natalie is 2 months old

Our little Miss Natalie is getting so big! She had her two month appointment today, but she is really 2.5 months old! She is a big girl! She is in the 80th percentile for weight (12 lbs 2 oz) and 75th percentile for height (23 inches)! To explain the percentile thing...being in the 80th percentile means that 20% of kids her age are heavier and 80% of kids are lighter! (More on her appointment later...)

I kept trying to get her cute smile on camera but I kept missing it! Hopefully we can do a real photo shoot soon and get some of those adorable grins!

Sammi and Natalie were with Grandma and Grandpa Brand while we were on workation. Sammi always has so much fun at grandma's and always comes home so tired from all the playing! 

Her first day home she went from reading and playing...

...to sound asleep on the floor in blankets she brought out from her bedroom! How funny...this was not during naptime, but 10:00 in the morning! :)

Natalie has not only been working on her beautiful smile, but has also been cooing and "talking" a lot lately! It's so sweet!

When Sammi was at grandma's, grandma had her do "chores" everyday. Sam was in charge of filling the dog bowl everyday. She was so excited about her responsibility that we made it her chore at home too! 

She lifts the lid and fills up a scoop with food...

Very carefully walks it around the kitchen table to the dog bowls...

Dumps it into the dog bowl...

Then loves to run back and get more!

I have mixed feelings on paying for chores. I know Sammi's way too young to learn about budgeting money, but I also feel it's never too early to start teaching. Part of me feels like the only way to teach about money is to let your children earn it and teach them what to do with it. (How would you learn without having any?) The other part of me feels like responsibilities around the house are all a part of living in the house and should be expected without pay. 

I really like an idea I heard a few years ago... The three piggy bank system. You get your child three piggy panks. One is for saving, one is for spending, and one is for giving. Of every dollar they earn or receive, 50% goes to spending, 40% to saving, and 10% to giving. (Of course, you can set them however you want, as long as you're consistent.) I don't really think it's too early to start this with Sam. I want to think on it a little. For now, I am enjoying the fact that she is enjoying her chores!

And now to Natalie's Doctor Update...

Natalie has a multitude of problems, all stemming from her acid reflux problems. The first few weeks of her life we thought she was an easy dream baby.... but she is a little (er, a lot) more difficult these days. Poor baby spits up all the time. She spits up while she eats, when she burps, and even 2 hours after eating has been known to randomly projectile vomit curdled milk. Ew. The spitting up itself is not a big deal, but the fussiness that it has brought on is very difficult.

Not only is it hard to see her in pain, but non-stop screaming for what sometimes is for hours is unbearable at times. When she is happy, she is the cutest thing! But, she cries a lot in the day and around 6pm goes absolutely psycho until we lay her in bed and she falls asleep.

Also, she has had a stuffed up yet runny nose for 3 weeks. I wondered if maybe she is allergic to something or has a cold. Dr. Rupp said that although it is totally possible she has a cold, that reflux babies tend to have upper respiratory problems which are causing her to not be able to breathe well and she chokes on the drainage. It's terrible.

We are going to change the way we give her the reflux medicine (all at once instead of 1/2 twice a day) and are also switching her to 100% AR formula. (We were mixing it with regular so her BMs wouldn't be so difficult.) Because we have to switch her formula, now we also have to put her on a stool softener. If all of this doesn't help, the doctor is going to double her medicine. 

Regardless of all of this, she does sleep pretty well at night, although her sleeping hours are totally unpredictable. Some nights she sleeps almost 10 hours straight and then goes back to sleep for 4 more hours. Other nights she's up every 4 hours but goes right back to bed. Hopefully soon we can expect her to sleep through every night! 

Other than her reflux problems, she is doing great. She HATES tummy time so she can't hold her head up when she's on her stomach. This worried me, but the doc said she does not like tummy time because her tummy is so sensitive with the reflux. She's not worried at all because Natalie has great head control when you hold her. She smiles and coos and grabs onto things, which is very fun to watch. 

So that's our update for now...I'm off to a photographer webinar! 

Love and Hugs!