Natalie is 10 weeks old

Posted by rachael on March 15th, 2009 filed in around the house, isaac, natalie

Our family is adjusting to our 4th member, although it’s been a bit of a rocky transition, for me in particular (Rachael) as I am home with both kids and nursing VERY frequently!  Isaac loves his sister and thinks she’s so cute; thankfully, the novelty has not yet worn off.  I have a feeling that when she begins to crawl and take his toys, he might feel differently! We are very proud of our big boy and his patience with all the big changes in our home.

Natalie is small for her age; as far as percentiles go, she is right around the 25th.  However, as she gets older she seems to get longer instead of fatter like most babies.  She may have a promising career as a basketball player if this keeps up.  Her eyes are still light blue and her hair is definitely red, but falling out in strange patches!  She has a thick patch of dark hair around the back of her head, a bald “sleep spot” from sleeping on her back, a receeding hairline, and where her hair is growing in it’s quite fuzzy and thin.  Her skin is pale like Mama’s – and overall, she does tend to look more like me while Isaac looks like Jon.   She has a beautiful, gummy smile and at times likes to stick her tongue out while smiling.  She coos and gurgles while you are looking at her and cries for attention and socialization.  She will put up with her bouncy seat or the floor for a while, but about an hour and a half to two hours after waking up, she is yelping for a nap and you had BETTER respond or ELSE.  Yeah, and don’t try any of that carseat business when she’s tired or you will learn that small lungs can produce very loud sounds.  She’s been a bit more difficult to get onto a routine and nights are still all over the place – one night she will sleep 6 hours and the next, wakes every 2 hours.  This one is keeping Mama on her toes.  She has a sweet disposition and loves to cuddle over your shoulder (warning: use a burp cloth) or be swaddled in the crook of your arm.   She takes her sweet time while eating and seems to love the closeness of it more than the milk itself.  It’s been interesting balancing a busy boy and a sleepy, nursing girl!  We love little Natalie and are hoping she continues to adjust to “life on the outside” as she gets older.   Until then, we are all about The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp.  A must read for parents of newborns!

Here are some photo highlights of the last 10 weeks.  Enjoy!