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November 27, 2005
Thanks for Family & Friends at Thanksgiving Time
When Katie was 6 weeks old, we headed for Maryland to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We stayed with my good friend Barbara, who even gave up her room for our expanded family. Much to her mommy's delight, Katie got to meet 5 of her Uncles. She also got to meet her Aunt Elle, the 2nd newest member of the Nelson family. She was held briefly by her Grandmother Marilyn, the final grandparent to meet. She was just starting to smile and charmed all who met her. A good little traveler, she slept most of the 11+ hour trip up and back.
Posted by mclianne at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 24, 2005
"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity"- George Elliot
Bigger and more frequent smiles are appearing every day, much to our delight. There is nothing quite so pure as a baby's wide toothless grin. Except maybe a baby belly laugh of unadulterated joy. I look forward to hearing Katie's first giggles with much anticipation...
Posted by mclianne at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
Daddy turns a deaf ear
Katie definitely has a healthy set of lungs. She can go from 0-60 on the scream-o-meter in about 5 seconds. And while it is heart wrenching to hear her so unhappy, it's easier to handle it this time around. I think it bothers Andy a little more than me. If Katie starts crying while he is holding her, Andy has his Bose noise canceling headphones on in a nanosecond. This picture shows Katie during her intermission, before the second act. It sounds something like this... Katie's Meltdown
Posted by mclianne at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Daddy's Little Katiedid
Andy is getting to be much more involved in the day to day care of Katie than he did Karis. Because she is bottle fed, he gets to feed her too. Lianne does most of the feedings so Andy has taken over the care of Karis. He is very pleased with his little harem. When Katie cries while he is holding her, they do the "Twist & Shout". He twists (rocks) and she shouts! You see him holding the lactation consultant reccommended binky from the hospital in her mouth here. She still has the tongue thrust reflex and doesn't keep it in herself even though sucking soothes her. This style of binky is supposed to be less damaging to efforts to nurse. I miss the binky keeper thingamajig that keeps binkies from falling on the floor when they are spit out. Getting tired of washing binkies. Karis has noticed where is is supposed to go and we have to gently steer her away from being "helpful" by jamming it into Katie's mouth!
Posted by mclianne at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
November 05, 2005
“Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister.” - Alice Walker
Karis does love her new little sister. She tries to be helpful when she can by sticking the binky and bulb syringe in Katie's mouth. She also likes to help rock Katie when she is in her car seat. This afternoon it was lovely outside, so we took the girls out in the backyard. Karis and Daddy played in the leaves while Katie watched and Mommy took pictures. I decided to take a photo of the girls together. Karis carefully followed our directions for holding Katie gently. How lucky am I to be blessed with these two adorable girls.
Posted by mclianne at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
November 03, 2005
You've Got a Smile So Bright...
This is Katie's first smile! Isn't she cute? She grows more alert every day and is growing well. She gained almost 2 lbs in the first month. We are exclusively pumping and bottle feeding now. She just will not nurse effectively. The plan is to do this as long as possible and then go to formula. Again, not what we planned and definitely more expensive.
Stats at 1 month appointment:
Height- 21 inches = 50%
Weight- 9 lb 7 oz = 55%
Head Circumference- 14 1/4 inches = 25%
Posted by mclianne at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)