4 Months Old!

Fourteen Weeks

Fifteen Weeks

Sixteen Weeks

Seventeen Weeks

Weight: 16.9 lbs. (80th percentile)

Height: 26 (86 percentile) (height and weight done September 4th at four month well-baby)

Eating: Nothing new in the eating department! Except I will say, there is no feeling like looking down and seeing a good latch after our rough start at BFing.

Sleeping: August 25, 2013 I found out I was pregnant. August 25, 2014 I spent the first night without my baby within arms reach of my side - he slept in his own room. August 24, 2014 we were sleeping through the night. August 25, 2014 good-bye sleep, hello going to the other side of the house throughout the night. That about sums up night-time sleeping. We even went to the Hollinger cabin this month where he slept in the pack and play beside me, and he slept all night long. Back home in his own crib, no such luck. Maybe it is because I am a first time mom, or maybe it is because I have read too many articles, but I really don't agree with the "cry it out" method (at least definitely not this early). Maybe down the road I will see a need for it, but right now I don't mind getting up to reassure him throughout the night.

Napping during the day is going well. When we are home he naps in his crib. He naps really well in there and absolutely loves his mobile (I normally lay him down and put that on and it puts him to sleep.) He will nap about an hour after every feeding for anywhere between 30 minutes - 2 hours. He seems to be taking his longest nap after his 2:00pm feeding.

New Skills:
~ Rolling over back to belly (although he doesn't find it that amusing so rarely ever does it)
~ Playing with his chains
~ Reaching for objects
~ Consonant sounds
~ So close to giggling!

He Loves:
~ His chains
~ He loves when people say hi to him! There is hardly ever a time that he won't smile.
~ Being held up on a shoulder so he can see the world

He Doesn't Like:
~ He is seriously the happiest guy and is hardly ever not smiling!

Exciting Things We Did: It was a busy and exciting month filled with lots of firsts!

First Craft Show!

#1 Salesman! 

First Proposal! 

She said yes!

First time camping!

First time in a bathing suit!

First time in a pool (don't mind the mom blur finger in the corner)

First time at the beach

Toes in the ocean (& not so happy about it!)

First babysitters! (It was hard to leave for an 1.5 hours!)

Within a few days Charlie had three different babysitters. My mom and dad watched him while I went out for dinner with some girlfriends to celebrate Monica's bachelorette party. Then the next day Ty's parents watched him for 3 hours while we went boating. Then three days later his Aunt Courtney watched him while I went to a meeting for our company. I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point where I can leave him without a little (more like a ton of) heartache!

C moved into his own room. 

Our good friends Mike and Monica got married & Charlie helped mommy give a speech. 

Some More Pictures:

C learned how to roll over, but doesn't find it that great so hardly ever does it. 

Maybe I should start buckling him in? 

First time in a swing

First favorite toy

Charlie also became a nearly full time worker this month too. We work for our family company on Tuesdays and Thursdays and hang out with my cousin's children on Mondays and Wednesdays! 

I'm always going to say this, but four months... really?! Did anyone find that pause button yet?!

ok, ok, I know, I'm nearly two weeks late on this post! A lot can and has changed in those almost two weeks. Everything that I wrote is based only on his 4th month.

Three Months!

Nine Weeks

Ten Weeks

Eleven Weeks

Twelve Weeks

Thirteen Weeks

(It's so hard to get a picture where he is smiling AND still! I'm sure that will only get harder.)

Weight: 15 lbs. 11 oz. (We didn't have a well-baby check up this month, but since we are delaying shots we had to go in. His weight was done, but not his height.)

Eating: He is still my quick little eater! 4-5 minutes a side. I normally have to cut him off on the first side or he won't drink off of the other side. We cut out his middle of the night feeding for his 12 week birthday. He fussed the following night, but has pretty much been sleeping through since then! I say "pretty much" because around 4ish he normally fusses a little for his nuk to be put back in his mouth. 

Sleeping: This little guy is becoming a great sleeper! We normally started bed around 7:45pm, am asleep by 8:30pm, and then normally wakes up at 7:30am for the day. He normally starts to toss and turn when Ty gets up and ready for the day (around 5am). I have been pulling him in bed with me for some early morning snuggles before he actually wakes up for the day. That is going to be one hard habit to break, more so for me than for him. I love morning snuggles.

We also moved out of the swaddle and into a sleep sack this month. He kept breaking his arms out of his swaddle, so we decided it was time to move on. He transitioned smoothly, and I haven't noticed any change in his sleeping because of it. I still blanket swaddle him for naps. He rarely tries to break his arms out and he sleeps so much better for naps. 

New Skills: 
~ Actually, just today I noticed a new skill! Today when I was playing with him I would blow raspberries in the air and he would try to copy me - he even got it two times! It is so fun to watch him learn and develop more each month!
~ He loves to stand up and work on his leg muscles!
~ This boy will not try to roll from back to belly or belly to back during the day, but as soon as he falls asleep he rolls right onto his side and sleeps that way all night long.
~ Lately he has been recognizing familiar faces. I have noticed a few times that he will not smile at strangers, but as soon as he looks at me he gives me a huge smile (makes a mama's heart happy :) ). 

He Loves: He has really been enjoying sitting up, either on his bottom or while I am holding him on my hip. When I lay him on any incline he normally will pull his neck forward like he wants to sit up.

He is also really enjoying...
~ talking, talking, talking (So fun!)
~ Being in his Boba. He is more aware while in his Boba. Before he would always fall asleep right away.
~ Sitting on the porch and watching the cars go by. I wouldn't think he can really see that far, but he definitely tries to follow them with his eyes as they pass by.
~ Bed time and morning snuggles
~ Smiling
~ When mommy sings to him when he's upset. He will often calm down when I sing. <3
~ Ice cream (okay maybe I just really have been enjoying ice cream, but he reaps the benefits, right?)

He Doesn't Like:
~ shots :'( (me either!)
~ being cut off on one side while feeding to burp
~ He hates tummy time, and it is really hard to do because he vomits so easily. I have to time it when his belly is empty and by then he is normally sleeping.

Exciting Things We Did:

Had a 4 night sleepover at cousins' house while Aunt June and Uncle Josh were away.

Watched daddy take a hot air ballon ride. Okay, so he slept the whole time.

Felt grass for the first time!

 Some More Pictures:

One of my favorite pictures of my blue eyed beauty.

Family Selfie

Taking care of the office while Grampy was away!

Modeling some Weatherboard flooring

He is getting so big! (1 week and 12 weeks)

Brother Theo wanted to join while we were taking 3 month photos.

I just noticed how many "!" I used in this post. I'm sorry that I am not sorry, life is so exciting with my baby by my side! ;)

Two Months Old

Five Weeks

Six Weeks

Seven Weeks

Eight Weeks

Weight: 14 lbs. (83rd percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (96th percentile) (height and weight done July 10th at two month well-baby)

Diapers: We are exclusively cloth diapering. We took the plunge and started using cloth at nighttime. It is going really well! He is normally in his diaper for about 12 hours with no leaks! We use a pocket diaper with one mircofiber insert and one hemp insert. 

Eating: I just went back and reread this section from his one month post. It made me laugh - at least now that I am past that part of our story can I laugh. So when I last wrote his pediatrician told me that he did not have a tongue tie and that we both had yeast. Well, do I have a story for you... Shortly after writing Charlie's one month post, I had my six week check up. My appointment was suppose to be on Thursday June 19th. I woke up on Tuesday June 17th and felt like I should move it up to that day - I am not sure why other then the fact that the Lord was gently leading me. I called. They had a 3:00pm appointment. I took it. When we got to the appointment I mentioned what was going on with me. I did not even mention a tongue tie. When the midwife looked at me, she told me that I "had the worst nipples she had ever seen in her 22 years in the practice." That statement made me feel a little validated in my pain and frustration, especially since she hadn't even seen my nipples in the worse state. The midwife went to get the lactation consultant (the only one that Birth Care has). She confirmed that I did have a yeast infection. The LC and the midwife also asked to look in Charlie's mouth to make sure that nothing else was going on. Nearly as soon as the midwife looked in his mouth she confirmed that 1) he had yeast as well and 2) he was definitely tongue tied.  The LC agreed. 

I started to cry as soon as they confirmed it. I was overwhelmed to have an answer, but I did not want my baby boy going through the pain of being clipped. They both assured me he would be fine, and that it was better to get it done now then down the road when he could more than likely have speech issues from it. Let's just say it was a terrible experience, but mostly for me. Charlie cried when they were trying to lift his tongue, screamed when they clipped him, and then was completely fine as soon as I nursed him immediately after. Me on the other hand? Well let's just say that that they made me sit down and eat crackers as we were leaving because I was still shaking so badly.

After the clipping, I could immediately feel the difference. When we went home my only responsibility was to stretch his tongue before every feeding for a week - he didn't like that so much. It took him almost two weeks to learn how to use his "new" tongue, but now he is a pro at it. In fact he is such an effective nurser that he nursers for about 5 minutes a side, at the most. This quick nursing worried me at first, but he is more than fine in the weight department and it is really nice to be able to nurse him so quickly while out and about or in the middle of the night. 

The Lord answered my tear-full prayers that day. There are only two midwifes that know how to clip tongue ties as Birth Care, because I moved my appointment I had one of them. There is only one LC as Birth Care, because I moved my appointment she was there. I was the last appointment of the day, so they were able to clip Charlie right then and there, (because I moved my appointment). Then as we were checking out I overheard a conversation between our midwife and the secretary. Our midwife quoted us $25 for Charlie to be clipped. Apparently, the other midwife that clips tongues charges over $100. Let's just say I left Birth Care feeling like a HUGE rock had been lifted off of my shoulders.

And June, because I know that you are probably the only person reading this... I can almost completely say that Charlie would not be EBF if it weren't for you. Thank you for encouraging me and validating me during those first six weeks. I could not be more thankful for the role you play in my life. Like you kept telling me over and over, I am so thankful that I stuck with it. I'm sorry if I took up all your texts. I love you! 

Three weeks later, I am completely healed. The clip also helped Charlie not gulp as much air, which has caused much less projectile vomiting. (Another PTL for Charlie and my washing machine!) 

Sleeping: I feel silly about last month's post about Charlie's sleeping habits. I was a new mom who was unsure what she was doing and listening to others. Last month I wrote about how I was worried about spoiling Charlie by holding him too much. That is silly. I recently read an article that bullet points what life in the womb is like compared to life outside of the womb. No wonder our babies love to be close to us and held. Let's just say I threw the "am I spoiling him" thought out the window and have been doing what I feel is best. 

Charlie has been sleeping better throughout the day. He still loves to be held for naps and I'm okay with that. I will either wear him for a nap or hold him until he falls asleep and then lay him down. He also has started to fall asleep by himself lately. When I noticed he is getting tired, I will lay him down with his nuk and see what happens. I try and make sure that he gets at least one long (2 hour) nap a day. If I am home, I swaddle him and lay him down. He takes great naps in his swaddle. 

He is doing fantastic at nighttime. I normally feed him at 8:00pm and he is asleep by 9. He then sleeps until around 3am, eats quick, and then sleeps until 7:30am. However, he has slept through the night 4 different times. Just last night he slept from 9-7. That was nice, but I still woke up to check on him multiple times :) 

He is still sleeping in our room in a bassinet. We plan on keeping him in there until he is more constantly sleeping through the night. Which I (am afraid) will be soon. 

New Skills: This month Charlie has started using his vocal chords. He goos and gaas all the time and it is the most entertaining and adorable thing ever. I could, and do, spend pretty much all day talking back and forth with him. He is also much more aware of his surroundings. He responds with smiles (almost giggles) and pouty lips. 

He Loves: Bath time, reading, being held, talking, sucking on his fingers and nuk, being kissed by his mommy ;) 

He Doesn't Like: Charlie is such an easy going baby; There isn't much he doesn't like. However, if he gets too tired before bed he will let you know it! That is really the only time he will scream. Oh and he hates having bogeys taken out of his nose with the suction ball. Theo hates when I do it to him too. Lately, I have just been using a tissue.

Misc.: Charlie had his first big time boo-boo this month. Without going into too much detail, he was sleeping on a couch up at the cabin and got stepped on the face by one of my nephews. Everyone is okay, but it was really scary. It was really hard for me because not only did my little babe get hurt, but it was also the first time in my life that I realized that for the rest of his life Charlie is going to get hurt, physically and emotionally, and there is nothing I can do about it except pray. I know it sounds silly, but that was an overwhelming feeling/realization. 

Exciting Things We Did:

Celebrated Daddy's first Fathers Day

First Fourth of July

Started working at the family business

First cabin trip (Charlie with one of his name sakes.)

Nap time with cousin Anja!

I know everyone says it, but I can't believe how fast time is going. I dread that my baby is growing up so fast, but I am in love with watching him learn and grow. I can't believe how quickly he changes! 

Charlie's Birth Story

Warning - this post is very long!

My baby is 2 months old. I have wanted to write this down for the past 8 weeks. The greatest day of my life. The day that I cherish more than any other day. The day that I wish I could relive. The day I became a mama. I don’t want to forget that day. Already my memory is hazy, and I think of May 7th often. So here we are 8 weeks later, and I am going to tell Charlie’s birth story. 

The beginning of my labor was very putsy-putsy, therefore so is the beginning of the story...

Wednesday, May 7th. My due date. I woke up at 6:00am, or maybe I was woken up by what I thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions. I could tell that they were regular so I downloaded an app and begun timing them. They were about a minute long and just about every 9 minutes. I called my husband at 7:00 and told him that I was having regular Braxton-Hicks so it could be something, but it probably was nothing because they felt the exact same as they have since I first got them 8 weeks pregnant. Regardless, I told him he might just want to check his phone a little more frequently throughout the day. Ty continued about his day and I decided to go about mine. I decided that the best thing to do was to sleep and drink water, so that is what I did. My minute long contractions every 9ish minutes lasted until around 8:30. They then spread out to about every 20 minutes. At 9:00 I was sick of having BH contractions and was sure that it wasn’t real labor so I took my dog and went for a walk. If it was real labor then a walk would speed things up, if it wasn’t then hopefully they would go away. After our walk my contractions stopped - for 78 minutes and 11 seconds. At 10:00am they started up again. Still not painful. Still a minute long. The only difference was that this time they were all over the place - they ranged from 10-30 minutes apart. During this time I did what any sensible person would do and googled “what do real contractions feel like?” To my disappointment everything that was being described was not like I was experiencing. I had do pain on my sides or back, just tummy tightenings. From 2:00-5:00pm my contractions became even more strange. There would be anywhere from 4-27 minutes in-between contractions. My husband came home from work around 4:30. He was as giggly as a school-girl. He thought for sure today was the day. Me on the other hand? I was certain it was not. I felt bad because I was sure that I was only going to disappoint him. Finally, a little after 5:00 my contractions started to become a little more consistent and a little more painful (emphasize a little). 

Every Wednesday we get together with my family for dinner. However, as we were getting ready to leave I started to feel nauseous, but I was positive I was not in labor so off to dinner we went. On our way to dinner, really only 2 minutes down the road, I started to have second thoughts. Then we hit a bump in the road right during a contraction. It hurt. I didn’t feel well. I surely wasn’t in labor, but with the help of my husband we decided to go home. We called my family and informed them that I was not feeling well and would not be at dinner. We didn’t mention that I was having contractions because I honestly still thought it wasn’t going to turn into anything. We got home around 6:00pm. My contractions were still lasting a minute long, but were now more consistently 8ish minutes apart. (Neither my husband, nor I remember what we did for dinner, although I must have had some broccoli. All we remember is that he was working on something in the basement and I was trying to pass time by researching false labor on the internet.) It was shortly after we got home that the contractions started to hurt more as well. Still not painful. I was still happy as a lark in-between contractions. I just had to sway and lean on something during them. Seriously though, I wasn’t in labor. I had no bloody show, my water hadn’t broken, and my back felt great. Those darn BH contractions were just getting me ready for the real deal that would maybe come someday soon. 

At 7:00pm I was really sick of having contractions so I called our Bradley Method instructor and ask for her opinion on what to do. She told me to try showering and that it should either speed things up or slow things down. At 7:14 I got in the shower. As soon as the water hit my skin I went into active labor. Luckily Ty was up stairs with me. He timed contractions for me and offered encouraging words. Thanks to the contractions the shower took me an hour long. My contractions started as being one minute long and 5 minutes apart. By the end of the shower they were still one minute long, but only 2.5 minutes apart. It was during the shower that I thought I may perhaps be in labor, but only maybe. Shortly after 8:00pm we called Birth Care and let them know that I was having consistent contractions. The mid-wife on call encouraged to maybe stay at home a little longer, but to ultimately to do what we thought was best. I was still happy and talking in-between contractions so we decided we would stay at home a while longer. While I had been in the shower Ty had begun packing the last minute items in our bags. After we got off the phone with the midwife I decided I would try to lay down and rest in bed for a while. WRONG IDEA. Cue strong contractions, serious nausea, and uncontrollable shakes. Never ever fight a contraction. I only had to fight half of one to know that it hurts one gazillion times more. During that moment of fighting against my body and not letting it work, I felt why women take drugs. I vowed in that moment to never fight another one. After the next contraction I knew we had to leave now. (May I just mention that it was also after this contraction that I noticed the extremely worried and concerned look on my puppy’s face as he tried to snuggle my hand.) Although right after that contraction I wasn’t sure we should go yet. However, the next one helped convince me. Ty finished packing the car and I slowly made my way downstairs - definitely not happily talking in-between contractions anymore. As we were leaving our house I remember saying “I’m not sure we should go in yet” and “I think I need to push” within a few seconds of each other. (Looking back now that urge to push was just Charlie moving lower.) Luckily, I have a fantastic husband who calmly reassured me that we would always come home if we went in to early, and that we weren’t going to be hurting anything. Meanwhile, in his head, my feel-like-pushing comment was freaking him out a little. (He always said it would be fun to deliver in the car.) 

The car ride to the birthing center seem like a blur. I do not really remember anything other then the two times Ty had to brake a little harder than I liked. All I remember is not wanting to get out of the car once we got there. However, as I slowly made my way in (I am not sure if Ty was helping me or getting things out of the car.). From the time I got out of the car until I was in bed (I literally just had to walk there which was not far at all) I had four contractions. They were coming strong and fast. During this short, but killer walk I used four different Bradley positions - ones I thought I would never do. By the time I got in the bed and was checked I was 7cm dilated! It was only then that I realized that I was going to see my baby soon. From the time I fought the one contraction at home until I began pushing, I believe I was in transition. I was confused and not sure of anything, extremely nauseous, and shaking. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get in the jacuzzi (something I always wanted to do), but the midwife decided she would go ahead and fill it for me awhile. As soon as it was full my husband and I decided to get in. Let me tell you - best decision! My contractions were still strong and fast, but being in the water with Tyler behind me made it so easy to relax. We labored in the jacuzzi for over an hour, Ty coaching me through breathing and offer encouraging words the whole time. Our midwife let us labor alone, only coming when called or when it was time to get Charlie’s heart-rate. Our midwife, Dana McDonald was fantastic. Seriously, the best! She was so chill and encouraging! 

After being in the jacuzzi for a while I got very nauseous and became sick. Luckily, I made it into a bowl. (Full on transition, folks.) Finally, after being in the tub for about 45 minutes I had a little bloody show. Shortly after that I began to feel the urge to push/ poop. Dana came in to check me, but I was only 8 or 9 cm, not quite complete. The next 20 minutes were probably the most uncomfortable part of the whole labor and delivery - I did not feel like I was working with my body anymore. I really wanted to push, but knew I probably shouldn’t if I wasn’t complete. I tried some different positions in the tub, but could not find anything that I liked. I also thought for sure that I was going to poop, and I did not want to poop in the tub, so we moved into the bathroom and I labored on the toilet for awhile. The toilet was not fun. I could not get comfortable and I really just wanted to push. After about 10 minutes on the toilet, I decided to get back on the bed. Before I was actually in labor, I always wanted to delivery in a jacuzzi in the squat position. For some reason, when I was actually in labor, that is not what I did at all. I did not want to get back in the jacuzzi because the water was pretty yucky looking. I tried one contraction in the squat position (on my way back to the bed) and for some reason I did not like it (not sure why, maybe I was just concentrating on getting into the bed). 

When I finally got back into the bed Dana checked me again and thank the Lord I was complete and could begin pushing. I ended up pushing in traditional style (last position I ever thought I would deliver in) with Tyler behind me (we both really wanted Tyler to catch Charlie, but in the moment I need him behind me). My contractions continued one after the other during pushing. For the first two contractions, I was still figuring out how to push - I would take about 4 or 5 breathes during the contraction. By the third contraction I started to figure it out and pushing became more successful and relieving. Finally, after a few contractions my water finally broke - right on Dana and flowed back to Tyler. In the moment I was not thinking about how long I was going to be pushing for, but I remember Ty looking at the clock and saying that he had 30 minutes to come on his due date. Dana promptly said that there was not doubt in her mind that he would be here by then. I couldn’t believe that I was less than 30 minutes from meeting my baby! After one contraction Dana took my hand and let me feel his hairy little head. She also let me look with a mirror. I wish I could have looked and touched him more, but my contractions were coming too fast to really take much in. One contraction and his head was half out. Another and his whole head and arm were out. In between contractions he decided to turn his whole head and arm (ouch!). One more contraction and I heard my baby cry and felt him on my chest! In total, I only pushed for 20 minutes. Thinking about that moment still gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes!  

Charlie was healthy and perfect and beautiful. The next hour or so was a blur. All I remember is staring at my beautiful baby boy. At some time, that I do not remember, Ty got up and took pictures (thank goodness!). After they checked him temp and heartrate, they left our new little family alone to take it all in. I will forever cherish those first moments together. It was perfect. Just the three of us. After about an hour they took Charlie to do measurements (only a few feet away where I could watch everything). He was 7lbs 9.5oz, 20 1/4” long. After that Tyler held him skin to skin while they took care of me. They continued to monitor us for the required 4 hours (that turned into 5) and we left at 5:00 am. 

Charlie’s birthday was the best day of my life. My whole life I was afraid of delivering a baby - I believed the lie that society tells us. However, L&D was anything but that lie. It was beautiful and it was what my body is suppose to do. I know that whoever is reading this will probably not believe this, but it really was not that painful. Right after delivering him I was relieved, yes, but I also was ready to do it again three days later (and I tore badly). 

May 7, 2014 was the most beautiful day. I am so blessed that the Lord blessed me with being a mama to my Charles. 

So much hair!

Beautiful big eyes

Getting ready to leave

One Month Old!

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

Four Weeks

Weight: 10 lbs. 14 oz. (72nd percentile)

Height: 22" (77th percentile) (weight & height done on June 9th at one month well-baby)

Nicknames: Billy (because he sounds like a Billy Goat often), Hungry Hippo, Love Bug, Honey Bunny (do you see a pattern), Gnarly, Peanut... we are nickname folk. 

Diapers: We started out using only disposables  (size 1 - which were a little big), but slowly started using newborn cloth diapers after the meconium passed. We continued using more cloth, until now we use cloth diapers all day and a disposable at night time. He has grown so fast that he is already in size 2 disposables, although they are still a little big. 

Eating: This category could have a whole book written about it. During the first week of nursing this mama messed up. We weren't latching properly and we are still paying for it 5 weeks later (yes this post is a little late). For the first two weeks of Charlie's life we fought a lot. I didn't know what I was doing (and was misdirected by youtube - darn youtube). Charlie would push away and cry and root up in the air. I would cry from frustration and pain (to be honest it was more like wailing). Our poor neighbors could probably hear me sobbing through the walls. There were so many times that I was certain that my baby was going to go hungry in the middle of the night. Let's just say the first two weeks were absolutely TERRIBLE. We went to see a lactation consultant when Charlie was 2 weeks old. That was great and helped our latch. Breastfeeding now did not involve the tears, nor the same level of frustration and pain, however my poor sucked off nipples would not heal. Therefore, they told me that my wounds were probably too deep to heal and that I would have to pump in order for them to heal. Well the day before I was going to start pumping (which I really didn't want to do because we still weren't that great at nursing and I was concerned about nipple confusion) it was brought up by a friend that he may have a posterior tongue tie. Therefore, I did not pump and was directed to a lactation specialists. However, before I had a chance to talk to her Charlie had his one month appointment. His pediatrician reassured me that she did not think he had a posterior tongue tie and that she thought I had a yeast infection (note the word "thought." I have some of the symptoms, but not all and Charlie has no symptoms). And that is where we are now - both getting treated for a yeast infection that we may or may not have. We did end up talking to the lactation specialist over the phone. She told us to continue treatment and if things don't get better we are to contact her again. Hopefully things get better by his two month update :) 

This kiddo also enjoys changing how long he eats for. He was nursing for about 45 minutes in the beginning. That changed to an hour. This mama said, "no way am I nursing for an hour," so I cut him to 30 minutes. Then he dropped to 20 minutes. Then to 15, and currently he is nursing for 7 or 8 minutes - about 4 minutes a side. The short nursing worries me, but he is happy, content, and still peeing and pooping regularly. Feedings are every three hours since one week old.

To sum up this category - breastfeeding is the hardest thing I have ever done. Not only was it killer painful in the beginning (I told myself that I would rather birth more babies than have to go through breastfeeding pain), but it consistently makes me question my ability as a mother. "What if I can't feed him?" "What if this fighting scares him?" "What if we really don't have an yeast infection and I am just giving my baby a ton of medicine and chemicals he doesn't really need?" and the questions continue. 

Sleeping: Charlie has been a pretty good nighttime sleeper. His first night he slept nearly all night long. His second night, I swear he didn't sleep at all. From then until 1 week he would wake up every 2 hours. From 1-4 weeks he would go about three hours at night, with some longer stretches as he got older.  

Daytime sleeping is a bit different. For the first week he was a sleepy newborn, but that didn't last long. He is great at napping if he is napping with someone :) If he is sleeping on or with someone none of the below is true. In fact, he can be hard to wake up. Other than that, he is hard to put to sleep, and harder to keep asleep. No, sounds don't bother him at all. I swear its his sleep cycle. He falls into his deep sleep and sleeps great, but when he starts coming out of that deep sleep is when he wakes up. Nearly every single time. I have discovered that if I can catch him before he is really awake he is much easier to put back to sleep. Every nap is different sometimes he sleeps nearly the whole three hours, other times he skips a nap altogether. I have been napping great :)

Right now we are trying to find a balance between getting a cranky baby to sleep and not letting him get spoiled by always being held for naps. I'm not worried about spoiling him yet, but can see it being a problem down the road. And at that note, I can hear my babe waking out of his deep sleep...

Exciting Things We Did: Other than being born :) ... 

We met cousin Anja for the first time

We had our first sleep over with Aunt June and cousin Anja when Charlie was two weeks old and Anja was just 5 days old! The boys in our families had a camp out at our family quarry. 

We celebrated Daddy's birthday!

We went to our first wedding.

We also went on our first day trip for Charlie's one month birthday! We hiked around Mauch Chunk Lake park in Jim Thorpe, PA. Charlie did awesome and this mama got a good workout in!

And just because we need more baby toes in our life...

How cute are his!?!?