New Car Seat, Oakland Zoo & 11 Weeks

Lately Natalie expects us to share our food- crackers, chips, drinks, you name it. Once she tastes something we have, she’ll get right up next to us and say “hi! hi! hi!” as if she’s asking for more. It’s the cutest thing, you just can’t tell the kid no. And now she’s started refusing her baby food if she sees we’re eating “big people” food. I’ve been encouraging her to eat her baby food firstand then we’ll offer her what we’re eating. But, that doesn’t always work.

She’s becoming more daring with standing alone, but she hasn’t taken any real steps yet. However, she has started to climb things. And she’s starting to get into everything! The cat food and water bowls, bathroom trash can, cords and wires tucked away behind furniture, etc. I find myself telling her “no!” quite frequently.

We’re also trying to teach her statements like, “hi dada.” It sounds like she’s saying it sometimes. She’s also been biting a lot lately! Twice this week, she’s bitten my leg after I’ve told her “no” for something. It’s not like she’s play biting either- these were done with intent. So, in response, I grab her, bring her right up to my face and say, “No, we don’t bite.” That usually scares her enough and then she’ll cry for a minute or two.

Natalie started drinking cow’s milk this last week mixed into her bottles, as our freezer stash of breastmilk has diminished. She doesn’t seem to mind it so far, according to Daddy. I’ve been pumping at work for the next day and then Eric mixes what little I bring home with the whole milk for her.

I think her favorite new toy from her birthday is her push cart toy from Auntie. She knew how to use it immediately! And now she loves to cruise through the house in what little open space we have… I woke up one morning to her cart crashing into our bed, daddy supervising behind her, and baby behind the handle with the biggest smile on her face. She looks so proud of herself as she makes her way from one side of the room to the other. But she gets a little frustrated sometimes when she gets stuck and can’t figure out how to turn around or back up, but it’s just so dang cute. It’s definitely our favorite birthday toy, too.

It’s sad to say, but Natalie’s birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy was a new car seat... Eric and I decided to buy her a new convertible car seat as her birthday present, since we knew she’d get a mound of new toys and clothes for her birthday, so why not get her something practical that she needs? She still kind of fits in her infant seat, but her head started to touch the canopy at the top and she just looked like she was ready to move up! So after much research, I ordered a Britax Marathon seat and we installed it in the Murano on her birthday, before leaving for the zoo. Mr. Blake enjoyed examining the huge box it arrived in.

The seat itself takes up far less room than her infant seat, which is nice. But it doesn’t recline as far and sadly doesn’t have a little bar to hang Bailey from… I have to find a way to link her toys and paci to the straps or something. There’s also no canopy to shade her from the sun, so we’ll have to find one of those window shades for her or something. Other than these minor complaints, she seems to like the seat so far. She fell asleep in it twice.

On Natalie's actual birthday, Elaine, Andrew and Stacie went with us to the Oakland Zoo for the day. It was really nice out luckily and it was fun to stroll the kids around and point out all the cute animals! It was a nice way to spend a weekday and we think Natalie enjoyed her very first birthday :)

I had an ultrasound on Monday the 14th. Unfortunately Eric wasn’t able to come. I met with the midwife who delivered Natalie, so that was neat. She really took her time to talk and catch up with me, which I appreciated. It was just about Natalie’s nap time, but she cooperated long enough for the appointment and ultrasound. It was really neat to see junebug on the screen- almost fully formed at this point- just moving around in there. The first thing I noticed was that s/he has a cute head, just like Natalie. Then we listened to the heartbeat and my midwife took a few measurements to confirm the due date- June 3.  Then we scheduled our “big” ultrasound in January, where we’ll find out what we’re having if we choose to know. Exciting!

I’ve been trying to be careful what I wear to work… I haven’t gained any weight according to my weigh-in on Monday, but I sure feel bloated, just like last time. So that makes me feel kind of self-conscious. I’m hoping I can put off sharing the news until after Thanksgiving at the least. We’ll see how it goes.

The good news is that I feel a little better. I still throw up most mornings, usually when trying to brush my teeth, but my energy level isn’t quite as low as it has been. So that’s a welcome change. But my feet are so sore! I soak them regularly and always ask Eric to rub them for me. I don’t remember my feet hurting so bad this early on.