Catelin at 2 Months

Happy Girl!

I swear that every morning when Catelin wakes up she looks bigger than she did the day before!  We had her 2 month check up last week and she is doing great (and growing like a weed)…

Weight: 12 lbs, 2 oz (60%) ; Height 24.25” (90%)

Our pediatrician couldn’t believe how much she had grown- she gained 3 pounds and almost 3 inches in one month!  With all of the nursing problems that we have had, it is nice to know that she is getting what she needs. 

Eating habits:  I am still mostly feeding her on demand (every 2-3 hours).  I try to nurse her when I have time (since she still takes forever to nurse), but she is mostly getting pumped breast milk.  She eats 4.5-5.5 ounces at a feeding. (hungry girl)!

Sleeping: at 2 months, she was sleeping from about 9:30 PM to somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 AM and then back to sleep until around 8:00.  However, over the past 10 days, she has been sleeping until around 7:00-7:30!  I’m sure I am jinxing this by announcing it on my blog, but it has been wonderful. :)  She usually takes 2 long naps and a couple of cat naps during the day.  Since we are on the go with the boys most days, her first nap is almost always in the car seat (which she LOVES), and her second one is usually swaddled in the crib.

Likes: She likes to look at anything that is brightly colored (toys, books, tv, the playmat, etc).  Ceiling fans are still a big hit as well.  She enjoys sitting in her baby swing and rainforest chair.  She LOVES her brothers – if she is crying, they run over and start talking or singing to her and she immediately stops.  She is definitely the princess in our house!

Dislikes: tummy time, loud/scary noises, and being buckled into the car seat (she doesn’t mind the seat itself, just the few seconds when we strap her in). 

Accomplishments: she has been smiling for a few weeks now and it melts my heart every time.  She is starting to coo and make all of those cute baby noises.  Her head and neck strength continues to improve as well.

I started back to work August 1st – we implemented a new electronic medical record system in the office that kicked off that day.  Even though she was only 8 weeks old at the time, mentally it was much easier to go back knowing that I am only working 3 days a week.  As crazy as the first few days were (especially with the new system), I loved being there and seeing all of my wonderful patients.  The transition to part time has been such a great thing for me and the kids – I feel so blessed that this opportunity was available for me. 

It is tradition to go to Steve’s office with our new addition before I go back to work (I have done this with all of the kids).  The boys love seeing his office (which, not suprisingly, has fish and deer heads mounted on the wall…atleast they aren’t hanging in our house!).  Catelin had a great time visiting for the first time…

Happy 2 months, baby girl!

Destin Trip

We love the beach!

Steve and I took the kids on a 5 day trip to Destin last week.  Although this was probably the least relaxing vacation we have ever had, it was also one of the most fun.  We got down there Friday afternoon and went straight to the beach.  After we set up the sun tent, the boys headed into the ocean while I hung back with Catelin.  She loved the sound of the waves and was quite content sitting in her little chair.  MJ and Ty had a blast swimming in the ocean…however, MJ is not the biggest fan of sand.  He does not like wet sand on his hands, so building a sand castle was next to impossible (he kept running up to the outside shower to wash his hands off)- I swear it took an hour just to build one wall!  Ty (not suprisingly) embraced it and had a great time building and smashing our sand creations.

Beachin’

We spent all of the mornings out on the beach, came back in for lunch and naps, and headed back out in the evenings.  Steve and I took turns taking the boys “from the beach to the pool, from the pool to the beach.” (our motto for the trip).  One morning I think Steve ran back and forth with them atleast 10 times!    Again, it was fun but definitely not relaxing!  :)

I am not sure what year Steve and I started this tradition (I think it was when we went to Australia and New Zealand in 2007), but we always get pizza the last night of our vacation.  We usually try to take it out to the beach and eat it there, but we knew that would be a disaster with all of the kids.  So, we enjoyed our pizza out on the balcony overlooking the beach. 




Fun in the condo:




Our last evening out on the beach:

Brotherly love

Ty chasing the seagulls

Ty chasing MJ

Our little princess

Andrew and Leah came into town two weeks ago to meet Catelin – it was great to see them!

Catelin at One Month and Fourth of July

Catelin turned one month old on July 3rd, so I am a couple of weeks late on this post.  She has been doing really well and is growing like a weed. 



One month stats…weight: 9 lbs, 3 oz; height 21.5”

Catelin has smiled quite a few times, but it is usually as she is falling asleep (so I don’t think that counts as her first “real” smile).  It is adorable, though!  She loves to look at fans and turns her head to voices or loud noises.  She is not the biggest fan of tummy time and has even rolled over a few times because she was so mad!   Her big brothers absolutely adore her…



We are starting to work on her day time schedule, but I am mostly feeding her on demand right now.  The first couple of weeks, she was waking up 2-3 times a night; after she got up to her birth weight, I started doing the moms on call evening/night routine (bath, swaddle, white noise, etc).  She has done really well with it - most nights, she goes to bed around 9:30 and sleeps until some time between 2:30 and 3:45.  Her final wake up time is usually around 8:00. 

Needless to say, I am thankful that she is doing well with the sleeping.  Her nursing, however, has been a real struggle.  For the past few weeks, she would nurse 15-20 minutes on each side and about 10 minutes after finishing, she screamed like I never fed her.  I would end up pumping and giving her the rest in a bottle.  I really don’t have time to do that with two toddlers running around, so I decided to go to a lactation consult.  After a 2 hour long session with the lactation nurse, the bottom line is she has an “immature suck”…in other words, she is lazy.  Now I am trying to nurse her when I have time, but for most feedings I have to pump and give her a bottle. On top of that, I got mastitis last week (UGH!!).  I feel so blessed to have a healthy baby, and I know in the grand scheme of things this is a very small problem, but it is still incredibly frustrating.  I am hoping and praying that it will get better as she gets older.

On the fourth of July, we took the boys to the Dunwoody Country Club carnival (Lisa was kind enough to watch Catelin for the evening).  The club really went all out- they had carnival rides, 6 different bounce houses, tons of bubbles, snow cones, and cotton candy.  They even let the kids play in a sand trap like it was an enormous sandbox!  The night concluded with an impressive fireworks show – MJ absolutely loved it (Ty was a little scared of how loud they were and had his arms wrapped around me the entire time)!

Hot Summer Days

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks…

The week before our anniversary, Steve and I celebrated by going to the Lady Antebellum concert (the boys spent the night with my parents while Lisa watched Catelin)...it was wonderful to have an evening out!  The night of our anniversary, we had an incredible dinner at Restaurant Eugene – I have never been there before and it did not disappoint.

Having fun with grandma!

The boys survived their ISR swim classes again this year.  MJ only had to do a 2 week refresher course while Ty transitioned from float to the swim-float-swim sequence (which took 4 weeks).  In order to graduate, he had to swim across the pool solo while wearing winter clothes, shoes, and a regular diaper.  Here is the video

Ty’s first trophy!

We have been spending a lot of time at the country club pool- the boys love it, and Catelin hangs out in her car seat in the shade as long as it’s not too hot.  She even made a trip to the zoo!






Ann came to visit on Father’s Day weekend.  It was great to see her and catch up.  She spoiled the boys with bubbles (which they LOVED) while showering Catelin with adorable clothes and a gorgeous name plate for the nursery.

Ann with her Goddaughter

We moved Ty into MJ’s room when Catelin was a week old – Ty is now in the Thomas the train toddler bed and MJ is in a “junior” bunk bed.  The transition has gone surprisingly well, and they sleep great together at night.  Nap time is a different story- it takes about 30 minutes of me going in and out of their room to finally get them to go to sleep.  In the beginning, I was putting Ty in a Pack-N-Play in the guest room for his nap, but he quickly figured out how to climb out of it and now refuses to be in anything that resembles a crib (ugh)!

Here are a few more random pictures I just had to post:

At the park

My little Justin Bieber (why can’t I get his hair to stand up like that?!)

At the doctor’s office (Catelin’s 2 week appointment)

Catelin got her own sign on our swingset (“Catelin’s bridge”)

MJ showing off his soccer trophy

Both of my boys love coffee (who knew?!), so grandma treats them to their very own Starbucks “kids” cup when she comes over.  (yes, it is decaf)!