Cate {5 Months}

I have been taunting {his words not mine} my husband lately. I keep telling him that I am not sure I think our family is complete. He is 100% sure that it is complete. Maybe it is because I feel like I was robbed of the first months with Cate because all she did was cry and I want a do over. But with each weekend that signifies another week gone, I think I realize that we are complete. Cate, five months later, is different. She is content.

She is happy baby. Truly one of those babies when you talk to her she smiles. When we wake her up each morning, she stretches her long legs and breaks out a huge smile. When you blow raspberries on her belly she giggles. Not that deep belly laugh like her brother had, but this sweet giggle that can only come from my sweet girl. Maybe it is because she is in daycare so the attention is limited, but if you make eye contact with her she smiles, gets so excited, and then kicks her leg with a force that is to be reckoned with.

She has discovered her toes and her socks rarely stay on her feet. Sometimes she will suck on her sock. But usually it starts with the chaotic kicking that makes her socks slip off. The choice is gone and she sucks, with vigor, on her toes. Frankly, I think both are cute but way gross.

Five months later Cate’s hands are still her own worst enemy. She swats like a martial arts fighter knocing bottles out of her mouth and usually cracking us one on our face at some point. Her little fingers pinch items including Glenn’s chest hair, my neck skin and Brady’s hair.

Sleeping…sigh. I just don’t get her. One night we have a great night the next is horrific. Brady is not helping but I still. I really feel like she should make it more than 9 hours. I know, I know, she is still small but I think she could. I am trying to decide if we should sleep train her or wait.

Brady was big, content to be in a swing and not held. Cate, well she is a snuggle bug. She just wants to be in our arms. She nuzzles her face to your skin. She will find any piece of skin that isn’t covered in clothes and snuggle. She holds on to our shoulders or arms with a strength that surprises me every single day. And when she is tired, she will bury her face and hands in our shoulder letting us know it is time.

Have I told you lately how much I love this little girl?

Cate {What a Difference a Month Makes} 2 Months

Our sweet Cate is two months old.

Hello November! How did you sneak up on us so fast?

Hello my return to work at the end of this month! {Insert panic here}

Let me tell you what I know about her after another month… she is a mama’s girl. She wants her mama ALL THE TIME. I would be lying if I tell you I don’t love it. Sweet thing just wants to view the world off my shoulder. Sure there are moments, I would like have some else hold her, soothe her and console her but most times I cherish the quiet understanding we have of one another as we rock on the glider or walk the neighborhood.

Girlfriend will smile…but it takes some work. She is a serious baby- kind of like her mama, so I can’t be upset that it takes a lot to get her to grin. Those smiles are coming with more frequency and I think she is stingy with them because when she does smile, which is hard to capture, but it is huge!

All things considered she is a great sleeper. (Please don’t let this statement jinx it). She will take a bottle around 9:00 and be in her crib by 9:30. (Thanks to her reflux, feeding takes on a whole new amount of time). She will usually sleep until 3:30. She eats QUICKLY and goes back to sleep until 6:30 or so. One more quick feeding and she is back to sleep until 9:00am. I am so grateful that she is such a good sleeper but I have to admit I find myself rocking her a little longer each night because I know those middle of the night moments will be ending so soon.

We are “managing” the reflux the best we can. People who call reflux the devil’s serum aren’t kidding. If you have or ever had a child with reflux, I get what you were trying to tell me. It is agonizing and painful. It is so hard to watch her try to swallow, scream in pain and be upset. The gurgling in her belly makes my stomach hurt.

Her hips...well they are still loose. More on that at four months. The initial ultrasound showed the bone length was normal but the spacing abnormal so we wait...

The blocked tear duct requires some massaging. We hope it will correct itself or she will have to have a surgery to fix it.

The Stats

Weight- 11 pounds 9 ounces (75%)

Height- 22 ¾ inches (75%)

What You Want to See...Cate

It has been a while since I have posted. I want to write but right now there are just some things like my kids and my husband and sleep that are taking priority.

I have started at least five blog posts and each one begins with me talking about something different related to life and where we are right now.

I could write posts upon posts about how tired I am and how quickly I have been reminded of what happens when you have lack of sleep and how much it affects you.

I could write about how awesome Brady has been as a big brother even with a wicked cold, which I will shortly.

I could touch on how the recovery while I think easier this time has been so challenging when you have a 35+ pound toddler.

Or I could talk about some of the anxiety I have felt in these first few weeks as navigate being a mama of two, a wife, and someone who will return to a full time job sooner than I would like to think about.

All of these things are worthy of their own posts. I need to write about everything above and be honest about all of the things going on in our life and the struggles I am having.

But today, on this gorgeous fall day, I will leave you with pictures of baby Cate. My sweet two week old who has taught me that love does not stop at one and that there truly is such a thing as love at first sight.