One Month Old

I always thought the weeks went by fast when Claire was a newborn, but it seems like they go by even faster when you are dealing with two kids. I can't believe that Charlotte has already been a part of our lives for one whole month. She has been such a great addition to our family and we are so thrilled that she is happy and healthy.

Here are a few tidbits about Charlotte at one month old:

• she is a super easy and mellow baby during the day. She doesn't cry much and falls asleep pretty easy.
• over the last few weeks she has definitely developed a fussy period at night that lasts anywhere from 5 minutes to 1.5 hours. Luckily it isn't constant crying, so it is manageable for now.
• given her age, she is doing pretty well overnight. She usually wakes up 1-2 times per night to eat. On the bad nights, it takes her awhile to fall back asleep after eating. I just keep telling myself that this is only temporary...eventually all babies sleep through the night, right?!?! :)
• she takes a bottle like a champ. While she has only had 3-4 bottles at this point, she doesn't seem to mind switching between breastfeeding and the bottle.
• she loves being held and cuddled, especially for naps. We are working on getting her to nap in her crib, but are having problems getting her to stay asleep for more than 20 minutes in there. Hopefully we will have some success in the weeks to come.
• Charlotte enjoys laying on her play mat and doesn't mind tummy time for small increments of 5 minutes. She is getting stronger and stronger every day.
• while she doesn't scream nearly as loud as her big sister did, she definitely doesn't love the car seat. She tolerates it most days, but definitely has her moments.
• much to my surprise she is still wearing newborn clothes. We don't go back to the pediatrician until 2 months, so I have no idea how much she weighs, but I would guess around 9 lbs.
• she is super tolerant of her older sister Claire and all the kisses and "gentle" (and not so gentle) touches that she receives from her.
• her hair is slowly falling out, especially on sides on the top of her head. It is a cross between a balding man and a punk rocker with a mohawk.
• she is super close to giving us a real smiles consistently. I have seen her give us a few that I think are true smiles (and not just gas), but there haven't been too many so it is still hard to say.

We can't wait to watch her grow and see her own personality shine through over the next year!

Hanging Out

We have been busy hanging out this weekend. Saturday morning was spent at the State Fair and the afternoon was spent celebrating our nephew Austin's 3rd birthday party (both events which I failed to take a single photo). Friday and Sunday we did a lot of hanging out around the house.

I have been busy trying to come up with things to keep Claire busy. She really enjoys helping in the kitchen, so Friday we spent some time making banana bread. She had a blast pouring in the ingredients, mixing everything up, licking her mixing spoon, and enjoying a piece of the finished project. She also loves to work on art projects. This morning we tore up some pieces of paper and worked on our gluing skills. Much to my surprise, she did great! Meanwhile, Charlotte has been busy working on her first smile, practicing tummy time, and checking out the world around her.

Cheap Entertainment

I know I have said this before, but I am not sure why we even bother buying Claire any toys. The girl LOVES playing with water...throw in a few buckets and she is set for a good 45-60 minutes. The other afternoon after I picked her up from daycare she had a blast filling up her buckets, pouring the water back and forth between buckets, and pretending to give her animals a bath in the water.
The only downfall is that she also loves to drink the water (seriously gross). We did have a minor scare yesterday afternoon when I turned around for a few seconds to tend to Charlotte only to find Claire drinking out of her bubbles bottle when I turned back around. Luckily the stuff is non-toxic and poison control assured me that she would be just fine.

Growing Stronger

Charlotte continues to grow more alert and stronger ever day. Her eyes have been staying open for longer periods of time during the day and shut more during the nights. She is still waking up twice to eat during the night (around 12:00 and 3:30) and usually goes right back down after eating about 75% of the time. It is manageable for now, especially since I try to get a nap in during the day. I started trying to put her down for naps in her crib this morning and that ended up being a big failure. Every time I put her down asleep, she woke up within minutes. After 1 hour I finally got her to sleep in her crib, but she only lasted about 15 minutes. Oh well, we will try again tomorrow.

Over the last week or so she has developed a fussy period at night, which usually lasts an hour. I am usually in bed during this time, so I am thankful that Art is patient enough to get through this time alone each night. Everything I have read says that this usually decreases after week 6, so hopefully we only have a few more weeks left. And really, she is super mellow the rest of the day, so we can't complain.

With new babies their always seems to be much debate over who the little one looks like. Since Charlotte's birth there have been many people who think she looks just like Claire. Sure they have similarities (i.e. the same nose), but I have never thought they look too much like each other. I finally went back and looked at pictures of Claire and I still don't think they look that similar...you be the judge (picture of Claire here).

Baby Gear

When we found out we were pregnant with Charlotte, we were thankful that we pretty much had everything we needed in the baby gear department. Carseat, strollers, clothes, bathtub, swing, bouncy chair...for the most part, we were all set. The one thing that we were certain we would need, especially since our girls are only 20 months apart, was a double stroller. We did some research and settled on a Phil & Ted's stroller. The great thing about this stroller is that it works for both a newborn and toddler, as well as two toddlers. The stroller itself is also pretty narrow, which makes getting through doorways a breeze. The not so great thing about this stroller is the price tag. Fortunately for us, we were lucky enough to have the help of Craig's List expert Mike Flynn, who found us our stroller on-line. So far it has worked out great and I can't wait to try it next spring when Charlotte is old enough to sit where Claire is.

The second baby gear purchase we made was more recent and came at the recommendation of our friend Michelle. When Sean and her were over last weekend, she was carrying her daughter Quinn around in a Moby Wrap. She had great things to say about it and we went out a few days later and bought one of our own. I have used it a few times and it is fabulous, especially when I am trying to entertain Claire while holding Charlotte or trying to get things done around the house. The hands-free capability is amazing and it seems to put Charlotte to sleep in minutes.

And finally, a few more recent pictures of our girls: Claire and one of her countless expressions and Charlotte loving and then hating tummy time.

Miss You Daddy

Art returned to work this morning after 2 weeks at home. It was great that he was able to take the time off of work and spend time with us. We will miss him this week!

Keeping our Sanity

Since adding Charlotte to our family we have found that the biggest key to keeping our sanity is staying busy. We are finding that we are ALL a lot happier when we have lots of plans on the weekend, many which involve getting out of the house. It keeps Claire's boredom level to a minimum, which results in much more happiness all around. It also helps Art & I forget just how tired we really are. This weekend we crammed in a ton of activities and had a lot of fun doing it.

Friday night the Flannery's came over for dinner. We were able to meet their beautiful new daughter Quinn, who is 10 days older than Charlotte. While Michelle and I caught up on life with 2 kids, Sean and Art supervised two very entergetic toddlers in the backyard. Will and Claire had a blast playing with the water table and slide. They figured out that if you pour a bunch of water down the slide, it makes for a very fast ride!! It was such a relaxing evening (yes, even with 4 kids!) and was great to have them over!

Saturday morning my parents came over with Ella and Austin and ventured over to the local wading pool at the end of our block. The kids had the entire pool to themselves and enjoyed splashing around. Afterward, everyone (except Charlotte & I) headed out to lunch. That night Kristine and Meghan came over for dinner and a playdate. As always, Meghan and Claire pretty much entertained eachother all night. Claire had a great Saturday with her cousins!
We continued the craziness today with breakfast at the Edina Grill, a walk and trip to the park. This afternoon included much needed naps for pretty much everyone. Tonight should be pretty low-key as we prepare for a new week.

Mellow

These pictures pretty much sum up Charlotte so far...mellow. She continues to be super laid-back with only a few moments of fussiness each day, usually occurring later in the evening. She loves to be held and cuddled and tolerates no fewer than 10 kisses from her sister each day.

She is starting to figure out her days and nights, which we are very thankful for. She is eating once or twice a night, but has been going right back down after feedings which has been huge. Her skinny little legs are starting to fill out as she continues to grow. I have found that I am much more relaxed this time around and am trying my best to enjoy each stage. I know how fast they grow and change the first year and want to cherish each moment, even the not-so-great ones.

Bright-Eyed

Charlotte has been opening her eyes more and more this week. Good thing as we were starting to worry that she would never wake up for more than a few minutes at a time. She continues to be a very content little baby and we are enjoying every minute with her...at least those where she isn't keeping us up in the middle of the night. :)

Surviving...

We survived our first week home and first weekend as a family of four without any major disasters. Charlotte continues to be a pretty good baby, which has definitely made the adjustment from one to two kids easier. She pretty much only cries (knock on wood) when she needs something and is pretty easy to calm down when she is upset. While she is still sleeping a ton, she hasn't quite figured out her days and nights. There have been many sleepless nights, but we are finding that we are much smarter during the nighttime hours the second time around. With Claire, we would both jump out of bed and work together changing her diaper, feeding her, and putting her back to sleep. This time it is all about shifts. Art usually takes the late night shift, starting around 9:00pm. He wakes me when she needs to eat and then I stay up with her until she goes back to sleep. The rest of the night, we take turns...I feed her and if she doesn't fall back asleep Art steps in to help. This allows us both to get more sleep and makes handling a very energetic 20-month old much easier. Claire continues to adore her baby sister and gives her kisses any chance she gets. She has only had a few real moments of jealously so far, which have mainly occurred when I'm feeding Charlotte and cannot give her a ton of attention. She continues to greet each morning with a very whiny and demanding "baby". And while it is a bit annoying at times (mainly because the last thing we want her to do is wake up the baby), I'd rather have her want to be with her than the alternative.

I'm sure I'm imagining it, but Claire seems so much older since Charlotte was born. She has such a big personality and she continues to make us laugh each day. I thought I would share a few funny moments with Claire over the last few days, so I don't forget them...

1. The Naughty Step: shortly before Charlotte was born we started giving Claire time-outs on the "naughty step" when she was misbehaving. So far it has worked out great about 75% of the time. She gets upset about the fact she has to sit there, says she is sorry when her time-out is up and gives us a hug before going back to playing. The other 25% of the time, she thinks it is fun to be told to go to the naughty step. She still obeys by going over to the step, but proceeds to smile and giggle the entire time she is there. On Saturday she even went so far as putting herself in a time-out. She was climbing on the coffee table and I asked her "do we climb on the coffee table Claire?", to which she responded "step" and walked right over to the naughty step and sat down. It was one of those moments when it was really hard not to laugh.

2. Adventures at Naptime: we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later...Claire has officially figured out how to get out of her toddler bed. Both Friday and Saturday she was up playing in her room after we put her down for her nap. Art caught her in the act several times...he said that a guilty look spread across her face as she raced back to her bed. On Saturday, after 1.5 hours of taking toys out of her room, telling her to get back into bed, and finally taking her blanket away, she fell asleep. Hopefully this is only short-lived. At least she isn't getting out of bed at night...yet.

Here are a few more pictures from our very busy weekend:

Home Sweet Home

We arrived home from the hospital on Monday afternoon and are happy to finally be home. Charlotte continues to be a great baby and quite the sleepy head. I am positive that Claire never slept this much, so it will be interesting to see how long it lasts. We have had a couple of sleepless nights...not because Charlotte doesn't sleep, but because she loves to be held and is not a huge fan of the crib. I am sure we will get there, it will just take time.
Claire continues to adore her baby sister. Each morning the first words out of her mouth are "baby" as she goes running toward her sister's room. She has also been giving Charlotte kisses non-stop. It is really sweet to watch.

Leaving the Hospital

Glad to be Home

I May Have a Problem...

Sisterly Love

So far Claire has been handling sisterhood like a champ. She has had a few minor moments, but overall she has been super gentle and sweet with Charlotte. I'm sure that bringing the baby home will be another adjustment, but I am far less worried about it after seeing how Claire has handled everything so far.

Here are a few more pictures of Charlotte. She has been a great baby so far...she has been eating and sleeping like a champ. We are heading home tomorrow and are looking forward to being home as a family.