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Bath time

Mom scolded me again so here's a quick post (just for you, moms!):

Catherine's going longer between feedings now, 2-3 hours between meals. We even got some 4 hour stretches a couple of nights in a row - it was wonderful.

Here are some pics of our bath session tonight:

She loved it. Wide-eyed and pretty close to a smile:


We had to brush her hair and make her look pretty...

Winter's here, and another milestone

Firstly, here's Catie Clover doing her stretches. Note the cute shirt.... Thanks Nic.


Later, it was time to go out. It's getting cold here in NS so we have to bundle her up in her ridiculously cute winter suit. The suit is on loan from - you guessed it - Nic.


She didn't appreciate her own cuteness, as right after this she started to fuss. "Why am I too hot, trapped in this seat, and being blasted with flashing lights?"

Friday night it snowed. And snowed. And snowed some more. The weatherfolks say 35 cm but for sure it was more at our house (at least after the plow came by 4000 times). I spent nearly 3 hours shoveling on Saturday morning and an hour more on Sunday. Winter has arrived.

Saturday night, Duane, Laurie, Mike, Jill, and Glendon came over. Glendon is 7 months old and he is a freakish giant compared to Catherine. Is this what we are to expect? But seriously, he can do all kinds of cool stuff, like hold his head up and respond to a variety of stimuli.


And our Catherine is making progress daily! Today, she grabbed and held on to a rattle, and then shook it around. Another first for the bean!

One month old

Today, Catie's 1 month old. I guess the time is going quickly (she's so much bigger now, and so much cuter).

More pics coming soon, I'm sure, but here's the latest.

She's grown 2 inches in length - she's now 21.5 inches long

She now weights 9 lbs, up from 7 lbs 13oz two weeks ago.

These measurements place her in the 50th percentile for both height and weight for her age. Good news, indeed. Heck, she's now into the #1 diaper size.

She has also developed a case of acid reflux - heartburn. We've got her on some meds and those have definitely made a difference - she's sleeping much better now. Apparently, this is a common condition with small humans, and so we've got to just keep on keeping on with what we're doing.

Milestones

So I took Ellie for a quick spin down to Local Jo's, our little coffee shop here, and I bought a couple chocolate chip cookies. They make the best cookies!

We ate the first one together, but later on...

Me: "What happened to that other biscuit?"
Jenny: "I ate it."
Me: "I see how you are."
Jenny: "And I'm not apologizing it for it, either."

OK, back to the bean. Earlier in the week, she was slumbering away, but started to fuss. Grammy Fran to the rescue - as she grabbed Catie's thumb and shoved it in her mouth. We got another hour of sleep out of her as a result!

Sleeping but stirring:

Post-thumb insertion. A happy bean:



Other exciting milestones this weekend:

#1 - We went outside to a public event. It was CP Allen's football final (which we won - Tier 2 Champions...), so we went and brought bean. Sadly, the weather absolutely sucked (and it continues to suck right now), so we scrammed after just 1 hour.


#2 - The baby's attentiveness. She is definitely focusing on noises and sights now. There's no question. This morning, I am sure I had her undivided attention for a good 2 minutes. It was really cool. Whatever my face was doing, she was going to stare straight into it.

#3 - Jenny is also convinced that Catherine smiled at her today. She asked me to come and look, but I was napping (this must have been when the cookie got eaten. Argh!). She said that she looked right at Jenny and smiled at her.

(keep in mind that #2 and #3 are not happening with any regularity, but man is it cool progress!)

#4 - We went out for breakfast with the bean. All hail Smitty's, the mother of all family restaurants! She was a perfect angel for the duration, and we've gained valuable confidence and experience. And gained an awesome milkshake, too.

Lots of things going on right now!

Saturday morning post

Updates abound; here's Jenny carrying the sweet girl in the sling:


Later on, Jenny packed up Catherine to take her out. The hat is cute, but the car-seat-sleeping-bag is even cuter.

The next morning, it was snuggle time. It's clear that they have a very strong connection already....

We've taken to calling Catherine "the bean." Reason being, sometimes she sleeps curled up like a kidney bean. Her face even takes on a reddish quality, not unlike the skin of a legume. Here's photographic evidence:



Aunt Kellie was in town for work, and she dropped by to visit (and she brought food from Il Mercato - yummy garlic, chili, and oil pasta!). Kel was loving the bean. She got some quality time with her:

Growth spurt?

Must be something like the 3-week-old growth spurt these days, as Catherine has her fussypants on this week and seems to be hungry all the time.

Tonight, for example, Jenny was driving home with Catherine and Ellie. Catie was freaking out so hard that she got Ellie going - and when Ellie gets barking, you don't want to be around. Jenny had to pull the car over and apply some doggie discipline (holding closed the mouth). Still, Ellie and Catie continued to freak out all the way home. Jenny had to admit it was her fault - she tried to make it home before feeding her and was about 20 minutes too late (that little girl has a hollow leg!).

As a result, Ellie spent some quality crate time when she got in the house. We don't have a crate for Catherine (is it even legal?), so we used Jenny as the human pacifier instead.

Mom called and gave me grief about no updates recently.... She said "I don't even know what she looks like anymore!"

I totally agree - I've been slack. So here are a few.

Making supper with a baby on the chest (Paenang Curry, if you're wondering):


Sleepy baby, parts 1 and 2:



Asleep in the swing. She's really taken to it lately and thankfully so. It's a lifesaver!

Nothing new, really

Still just getting into the routine. I'm still waiting for Catherine to become more interactive (give me a smile, follow me with your eyes, anything!).

Meanwhile, Jenny is gaining valuable experience in the field of stuffing-a-baby-into-a-sack-so-she-looks-like-a-sausage.

Fussy baby!

Looking at pictures of my cute baby helps me remember that she is a cute baby and that I actually love her.

No, it's not that bad - I do exaggerate. But she's been fussy these past 2 days. I'm sure we'll get through it though.

In other news, she's still eating like a champ. Up from a birth weight of 6 lbs 13 oz to 7 lbs 13 oz in just two weeks. Doctor says that this is exceptional progress. And that all her eating might be the reason why she's now vomiting every day.... over-eating.

But enough about that, here are the pics:




With Granny:


Two close-ups (first one with her tongue sticking out):



Quiet alert baby:

Gratuitous Pix

How can I not post such a cute picture of dad with his baby girl? One of her favourite places to sleep is on dad's chest.


She's getting chubby! Check out those cheeks! She is growing in leaps and bounds. Last we checked, she was 7 1/2 pounds. No wonder - she's been such an eating machine.


I had just finished bundling her up and getting her ready for the car, when Andrew and I paused to admire how adorable she is. I urged Andrew to get the camera and take a picture of the little angel and just as he was getting ready to snap it, Catie vomited all over herself. Who knew so much could come out of a little body? Her first puke, captured forever.



Well, Catie's first Halloween came and went. Alas, she didn't have a costume and didn't get to eat any chocolate (her mom ate the chocolate on her behalf), but her Aunt Fleur gave her a Halloween inspired shirt that looked pretty darn cute and kept her in the festive mood!