Charlie at One month old

Happy one month birthday, Charlie girl!

Like most newborns, Charlie doesn't do much besides sleep. Our days at home consist of a morning nap, maybe running a few errands, chores, and an afternoon nap - with a few other naps thrown in as well.

At night she sleeps pretty well, if you don't mind sleeping next to a grizzly bear. This girl grunts and moans and groans all night long! The first few nights I hopped up so many times thinking she was awake and she was snoozing away, but making crazy noises. I am getting more used to them now and I don't rush to get her as fast until I am sure she is actually awake and needing me. She has been waking about every three hours, but last night (on her four week birthday) she gave us a stretch of about 6 hours of sleep.

During her second week of life, we went back to her doctor for a follow up visit regarding her jaundice issues. The doctor thought she looked great and didn't even test her blood again. She had surpassed her birth weight and just looked wonderful in general. Thank goodness!

I am beginning to think she looks less like Emily and a little more like me...maybe? Maybe that is just wishful thinking. I can definitely see a resemblance through the nose and mouth area. Her eyes are still dark blue and she still has her full head of dark hair. It isn't even falling out yet, because she rarely sleeps anywhere other than on our chests, so it doesn't rub off!

That same week we also had her newborn photos and our family photos taken by our friend Evin. She kindly let us come to her (gorgeous!!) home to take them, since Charlie doesn't actually have a nursery yet. They came out great and now we have the challenge of deciding which ones to order. We have started Emily sleeping in her big girl bed and we are ready to move the crib to Charlie's room. So Miss grizzly bear might be getting evicted soon!

Big sister has been sent home twice from daycare in the past month - once for diarrhea and once for having a temperature, which meant I had both girls home with me. (She's fine from both). I will admit I was nervous. Mostly I was just worried about how I would entertain Emily and meet Charlie's needs at the same time. Both days ended up being fine though and I am sure it will only get easier as time goes on. However, I have new respect for stay at home moms - and I already had plenty of respect for them with one child! 

A few pictures of our sleeping beauty:

Big Sis news:

Emily is as crazy as ever. Talking up a storm and making us laugh constantly. I mentioned above that she was sick with a temperature recently. She had one for about 4 days over July 4th weekend and she refused to eat anything except macaroni and cheese. She threw up her breakfast one day and was just kind of a pitiful mess in general. I took her to the doctor and they couldn't really pinpoint anything specific - probably just a virus. As usual, her recovery began right after I made the doctor appointment and she seems all better now.

We got her a swing for under the deck and she LOVES it. She would stay out there forever if we let her.

She has done great in her big girl bed. We take turns reading a story and putting her to bed. Some nights she whimpers a bit when we leave but she usually goes right to sleep. She is obsessed with shoes (she calls them "doos") and will often take a pair to bed with her. She loves to wear our shoes as well.

She is a very sweet big sister. She always asks "baby?" when she can't see her right away, and she wants to kiss her and sit next to her and give her a paci (which Charlie is not interested in at all). She doesn't quite know her own strength so we have to watch her carefully or else Charlie would be going on very extreme swings and getting not so gentle pats on the back! The other day at the doctor's office, Emily said she had a "boo boo" on her hand (she didn't) and I kissed it to make it better. She walked over to Charlie in her carseat and smacked her hand down on C's mouth so that she could kiss the boo boo as well.

She amazes me daily with how grown up she is becoming! Her almost two year old attitude is showing sometimes, and there have been some fits pitched already, but she is so darn cute that it is hard to get all that mad at her.

Hello Charlie - week 1 recap.

Charlie is here!  Arriving two weeks early, weighing 7lbs, 1oz and 20 inches long, she arrived in a much easier fashion than her big sister.

We were finishing up dinner last Monday night and I lifted Emily out of her seat and felt my water break. I hadn't had any contractions yet but we called the doctor on call and together we all decided better safe than sorry and headed to the hospital. After I sobbed my eyes out about leaving Emily for a few days, of course. 

When we got there and got checked in, I was having slight contractions but nothing unbearable. We hung out all night just waiting for something to happen and it never did so in the morning they started a pitocin drip. 

From that point things went fast! A few hours and 4 little pushes later and she was in my arms! She looks a lot like her sister as a newborn, but smaller and with a head full of dark hair. I am thinking I might have a shot at a kid that looks like me!

The epidural worked way more in my left leg than my right one for some reason so it took a few hours for that one to come back to life but when it did, we moved to our permanent room and settled in for the next two days. We were almost nursery buddies with Kelly Clarkson and her new daughter! As Mikey was going to load the car for us to leave, he rode the elevator with Reba and Narvel, on their way to see their granddaughter being born!

Charlie was a very sleepy girl for her first two days. She didn't want to wake up to eat, even going as long as 8 hours between meals at one point. As a result, she got pretty jaundiced - orange is not a good shade on your newborn! We have been back to the doctor twice since we got home and her bilirubin levels rose at first and then came back down over the weekend so we are good to go now.

first visit to the doctor

Daddy cuddles make it all better!

She is still a sleepyhead but I am being tougher about making her wake up for meals.

Sleeping beauty

She is so tiny! We agreed that we really have no memories of Em being quite this itty bitty. Emily was out of newborn clothes within a week or so but Charlie is swimming in them. 

So far her likes include her swing, and dislikes are diaper changes and being tightly swaddled. 

We have had several visitors at the hospital and since we got home - Erin, Heather, Abby and Will, Leslie and Paul and Shannon. Aunt Katie came from Atlanta and stayed a few days, Aunt Michelle and cousin Ryah came from Kentucky, and Grandma and Grandaddy have been over several times. 

We have loved seeing everyone! Emily especially thinks the company is for her and has been entertaining all the guests. 

Recovery for me has been easier this time too. I feel great, other than tired, obviously, and everyone keeps fussing at me to relax more. It's so hard when Emily runs up and throws her arms up! I just want to cuddle her but I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than the baby for two weeks.
So far, so good around here! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I have TWO kids! What a trip.
We took both girls to the doctor yesterday at the same time - Emily for her 18 month check up, and Charlie for a jaundice follow up visit - and it was chaos! No one misbehaved, but it was just so much going on at once and I can't imagine how anyone could have done that by themselves. Guess we will figure it out as we go though. We definitely rewarded Mom and Dad with milkshakes on the way home though!

Emily update:
Emily spent her week with a variety of amazing sitters who stepped in and helped us out SO much. Leslie came and spent the night with her when we went to the hospital and then took her to daycare the next day. We were worried how she would react to Mom and Dad not being there when she woke up, but judging from this breakfast photo, she was fine!

All smiles, always!

She came to the hospital Tuesday night to meet her sister. She was a little unsure at first - could be because everyone was staring at her and videotaping, but she warmed up quickly. Before they left for the night, she was giving her baby sister kisses and pats on the head.

Pointing to baby's eyes and nose.

Sweet kisses

And, I am out of here!

Aunt Katie got here Wednesday night and took Emily home and then watched her until we got discharged on Thursday. I think they had fun!

She loves taking selfies.

We call this her "crazy face"

She is very interested in the baby. Each morning she says "baby?" when she gets up, and wants to watch her in the swing (and maybe help her swing a little) and she tries to give her a pacifier or her toys. She is also very in to swiping Charlie's toys and blankets so that she can play with the tags. Emily has a bit of a tag obsession. She doesn't really chew them, just rubs them on her face. Weirdo.

The little hanging Monkey has a tag! Hooray!

I probably have said this at every age, but 18 months is my favorite so far! She is so funny! I think she grew up a year in the 3 days I was at the hospital. Her vocabulary grows daily. Her favorite phrase right now is "No, Mommy" and she says it in response to everything, no matter who is asking. She drags out the No to several syllables and it is so darn cute. She understands everything we tell her and wants to do many things for herself.
She loves shoes and drags them all over the house, always trying to put them on and take them off on her own.
She has been reluctant to swim much this year - she wants to sit on the stairs and pour water from cups, but she cries when you put her all the way in. That all changed when Ryah came to town! She was going off the diving board! Of course, her Daddy was there to catch her every time.
She wanted to copy every thing that Ryah did. This is one of the first time she really "noticed" Ryah as a playmate - before, she just kind of wanted to do her own thing. It was pretty cute to watch her try to be a "big girl".
At her doctor appointment, we learned that she weighs 24 lbs, and is in the 95th percentile for height. Healthy as can be!


We are so thankful for our healthy, beautiful girls. We know that things will be hectic around here for a while, but we are ready for the challenge and looking forward to the fun times ahead!

Emily on top, Charlie on the bottom

Naptime!