Clothes
Charlie is still in newborn clothes. Although they are getting pretty tight in the length. I only have 0-3 months sleepers so she has been rocking those the entire time. They fit so much better now!
I’m really surprised…I thought I would want to dress her up every day. However, she mostly has a zippered or button up sleeper on every day. Unless there is a visitor, then she has to be all dolled up of course.
Health
We feel so incredibly lucky to be blessed with such a healthy little girl. She is gaining weight quickly and we love seeing her cheeks get bigger and bigger every day :) They are my favorite thing to kiss and I do it as often as I can!
Charlie’s right tear duct was clogged at birth. It is pretty much fixed but there are a couple days a week that when she wakes up, I need to clean it.
Diet
Man, breastfeeding is no joke! Seriously such hard work!! So far, Charlie and I have navigated breastfeeding pretty well. At times of frustration, we leaned on Derek for his support and help. Before Charlotte was born, everything I read said give breastfeeding 3 weeks and at that time point it gets easier. I found this to be so true. At the 4 week mark, I feel like we have it down as good as possible. Hopefully that continues.
Charlie is the best little eater. From the very beginning, this has caused her to also be a great sleeper. During the first week, Charlie would eat every 4-5 hours. Our pediatrician recommended feeding on demand, so we continued to wait patiently through the day until she would wake up so we could interact with her. As soon as week 2 hit, she began cluster feeding every single night. We could count on 4-6 hours (between the hours of 6pm-midnight) that Charlie would be connected to me every second wanting to feed. She would “tank” up and then sleep for 4-6 hours. Yes, it was so incredibly nice to have this nice stretch of sleep (especially right in the very beginning); however, nursing for this long was uncomfortable and painful plus it left me incredibly frustrated! I would pump each day so Derek could feed her a bottle to give me a break but it still left me pretty deflated. And then on the evenings Derek was at work, it was not a pretty situation.
Finally after a day where Charlie wanted to nurse literally the whole day…I was at my end. I decided to try and put her on a schedule where I would wake to feed her. This was life changing for me. I wake her every 2.5-3 hours and this has cut down on the time she wants to cluster feed in the evening.
Sleep
As I mentioned, Charlie is the best little sleeper. She slept 4-6 hours at night the first 2 weeks and now she stretches it out to at least 6 hours with one 8 hour night in there. We are so thankful she loves her night sleep! I feel like swaddling her in the miracle blanket is somewhat to thank…LOVE this product!
We had Charlie sleeping in her rock and play right beside her bed. At 4 weeks, we moved her rock and play in her nursery and she has been sleeping there. I’m hoping to transition her to her crib sometime this month.
Crying
I feel like Charlotte is a pretty normal happy baby. The only time she cries is during the “fussy” time babies usually have…in the evening. Otherwise, she is pretty good at letting us know when she’s not happy by making a noise…a very girly noise at that. That is something I’m so surprised about….she sounds so girly all the time!
Baby Gear
Swing, play mat, rock and play, Cloud B sleep sheep, baby bath tub, miracle blanket
Likes
Being held by Mom and Dad, soft blankets right next to her face, being held while Dad is walking around, getting her diaper changed, her car seat and riding in the car, bath time, time in her swing, and being swaddled or held really tight.
Dislikes
Mom’s cold hands on her skin, and sunlight in her eyes
Milestones
Her umbilical cord fell off at week 2. Charlie’s neck is getting so incredibly strong. She is doing some mimicking and tracking movement with her eyes.
Other Thoughts
We love her little girly noises and grunts. Derek and I constantly mock her. We also laugh at her all the time with the funny faces she makes. I love staring at her to see what face she will make next. Her mouth and eyebrows are so expressive.
We cannot wait to see what eye color she has. Every day we ask her, “so are you going to be a little brown eyed or blue eyed girl.” Some days they are bluer than blue and other days we swear we can see brown in them.
Over the past month, Derek and I have said, daily, we cannot believe she's our daughter or I can’t believe I’m a mom/dad.
We are so thankful for all the friends and family that have come to visit her. She is so loved!!
