Dear Natalie: Two Months

Dear Natalie,

You are two months old! I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden you have moved out of the squishy, sleepy newborn phase and now you are an active, alert baby. You are smiling and cooing all the time, which we just love. Your natural disposition is just so happy, and as long as you are fed and well rested, you are just thrilled to be interacting with whoever wants to hold you or talk to you.

You continue to grow like crazy. At your two month appointment, you weighed 11 lbs. 8 oz., which puts you smack in the middle at the 55th percentile. You are a long baby, though, measuring 23.25", which puts you in the 83rd percentile for length. Many of your 0-3 month clothes are already starting to look a little short, so I think we'll probably start moving you up a size before you reach 3 months. (You are still wearing a size 1 diaper.) And, just like your Mommy and brother, you have a huge head. Yours currently measures 39.8cm, which puts in you the 98th percentile.

Unlike your Mommy and brother (and Daddy for that matter), you aren't bald and have a nice little covering of brown hair. You lost a little bit during your first month, but now it's starting to fill in and even grow a little bit longer along the back. You have 2-3 really long strands growing right out of the top of your head, which are kind of funny. They must have been your first hairs, from before birth, and you just never lost them. Your hair looks like a medium-dark shade of brown most of the time, but in bright sunlight it has a very distinct red hue. Maybe you'll be a redhead like your Daddy?  Who knows. Your eyes are also still kind of a mystery. Often they look dark blue, but they may be changing because sometimes they are kind of a brownish gray. Time will tell.

Your second month was full of lots of milestones. You took your first airplane ride with Mommy on August 18th to attend the funeral of your great grandmother (Bapa's mother) in Portland. It was a sad occasion, but you got to meet almost all of your relatives on Mommy's side. Everyone loved you, and you were a bright spot on an otherwise unhappy day. The other silver lining of our trip back to the Northwest was that we were able to drive up to Seattle after the funeral for a quick trip to visit Auntie Lolo and Uncle Mike and meet your cousin Dawson, who was just a few days old. We had thought we wouldn't be able to introduce the two of you until Christmas, so it was fun to get you together when you were both so brand new.

Natalie at 5 and a half weeks, Dawson at 6 days (and not quite sure about that girl cousin of his...)

While in Seattle, you also got to meet your Aunt Kristin, Uncle Dan, and cousin Edison, along with your great aunts and uncles on Gammy's side, Mary, John, Charlie, and Barb. It was a lot of travel, but you were a trooper. I was nervous flying with a one month old baby on my own, but you handled it with flying colors and charmed the pants off our fellow seatmates on the plane. (I was lucky enough to get seated next to a sweet grandmother on the way out and two other very nice women on the way back.)

While in Portland, you achieved your first big gross motor skills milestone at just 5 weeks-- you rolled from your tummy to your back on August 21st. You aren't quite as big of a roller at this stage as your brother, but if left on your tummy long enough you usually find a way to roll on to your back. You don't love tummy time, but you tolerate it pretty well for a few minutes at a time, and everyone comments on how strong your neck and back are. When I'm holding you to burp after a feeding, you love to pull yourself away from my chest and hold your neck and head up yourself. You still have a few of your cute newborn reflexes left, including involuntarily shaking your leg like a dog and thrusting your arms and fists out wide above your head when you get startled so that you look like Superman flying.

Once we got back from Portland and Seattle, the rest of your second month was spent just adjusting to life as a family of four and me figuring out how to juggle two kids on my own during the day. We took our first trip to a restaurant as a family of four (with no help from grandparents) on August 30th for a belated birthday brunch for me at Chez Zee, and you, me, and Nicholas have taken lots of outings as a threesome, including our first trip to the grocery store (you in the Ergo and Nicholas in the cart), the park, and other errands. We also took a family trip to the pool over Labor Day weekend, although you snoozed in your car seat for most of it, and you had your first non-family babysitter on September 13th when Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner to celebrate our sixth anniversary. You continue to be a pretty laid back baby most of the time, and you adapt well to life on the go. When we are at home, you've created a nice little schedule on  your own, which includes a morning nap around 10am for an hour and a half to two hours, a longer afternoon nap for two to three hours, usually beginning around 1pm (right around the time Nicholas goes down for his nap if I'm lucky), and bedtime around 9pm. You typically wake up once or twice-- sometimes around 3am and usually always between 5-6am. You are a great sleeper, and for that I am extremely grateful!

You love bath time, being held, and staring at the ceiling fan. Sometimes we'll catch you just grinning at the fan like it's your best friend-- pretty cute. You also seem to prefer just stretching out on a blanket on the floor and having the freedom to kick and move around rather than being seated in any kind of swing or moving baby chair like the Mamaroo. You are old school like that. You do not like being hungry or getting over tired-- when you're ready to sleep you want to sleep and get very fussy until you do fall asleep. But overall you are just a cheerful, happy baby, and we love your sweet disposition and your adorable little smile.

It's hard to remember what life was like before your arrival only two short months ago, and I'm so glad you're here-- you bring so much joy to our little family and you make us all better. I just can't get enough of you. I fall more and more in love with you every day, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be your mother. You are my little sunshine.

All my love,
Mommy