Natalie: Two Months
Two Months! Time is just flying by with this little cutie. I feel like things are finally starting to feel more normal around here. We kind of have a schedule down, but I know from the first time around, it’s best not to get too comfortable with any routine as it constantly changes throughout the first year.
Sleepwise, Natalie is actually pretty good at night. She goes to bed around 9pm and has been sleeping through the night until anywhere from 5-7:30. So no complaints there, but Maddie was also pretty good at this age and then started waking up constantly around 5 months or so until she was sleep trained. Since Natalie sleeps so well at night unswaddled, I haven’t bothered trying to swaddle her. It made a big difference with Madeline, but Natalie doesn’t seem to be as jerky.
Naps are another story. Natalie doesn’t want to nap unless she is held. She will occasionally fall asleep in the stroller or car if we are out, but at home if we try to lay her down on her back for a nap, she wakes up every single time within minutes. So, we started doing with her what we did with Maddie at the samge age – a folded blanket tucked into the couch and I’ve been putting her down on her stomach or side. This does the trick. Obviously, this means we watch her like a hawk. I sit on the couch near her and work on my laptop so I can check her every 5 seconds like a crazy person, but she will nap a good 2-4 hours like this.
Sadly, we’ve pretty much stopped nursing. As I did with Maddie, I have not been able to keep up with her feeding needs and despite nursing her every couple of hours, it was still not enough so she has been getting mostly bottles of formula and some pumped breast milk. Since she started having to take more of the bottle, she stopped nursing well and started getting mad since she wasn’t getting as much milk. I try to pump a few times a day, but pumping is not easy for me when I am at work. There are days where I have back-to-back meetings all day so being back at work has kind of made my already-terrible supply even worse. I’ve done the best I could do and am choosing not to beat myself up over it this time around.
Adjusting to life as a family four is still difficult. We have really been feeling kind of bad for Madeline. She spent so much time outside and now she is stuck in the house so much more, especially since Natalie is not a good napper. I think it’s starting to catch up with her. She’s been kind of whiny and acting out a bit more. We took her to see a Sesame Street Live show last weekend with just mommy and daddy and I think she loved getting all of our attention. If any of your more veteran parents have any good tips for helping to keep a toddler busy and happy with a new baby around, send them my way! She goes to Gymboree once a week and we try to take her to the park and pool in the afternoons, but it’s not nearly as often as she used to go before Natalie was born. We are looking into getting her signed up for gymastics and swim soon. We also hope to start her in preschool in the fall, but have to get her potty-trained first. Also please send me ALL of your potty-training tips!
Okay, so the cute stuff! As you can see from some of these photos, this baby likes to smile. She’s even been trying to laugh a little bit. We’ve been hearing more cooing too lately which is so darn sweet. Natalie is also obsessed with her big sister. She loves to just sit on our laps or in her rocker chair and watch Maddie. It doesn’t matter what she is doing, she just wants to watch her. I can’t wait until they can play together someday soon. She also loves when we go to the park and will just watch all the kids run around. I love starting to see some of her personality come out!
