Baby's First Christmas

Feliz Navidad from the Kohs to everyone out there! Natalie is 4 months old today and she celebrates her first Christmas this year! Natalie means ‘gift from God’ and it also means ‘Christ was born on Christmas day’. We celebrate God’s gift –our precious baby girl and also His ultimate and largest gift –salvation through Jesus Christ this Christmas.

We have been extremely busy for the past four months with our newborn and only have had time to upload Natalie’s pictures on facebook now and then. Finally getting the time to blog on a rainy Christmas Eve afternoon when Nat’s taking her afternoon nap. : )

Our little bundle of joy has grown tremendously physically and cognitively. We think she’s such a pretty darling with large eyes and a side dimple so sweet (don’t all parents think of their cherubs that way?). At 3 months old, Natalie flipped herself over and was able to hold her head up high – what strong neck muscles she has! Natalie’s favourite pastime now is sucking. She started off with sucking her fist, and then she progressed to sucking a few fingers, and she finally found her thumb. She puts almost everything she can find into her mouth, including Papa’s thumb and shoulder and she produces saliva at an amazing rate! Bibs are of little use as they soak up within 5 minutes. She has found a more environmentally friendly way of dealing with her saliva – to wipe it on any dry surface on the person carrying her. Clever girl! Papa and mummy usually end up with wet clothes (esp at the shoulders) at the end of the day. Haha!

Our sweetheart is talking lots nowadays. She utters different sounds, and has been experimenting with different ways of voice production. “Ahs”, “Ehs”, “Ews” and occasional chuckles are part of her vocabulary. We play along and talk to her and she never fails to surprise and amuse us. Nat loves story time by mummy. She is always fascinated by mummy’s stories and is attracted by the brightly coloured pictures in the many books she has. Red is her current favourite colour.

Natalie is rather sticky to mummy now and is able to convey her wish to be with mummy using different “tones” of her cries. Papa understands her and will return her to her mummy when “Papa Time”, which is quite short-lived now, has ended. She enjoys time with her parents very much, especially in the mornings. Her morning smiles never fail to warm our hearts and to bring smiles to our faces.

Mummy is proud to say that she has exclusively and successfully breastfed baby for four months! It has built up our darling’s immune system quite a bit! Natalie loves going outdoors (papa says she is like mummy). She would look in awe at the things around her and chuckle or smile in glee when she spots something she likes. Mummy thinks that the manduca (a baby carrier) and the nursing bib are the best inventions a mother can have. With these, we can go anywhere with baby and still be really mobile!

As we remember God’s love for us this Christmas, we thank Him for giving us such joy in bringing up a child of our own. We pray that He will continue to guide us to train Natalie in the way she should go (Proverbs 22:6). Have a blessed Christmas!