Nat's News: one month and merry christmas

this little lady is now 1 month old!

We are muddling on through, and i can't believe how fast time continues to fly on by in a blur of nights turning into days... turning into nights again :)

We are doing well, with some adjustment on my part of course. I'm not used to staying home so much, especially when there is no break between the days! Ellery is turning into quite the cryer, so between her and Stella it's been a trick getting out while they're both happy :) However, having a baby during the holiday season makes it kind of a necessity to go out, because it is just plain busy, between shopping and activities at school. On more than one occasion now, I've met some very sweet ladies exiting the store, asking me what they could do to help me....if they could help me carry the crying baby while i dealt with my crying, kicking, quick to run off Stella, and the others. It's sweet, and I hope I can be as thoughtful and helpful to others when my kids are grown.

The kids are still smitten by her and absolutely love her. They are very hepful, and continue to fight over who gets to hold her. If she is on the ground someone is always laying by her to keep her company and to keep me informed of her facial expressions and state of happiness. Stellas obsession with her continues on.

so what's she been up to you ask?

***for my own record keeping of course, scroll down to the pics if you are bored

*sleeping- she is starting to separate her days and nights, and we are starting to actually go to bed...together! I feel like we are starting to get a little of the routine that I have been craving.
As of 1 month, she is usually awake for most of the evening. She usually eats btwn 10-11pm for the "last" time and then will usually sleep on her own until 2:00amish. After that either Tim or I will sleep with her in the chair, b/c if you lay her back down she will just cry. It's easier to hold her rather than jump out of bed ever 3 minutes to put her pacifier back in and calm her back down again. The upside of having her in our bedroom is that Tim actually hears her now!

It's kind of a joke that time of night anyhow.... Stella is usually awake crying b/c she heard the babe cry, and Dylan is either on his way up to sneak in our bed.... or we discover he's already there :)

I usually feed her again btwn 5 and 6am and try to have her asleep in her swing by the time i get the kids up @ 6:30am. If this was a success, she generally wakes up right when i need to walk the kids down for the bus... so she crys it out for a bit and i feed her again @ 7:30.

She is awake ALOT more by day now, and the new trick is get her to stay asleep when you put her down. She seems to sleep best while you're holding her, or on her stomach. Surprisingly, my most productive time of day is when the kids get home from school @ 3:45. Syd just wants to hold the babe, Austin wants to watch TV, and the other 2 are just so happy to have their siblings home to play with them.

*she is trying to smile... she has smiled a few for us, but can't quite figure out completely how it works yet

*she is around 9lbs. (I just weighed her with myself on the scale, so give or take a little).

*She is still wearing newborn diapers b/c her little buns are still quite scrawny :) She is wearing newborn and 0-3 m clothes.

*it looks like she is going to become a member of the November blue-eyed club....as opposed to the February brownies.

some pics from christmas.....

the wii....voted favorite gift of Christmas '09