two is better than one

It's hard to believe, but little miss Natalie is 2 weeks old today! We've been having lots of fun watching her change every day, and have been trying to establish some sort of routine (which has proven pretty much impossible at this point).

This week Natalie has started becoming much more alert and physically active. She maintains eye contact and follows objects with her eyes, and has started to discover her hands. She tries sooo hard to get them to her mouth, but just can't quite seem to keep them there long enough to satisfy her urge to suck on them. She's also started to stretch and arch her body, and has impressed us with how strong she is!


Natalie had Mike in stitches as she showed off her newfound arching ability during some of their cuddle time. Mike's been home on a 2-week paternity leave since Natalie was born, and is due to go back to work on Monday. It's been wonderful having him home with us, and I can't believe it's already time for him to go back to his regular working schedule. How is it possible that life is going on outside of our cozy little trifecta? I can't imagine that he will be back to teaching and interacting with adults, and I will still be snuggled up with our little budgie pretending that everything else in the world has been put on pause.

All of Natalie's newfound energy and activity has left her pretty wiped out, as evidenced by this naptime picture. And, yes, she is wearing a sleeper that says "Future Quarterback." Too bad it didn't say "Future Linebacker," which we think would be more appropriate to her hefty size.

Natalie loves going for car rides, despite her sour puss expression in this photo.

Well, we finally broke down and gave Natalie a pacifier. We've been holding off on introducing a pacifier because there is some research that shows it can interfere with successful breastfeeding, but since our little girl has been such a fabulous eater we decided it was fine to risk it. I wasn't thrilled about giving in and shoving the pacifier in her mouth, but it has been a great last resort when she is fussy and not able to soothe herself.

Another great option for calming Natalie down when she's cranky is to plop her down on top of the dryer when it's running. She instantly stops crying and her eyes get heavy, and usually within 5 minutes she is asleep. It's been a great trick to help us get through some of her adorable crying.

Another new development in Natalie's motor control and coordination has been her ability to grab things, like our fingers. This has probably been the sweetest of her milestones, and every time she grabs on to one of our fingers Mike and I can't help but melt just a little bit more over her cuteness.

I'm not going to do weekly updates on my post partum recovery, I promise, but I wanted to share that I am slowly starting to feel like myself again. I'm down 22 ell-bees (which sounds awesome, but I still have 23 to go), and at my follow-up appointment with the obstetric surgeon today I was told that my incision has healed just as it should and I was given the okay to drive now that I'm no longer taking pain meds, and I'm now permitted to do light lifting beyond just carrying the baby. I'm still moving a little more slowly than normal, but every day I feel better. I'll have my final follow-up appointment in 4 weeks, when I should get an all-clear for all physical activity. At that point I'll start thinking more seriously about getting "back in shape," but for now I'm not minding the extra poundage that helped keep MooHoo safe and sound and is now helping to fuel her growth through my breastfeeding.

We'll have more updates soon, as Natalie continues to be the most photographed baby on earth. :)