When Charlotte was first born and shown to us, we both commented that she looked just like MJ. I felt like it quickly changed though, and while I do still see some similarities, she definitely has her own look to me and doesn't favor him nearly as much as I felt like she did right at birth. I took this picture of her a couple weeks ago though, and as soon as I was looking at it I was immediately reminded of a similar picture I'd taken of MJ. When I compared them, I was really struck by their resemblance. MJ was even 12 or 13 weeks in his picture, and Charlotte is only 3 or 4 weeks in this pic. Little Charlotte is quickly catching up! :) What do you think...look alikes or not?
My mom, dad, and brother arrived before Charlotte's birth and were such a huge help to us. I was so fearful of going into labor early and not having family here to help out. Luckily we made it to our scheduled date though, and all went just as planned. Jeff and dad were here for a few days after Charlotte's birth, but then had to get back to their respective jobs, homes, etc. We were lucky enough to have my mom here for almost a full month, though! It was such a HUGE help having her presence as we began to transition to a family of 4. For some people, I'm sure that much time with their mother or mother-in-law might not be the most comfortable thing ever, but we're really blessed to have such an effortless relationship! She definitely was able to have some great bonding time with MJ and Charlotte, did all the laundry for us, helped out with cleaning, did most all of the cooking, and of course held Charlotte just about any time needed in order for us to shower, rest, etc. Oh, and best of all, her and dad (he was here for a bit after Charlee's birth and then came back to pick up mom at the end of her visit) let Mat and I sneak off for a quiet dinner on their last night here. I'm sure it will be quite some time before we're able to do that again, so it was MUCH appreciated!
She's been gone a couple weeks now, and Mat and I have adjusted to being a family of four on our own, but one does definitely miss that extra set of hands. Mat was so lucky (not so sure if he'd agree) to be off for the whole month of January. He's had to go into work a few afternoons each week to keep up with planning and other commitments, but for the most part he's been able to be around the house to help me out with the kids a ton! He returns to work this week, and life will really begin to get back into a more normal routine and schedule. I know it's going to be quite challenging, but I'm also looking forward to establishing a bit of a routine again. Fingers crossed and prayers said that I don't end up in tears on day 1. ;)
Thanks, mom for giving up your own life for a full month in order to help our family!! Maybe one day I'll be doing the same for my own little girl....
Little Miss Charlotte turned 3 weeks old last week, which meant it was off to her first pediatrician appointment. A home nurse had visited her just two days after being released from the hospital (huge perk or small town living I suppose), but this was her first visit with Dr. Scott. We were excited to see if she'd been gaining weight, although we suspected that she definitely had, and we received great news! Our baby girl was headed in the right direction and had been packing on the pounds and inches.
Her 3 week stats, on January 12th, were:
Age: 20 days
Weight: 9lbs 7oz., 75th percentile (she was 8.6 at birth, but only 7.6 when leaving the hospital)
Height: 22 inches, 90th percentile (was 20 in. at birth)
Head Circumference: 37cm., 55th percentile
No vaccines yet; this was just a basic well baby check, and overall Charlotte looked wonderful. She seems to have a pretty easy going disposition so far. She only cries when she's hungry or her belly hurts, she likes her big swing, bouncy chair, and play mat from time to time. She's not too sure about her little swing, and typically spits out a pacifier or turns it down all together. Her only "issue" at this point is lots of gas and upset tummy. We didn't have either problem with MJ, so it's a new one to us, although probably fairly common in newborns. It's hard to see her in pain though. She's only breastfed right now, so we're not sure if it's something in my diet that she's sensitive to (dairy possibly) or just an immature digestive system that needs a little time to develop. It mostly seems to bother her in the evening though, and she'll get very gassy and uncomfortable and unable to fall asleep. The doctor preferred not to try any medications this early on, which we wouldn't want to yet anyways, and said if the problem got bad enough we might want to consider a small break on breast milk and try an elemental formula (the most easy to digest) to see if that made any difference. Hopefully we don't have to go that route, so right now we're trying to wait it out and use Mylicon and Gripe Water to make her more comfortable.
At three weeks old, she's nursing every 2-3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. Now that she passed birth weight, I no longer have to wake her to eat during the night, which is wonderful! She's had a couple rare longer stretches of sleep, and I'm hoping for more soon! :) She's sleeping in our room in the evening-either in her pack n play or her swing, and during the day she naps just about anywhere-bassinet in the living room, bouncy chair, our arms, etc. She sleeps the majority of the day, usually with 2-3 awake periods where she's alert and active for an hour tops. When awake, her strength just amazes me! Even in the hospital she was already beginning to lift her head and was grasping at her pacifier, and since then she's only gotten stronger and stronger. She completely shocked me when she rolled over, from belly to back, at two weeks old! This just seemed crazy, so I figured perhaps it was a fluke, but she's made it clear that it wasn't. She's done it at least a couple more times since then. Apparently, she's not a big fan of tummy time and she's determined to prove it. :) She regularly turns her head from side to side, swats at toys, and turns her head towards a voice or light. She has these big dark blue eyes that look so wise already. She'll just stare at me like she's studying me, and it's so precious. These first few weeks have flown by and it's amazing how quickly she's changing already.
Here's Charlotte playing on her little play mat at three weeks old:
Wearing my baby hat that was made by my Grandma Dorsie
I was so excited to be able to have newborn pictures taken of Charlotte Noelle. I found a great local photographer who is new to the trade and had great prices! When we had MJ, I was sad that we missed out on newborn pics, but by the time we'd brought him home from the NICU, he was past the sleepy newborn stage, so his first professional pics weren't taken until 3 months of age. These pics were taken when she was just one week old, on New Year's Eve. I'm just so pleased with the way these pictures turned out. Charlotte slept through 90% of the photo session and we got some great shots to capture this beautiful stage. There are no words for the love I feel when I look at her and my sweet Mathew.
Christmas was really strange, but also really special this year. It kind of felt like there was a lot of time preparing for and looking forward to Christmas, and then it never actually happened. Hard to put into words. This was the first Christmas where MJ really got excited about Santa, the lights and decor, all the Christmas movies on TV (loved the good ole classic Rudolph movie-or "reindeer show" as he called it), helping me bake cookies, etc. that it really was an exciting time of year!! The season itself was just so enjoyable as we prepared for Charlotte's birth, the festivities associated with Christmas, and kept Jesus' birth in our hearts-as well as reminding MJ that HE is the true reason we celebrate Christmas.
Since we knew Charlotte was going to be born on December 23rd and we'd spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the hospital, we decided to go ahead and celebrate Christmas a little early. The joys of a 2 year old not being able to pick up on this! :) So, on the evening of December 21st we were sure to put out our milk and cookies for Santa (a first for MJ) as well as our Elf, Dewey. MJ colored little cards for them as well. My parents and brother had arrived just a day or two before, so we were all able to celebrate together. It was great to be able to really enjoy this time with MJ and shower him with love right before the arrival of his baby sister.
GiGi helping MJ sign his name on his cards
Modeling his Christmas PJ's in front of the tree before bedtime
Once our little angel was tucked into bed, Dewey the Elf made his final report to Santa and then Santa delivered the goods!
Here's a little video of MJ coming down on Christmas morning. He awoke on his own, but was a little quiet and shy at first...
As soon as breakfast and presents began, he was all smiles! He loved opening presents, but also loved to stop and take time to play with each and every one. No joke, it took us a good four hours I think to open presents. It was so nice though to be able to take our time and watch him enjoy it all. Then, once he was done he watched a new Thomas the Train Christmas movie while us adults exchanged gifts.
"Christmas morn"...last day with Charlotte in my belly
Enjoying a new train set
Paint time! MJ received paints, brushes, a smock, and paper and was excited to have a little art time right after opening this gift.
Slam dunk! MJ enjoying his new basketball hoop
Even though baby Charlotte hadn't arrived yet, she still had her first stocking and a few presents!
That day was spent enjoying family and watching MJ play with all his new toys. It was also time for final preparations around the house and packing our bags and preparing MJ for what would be happening the very next morning-Charlotte's birth! That evening we decided to go out for a nice meal. I figured it might be our last meal out for a bit, and we had a really nice time. Mom, dad, Jeff, Mat, MJ, and I headed to Crust for a yummy dinner.
On our way out for Christmas dinner...only a little more than 12 hours until our Christmas blessing is born!
Actual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were of course rather different. It really was special and beautiful though having no where to go, no where to rush off to, and just being able to focus on the joy and miracle of new life. I know her birthday will probably be rather chaotic and busy for many years to come, so just enjoying this tiny beautiful baby girl in peace felt quite wonderful.
The day after we arrived home from the hospital, Mat's dad and step-mom arrived in Dubuque. They were excited to meet Charlotte and we were able to then celebrate Christmas with them. MJ was thrilled to have so many loved ones here at the same time. He would run in circles shouting "Mema, Papa, Gigi, PopPop, Uncle Jeff, Mommy, Daddy, Bubba!" The kid is loved, and thrives because of it! Even Charlotte was present at our Christmas celebration with them!
MJ testing out his new window crayons with Mema's help
My heart has been so touched by watching MJ interact with his new baby sister. We could not have asked for him to be more accepting and loving of her. It's been a huge blessing!
This was taken shortly after Charlotte's birth. MJ was anxious to hold his new sister. He seemed to do really well with the grasping the idea that she would be born soon and that she would be a part of our lives. It's hard to know how much a two year old really understands this, so it was just sort of a prepare him as best as we could and then wait and see scenario, but so far he's been uh-may-zing! He's quite sensitive and intuitive for a toddler boy, and I think these personality traits have really paid off in his new role as big brother.
He's had his moments of wanting to be held or reverting back to baby-ish things like wanting to sit in her bouncy seat, take her pacifier, etc. and needs reminders to be gentle sometimes, but he's very loving with her, likes to hug and kiss her each time he wakes up or goes to bed, and is quite the little helper with diaper changes or fetching other baby necessities when needed. It broke my heart when he'd want me to hold him and I wasn't yet able to pick him up. I'm so used to him being my "baby", that it was really difficult for me to not to be able to do some of those things as much, but between Mat and the rest of the family visiting, he's been getting lots of love and attention, and constant reminders about what a great big brother he is!
He received a special Big Brother basket full or new goodies and books from his baby sister. What a sweet boy! He also brought Charlotte a little sister present in the hospital. On a previous shopping trip with mommy, he picked out a toy for her car seat that was just from him.
This moment was just precious. Charlotte was having some tummy time on her play mat yesterday (this was taken just before she rolled over) , and MJ got down on her level to play with her. He'd rub her back gently and try to encourage her to look at the little rattles and toys.
I know that having another child certainly changes the family dynamics, and there will most certainly be challenges to come I imagine, but so far it's just been so great to see the adjustment take place rather effortlessly at home. My baby boy is now a big brother, and such a loving one. His tender heart warms mine and reminds me how lucky I am to be his mommy.
In mentioning big brothers, I must recognize my own, who also has such a tender and loving heart. His love for his nephew, and now niece, just amaze me. My big brother doesn't have a lot of experience with babies, but he doesn't let that stop him. He jumps right in there and helps out however he can. MJ just adores him, and I think the affection works both ways! Uncle Jeff was great about rising and taking care of MJ each morning that Mat and I were in the hospital with Charlotte. He'd change him, get him ready for the day, and really helped keep MJ in his little routine so that life was as normal as possible for him. I loved growing up with a big brother (okay, minus the times he made me eat dog food and the time he puked all over the backseat on a family vacation), and as we've grown into adults we have been really lucky to maintain a close relationship. It's pretty neat to now have my own little boy and girl that are almost the exact age difference as my brother and I. I can only hope that they're as fortunate with their love and friendship as my brother and I have been!
