the other skin tight, I don’t get it. Anyway, now at 4 months, she’s firmly entrenched in the 6-month size and the stockpile of clothes to be stored is growing. 

It seems like there could be a Netflix like business where you could send back baby clothes that don’t fit for the next size up. You could send them back dirty and get the next size back laundered. It would probably be too expensive, but I would guess that at least 20% of all landfills are baby related items, including clothes.

Mother's Day

Tiffany enjoyed her first mother’s day yesterday. Natalie got her a long three and half hour nap yesterday morning and a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure at a local nail place. I got her a balloon and a chain to put a charm on that TIffany’s grandmother had gotten her. It’s a small baby bootie with Natalie’s name and birthdate on the bottom of the foot. I do think that she was more excited to see the bag that the chain came in (Gordon’s Jewelers) than the chain itself, though she won’t admit that.

For breakfast I made waffles and then Tiffany’s parents and brothers and sisters came over for lunch which was prepared by her dad, her grandmother (who was also visiting with her aunt and grandfather) and myself. I must admit that the only “cooking” I did was buttering about half the english muffins which were the base of the eggs benedict. I did take command on cleanup though and there were plenty of dishes to wash.

Mom and Daughter on their first mother's day

Since Natalie was well rested she was a very good mood most of the afternoon. She did get talkative as the last folks were getting ready to leave which is usually an indication she is tired, but a good afternoon nonetheless. The streak was also continued yesterday, and again this morning, of her only doing number 2 while I hold her. It’s been about three weeks since anyone else has had the unique pleasure and I’ve changed every one of those diapers except one, lucky me.

Also word came last week that TIffany’s grandparents and aunt in Virginia will be coming to visit the weekend of May 19th. This is their first great grandchild and great niece so they are looking forward to meeting Natalie and I guess visiting with us.Her aunt will stay with us from Thursday-Tuesday before heading home and her grandparents will stay down the street with Tiffany’s parents. They have not planned a return trip yet so they should be here for a nice long visit. 

Laughing at Daddy

Tiffany got Natalie to laugh yesterday for the first time. She was kissing her neck while she laid on our bed. We both enjoyed it though I think in reality she was probably laughing at me for something that happened earlier in the day. 

I’ve mentioned before how Natalie likes to do her “business” on my lap. That has not changed, but the frequency has. She’s started to go about every three days, which is not unusual for breast fed babies. Yesterday morning we were sitting on the couch, beginning a third day without a “dirty” diaper despite the fact she has no problem filling them up with number 1. 

As a byproduct of her not going as often, Natalie has started to pass more gas. It’s loud and it smells which historically indicated a diaper change was in order. That’s no longer the case as both Tiffany and I have both been duped into thinking she needed a diaper change only to take the diaper off and discover nothing.

So yesterday while she sat on my lap and started playing the butt flute, I didn’t assume anything. However, when they started to sound more, let’s say substantial, I knew this could be the main event.

Not wanting to get caught in the line of fire I wanted to wait to make sure she had completed her business before changing her diaper. About five minutes later and a few more toots I decided to place my hand under her bum to see if there was any warmth...Mistake.

There was warmth and plenty of poo. She had busted out on both sides of the diaper and the bottom of her pajamas was soaked almost all the way through and of course, my shirt was victimized.  I immediately called for help, but Tiffany was paralyzed with laughter so I sat there for a few moments with a damp hand and soiled shirt. 

Once we got her to the changing table we saw her handy work. Without getting too graphic, let’s just say that the diaper had reached it’s saturation point and would not take any more. Tiffany gagged, I stepped away, a few minutes later it was all over. I suggested we just throw that pair of pajamas out....I’m not sure what’s to become of them, but they have certainly seen better days.

Easter

It’s been a busy couple weeks with Tiffany’s aunt and my mom visiting. Natalie has certainly had her fair share of attention. These two pics are from Sunday celebrating Easter with her grandparents. On Monday both Tiffany and I went to work and my mom stayed home with Natalie. That turned out to be pretty uneventful as she took two pretty long naps.

The biggest change lately has been, well, shall we say her digestion. She’s not producing has many diapers as she was, at least the extra dirty kind if you get my drift. We have read that it’s not all that uncommon for breast fed babies to go two or three days between “dirty diapers”. Over the past couple weeks she has skipped a day pretty regularly but yesterday by 6 in the evening she was approaching day 3. Just as I was trying to figure out exactly when the last time she went was, I felt a rumble beneath my hand (she was sitting on my lap on the couch). Well, it wasn’t long before she was playing the butt flute load and proud and for everyone in a three block radius to here. 

Since Tiffany was making dinner, dear old dad got to discover what her musical interlude had produced. Without getting too specific, let’s just say it was extra special and that it looks like we’ve taken a turn to another level of waste production. Of course this happened on my lap so I was sure to check my shirt and shorts to make sure I was not victimized again. I was in the clear, but Natalie enjoyed my reaction as I changed her, laughing and giggling the entire time. 

Natalie’s collection of toys and apparatus is growing. We added the activity mat a few weeks back if you remember and before Grandma left she purchased the exersaucer. I’m not sure if that’s how you spell it but basically the child sits in it and can turn the seat all the way around to play with different things. Anyway, it’s sitting in the corner of our office right now since she is still a little too young for it.  

Of course Mother’s Day is approaching and the questions have started to come in as to what Natalie will be getting her mom. My response is usually that she doesn’t have too much in her piggy bank so probably nothing that spectacular. :)

Back to Normal

So after a couple of weeks of some awkward nights, Natalie is back to sleeping through the night again. She seems use to sleeping flat on her back now so the next stop is the crib in her nursery. “We” have not set a time frame for that, and by we, I of course mean Tiffany. 

Tiffany’s Aunt and her cousins have been in town the past few days so they have been assisting with the daycare duties. They are enjoying their time with Natalie. My mom arrives tomorrow and will be here for Easter and will leave Tuesday morning so it will be a busy week of visiting for Natalie.

I’m starting to call Natalie “Chatty Kathy” because there are times she just starts making noise and rambling for little or any reason. I would love to know what she’s saying because if you look in her eyes you can tell she KNOWS what she’s saying. She seems to like it when you make the same noises back. I’ve also started to clap her feet together and she can’t seem to get enough of that, that always puts a smile on her face.

My lap continues to be the toilet of sorts. I’d say 75% of the time when she goes number 2, it’s while sitting on my lap. Sometimes I wonder if she holds it all day so she can do it on my lap later. 

She’s also starting to grow out of her 3-month size clothes. Some still fit comfortably, some are way too small. You would think there was a universal size of some sort but it doesn’t appear that way. You’ve got your 3 month clothes, your 3-6 month size and 6 months...it makes very little sense. 

Rough Morning

Home again today for daddy daycare. It hasn’t been the best start to the day. Natalie woke up at about 3 this morning hungry so TIffany fed her and we all went back to sleep. Before Tiffany left, she woke Natalie up to try to feed her again. She wasn’t hungry, but was in a very good mood. This all changed about 40 minutes later when she decided she was in fact hungry. 

Sometimes that bottle can’t warm up fast enough because she can really work herself up in three minutes. Then you’re faced with the problem of trying to feed her as she calms down so there is constant breaks and “panic breathing” by her while she’s eating. It’s not a fun experience for anyone involved. Normally she would have eaten around 6, gone back to sleep and woke up at about 9 or 10 at which time I would have had a bottle ready.

Anyway, after I fed her she did calm down and was back in a good mood. I could tell she was tired though and I put her in her napper/rocker in the nursery around 8. She was asleep in about 5 minutes. She started stirring about an hour later which made me quite nervous, but after sucking on her hand for about 5 minutes she went back to sleep and she’s stirring a little now (10:40)...

At this point, she could be ready for another bottle. It will be almost three hours so at 11, whether she’s awake or not, I’ll have everything in place to warm the bottle up so by the time I am done changing her, after she does wake up, the bottle will be ready. That’s the plan anyway.

We’re on a bit of a streak too of fussiness as I came home yesterday only to be thrown up on 4 times within an hour. Needless to say those shorts and t-shirt are now in the wash.

This week we also reached the 3-month mark, the time is flying by. One of her balloons from the hospital still has life too, pretty impressive.

These are some pretty recent pictures. You’ll notice we did get the activity mat. Tiffany went to Target on Saturday and picked that up so we are utilizing that when we can, though nothing seems to hold her interest quite like a ceiling fan going around. She get’s memorized by it.

I better cut this here as time is running short on her nap...

Is that poop?

It’s amazing how unaware you and others around you can become when there’s a baby around. A good example of this came yesterday while I was home with Natalie during the afternoon. Luckily for me Natalie had two of what we like to call “blowouts”. I’m sure you can finger this out, but let’s say it’s when the diaper is no  match for her hiny.

Of course when you have a blowout, there is some hand washing of the victimized clothes to be done. Tiffany’s siblings were also visiting so Emma, the oldest, kept an eye on Natalie each time I started scrubbing the onesies. After the first stain, I decided to keep her pants off. It was warm enough in the house I thought and I had planned on feeding her soon after.

Well the pants stayed off and the second blowout happened sitting on my lap facing me, probably her favorite position to take care of her business. I think when it comes time to potty train her, I’ll paint the toilet seat like a pair of my mesh shorts.

Anyway, I could tell that she went, this was confirmed audibly and by an extra special scent that entered the air. I changed her, scrubbed the onesy that was victimized and we went about our day.

A few HOURS later I’m brushing my teeth after dinner when I notice something on my shirt in the mirror. It was an old t-shirt and the stain appeared to be in a spot where I had a previous stain, but I still said aloud, “Is that poop?” Tiffany asked what I said and when I repeated it she immediately started to laugh. 

I didn’t think this was possible. Five people had seen me that afternoon and my shirt and no one had said anything. So I lifted the shirt to my nose and took a whiff....nothing. I felt pretty sure that it was an old pasta sauce stain or something. Well Tiffany decided to find out for sure and took a wet tissue and wiped it on my shirt. If something came off on the tissue, well suffice to say, we would know the stain was new.

It was poop. Meanwhile I had almost shoved my shirt entirely up my nose. I’m not sure if I was more irritated that I had done that or that  NO ONE NOTICED I HAD POOP ON MY SHIRT ALL AFTERNOON. On Sunday I had shaved and Tiffany asked me at one point in the early afternoon, “Did you shave today?” I answered back from our bedroom (she was in the living room), “Yeah, can’t you tell?” She hadn’t noticed at all, she was holding Natalie and smelled my aftershave on her and was wondering why. 

I’m beginning to wonder if I gained 20 pounds if anyone would notice.