Stats

Miss N is slowing down, but still growing. This month she weighed 17 # 14 oz (90%). She is 28 in long, and her head is 17 1/2 in around (95%). She handles her shots like a champ. Then we went to school to return my friend's baby and visit with all my old coworkers. They had fun seeing Natalie all grown up already!

Her 2 bottom teeth are getting more noticable, but she won't let me see them long enough to get a pic!

Sleeping Beauty

I'm babysitting a friend's baby a few days this week while she goes back to work. Here they are sleeping after I picked him up.


Natalie is sleeping better about half the time. Here are some good sleeping moments we've caught this week.

Bunny Pic!

Here is my big 1/2 a year old lady :-)

6 months

Ok, bunny pics tomorrow. Sorry, now that Natalie has noise toys, all our AA batteries have homes in them, and they are all under screwed on covers. Not too eventful of a day for her.

She is getting better with sleeping. Now her 2 bottom front teeth are out of the gum. I have not gotten bit yet - I think because she needs top teeth to actually bite with. She did get my friend's shoulder a bit today with those razors!

We went to playgroup after running a mile with Daddy at the park. Then she had a 2 hour big girl nap (YAY). After Daddy went to work, Liam and Jamie came to play. I gave her dinner and a bath all by myself. Then I took her to Mom's Night Coffee...mmmm Starbucks is really good with a gift card...then she fell asleep and came home and went to bed.

I am enjoying the quiet in the house with Ryan at work and N in bed.

Zwibeck Toast

With her two razor teeth coming in rather quickly, we let Natalie chow down on some Zwibeck Toast. She seemed to enjoy it and did not get nearly as messy as I anticipated (hence the naked baby in the high chair again!)

Playdate

So in a never ending quest to stop back pain and still carry Natalie I've learned to use a wrap. Basically, just a long piece of fabric. It's really comfortable though! Wish I had that at the airport instead of my one shoulder sling. Those are better for lighter babies :-)


Here's an older baby on my back. I am excited for Natalie to do this when she's more his size/age.


And here are some gratuitous Natalie pics.

On the Upswing?

Well, bed was a bit better last night. It still took about an hour, but less screaming. We also used the teething tablets and they seemed to really calm her down and she went right to sleep. She slept 845-430, then again til 630 after I fed her. So far, her nap today only took about 15 minutes. I fed her, she whined when I set her down. I rocked her a bit more and laid her on her side instead of her back and she's been quiet long enough for me to mop the floor and come on here, so she might be out. I'm trying to remember to pray and ask for patience and to be calm. I will post some pictures later. We're having a salad potluck here and a sling swap. Natalie also got some cute new outfits from Texas Grandma so I might get a pic of her in one!

So Frustrated

Sorry, no cute pics to go along with this blog. I'm so discouraged and sad. Natalie was always such a good nap and sleeper. Lately, she's up 3-4 times a night, takes hours of screaming to get her to sleep or to nap. We've gone to the doctor to see if there was anything wrong (ear infection or whatnot). They say nothing. I'm typing this with earplugs in. I feel so bad that I'm so frustrated with her. I feel like I am ignoring her while she lays in her crib and cries for what seems like days. She was sound asleep in there at 9am for a nap, and up screaming at 9:15. She's clean and fed, I don't know what could be wrong. So now it's 9:45 and she's still crying. I have gone in 2 times to pat her back and give her the paci back. I'm in tears. Ryan and I are always fighting because I'm so tired from getting up all night and not getting rest during the day. All I'm hoping is it is this tooth that is slowly coming out on the bottom. I feel like a failure at this 'job'. I just don't know what to do. I have tried several things: routine, sleep positioner, swaddle, lights on, lights off, music on, fan on...nothing seems to make a difference until I finally just nurse her to sleeep. So Ryan's no help there either because she screams the whole time he tries to get her to bed. I know she's tired, she's rubbing her eyes like mad. I know this is such a ramble, I just had to get it out.

Weekend Walk

I attended a La Leche 1 Mile Breastfeeding support walk this weekend with a few mommies from my mom's group. I'm the moderator for the breastfeeding support group for our organization Peninsulamommies.com We had a good time walking, eating, and shopping at the silent auction. Here's a pic of the mommas and babies getting ready to go!

Natalie was chilling out in her sling as usual. I had thrown it over her head to keep the sun off because the material is sunscreen stuff. My friends said I really looked 'ethnic' then!

Sleeping on her Stomach

Not sure where she gets it from, but I hate to do it, so it's not from me. We've been trying to get Natalie to go back to putting herself to sleep which involves a lot of crying from her (and me). But today after about 30-40 minutes she was out. Here's how I found her!

Hats

Here is Natalie in her cute hat (chef's hat as Ryan calls it) as we got ready for church. She loves to sit and she loves to play with Drake.

Natalie's Playroom

Who uses a breakfast nook, anyway? I made the decision to make this a playroom instead since there aren't basements here in VA!



Natalie's favorite toys are her new pianos a friend gave us, and the blue ball we bought for a dollar-fifty at Toys R Us!

Promotion Celebration

Ryan and I got to go to the Enlisted Club for a little celebration this afternoon. Our church group leader volunteered to watch Natalie. We had a good time celebrating Ryan's success!

Check out this face!

This is the face of one of the newest Staff Sergeant Selects for the USAF! Ryan tested in May, and passed on his first try! He will get the promotion sometime next summer. I am so proud of my husband!

Mommy's Friend Goes To Harvard, And All I Get Is A T-Shirt

Natalie is going to be a smart one, her daddy hopes. Now thanks to Liane, we've got a shirt to prove it! You can see the look in her eyes...

Expensive Toy

So now Drake is our expensive toy for Natalie. She loves to grab his fur, feet, lips, whatever she can get her hands on. Today, he just laid his head in her lap and let her go to town!

Inventive

Natalie is trying to sit up now, so any toy we lay her down on she gets mad. So we made a sitting up baby gym with the arch from her gym and and blanket and the laundry bucket. She seems to enjoy it!

Big Girl Bath

Natalie has finally grown too big to just sit in the baby tub. Luckily the one we bought converts to a seat that attaches to the tub. So now we can fill up the big tub and let her play a little more. She likes to play with the duck loofah and with the duck that tells the water temperature. She really enjoys trying to catch that duck as it floats around the tub.

Good Luck Sam!

Here's a few pictures for a going away party for our friend Sam (The Talley's). He's going to Iraq with the Army. His wife Susan is pregnant, so we are praying he can come home for the birth. Thanks to Lynn (The Rupard's) for hosting us!

Pool

Oma also took Natalie swimming at her friend's pool. Natalie really seemed to like being able to kick and swim and actually move somewhere for once!



Here's a video of the little swimmer!

Zoo

We took Natalie with Oma and Opa to the zoo to look for the elephant that was born on the same day as her. We never found her, but we had a good time finding the other animals.

Natalie To STL

She was great on the way to St. Louis. She slept both flights (to ATL then to STL). She played on her blanket while we were on the layover so she could stretch out. Then she spent the plane ride on my lap. Luckily we had nice people to sit by that played with her. She also enjoyed my cup!

Update

So the bad sleeping apparently was not teething - it was the start of an ear infection, and the end of a virus called roseola. Poor thing. We now have Tylenol and Ammoxicillan. I hope she does okay on the plane tomorrow! Oma and Grandma can take care of the poor baby girl.

Sleep?

My oh my. It's very frustrating to have a baby who is a great sleeper suddenly throws a wrench in their schedule. Monday night, Natalie (who usually goes to bed at 7) fought sleep until 10:00. She has had a low grade fever due to teething (although I see no bumps so I have no idea how long this is going to take). She was wide awake then at 5. You'd think if you stay up late, you'd want to sleep in. Then all day yesterday she was a big crab, due to the teeth and no sleep. I finally gave her teething tablets at 6:30 last night and she was asleep in 5 minutes. Relief! Should have known that would backfire. She was then up at 3 to eat, and back down. Then up at 3:30, tried to make her eat again, and back down. Up at 4. Downstairs to the swing where she was up babbling until 4:30. Then up the stairs to bed, and screaming the second she went in the crib. Then I drug the swing up the stairs and into my room. Finally both of us sleeping. Ryan gets up for work at 5:15. Puts her in her crib. More screaming. He gets her to sleep when he leaves at 5:45. Awake at 6. Not happy. Well, I'm not. Here's what she looks like. Grr.