Jumparoo

Monday, Judd and I bought Charlotte a jumparoo. We stood in Babies R Us for a while staring at all of the options. Judd wanted to put her in them to let her try them out. I asked if he'd rather just inject her with harmful bacteria and viruses. Finally, we picked the Jumparoo by Baby Einstein. We picked this one because it seemed to have a lot to look at, plus it collapses and can fit under a bed.

This was the first toy that we have given to Charlotte that she has liked immediately. She squealed with delight when we put her in it. It was fun to watch. She'll only stay in it for about 10 minutes now, I'm hoping that will change when she gets bigger and stronger.






Poor thing has had an awful cough this week, I'm sure she has a sore throat too. She has been sleeping ok, even though she coughs all night. I just wish I could give her something for it. She has had 3 colds now in 5 weeks. This day care thing is the pits. It is so stressful deciding whether to send her or not, and then figuring out what to do about work if I decide to keep her home. They tell parents, "Well it's good for them, she'll build a great immune system and won't be sick at all when she goes to Kindergarten." I think they tell parents that to make them feel better about sending babies to day care.

Blogging from Blackberry

How cool is this? I'm posting this from my Blackberry!

Welcome Summer!

Memorial Day means the beginning of the summer. Kids are getting out of school, the weather is getting warmer, and the pools are opening up. We welcomed summer in style this past weekend down at Lake Blackshear.

According to Lilly, rather than having the usual pancakes on Saturday morning, we had "Flyin' Flapjacks". After breakfast, Charlotte was entertained by her cousins.




Later in the morning, we played in the sprinklers down at the dock:



There were many jet ski rides:



And it wouldn't be summer if you couldn't shoot a snake while riding in a canoe:



To end the day on Saturdy, all of Judd's family came to the lake and Judd's grandmother and great aunt made fried chicken. My mouth is still watering thinking about it.

Charlotte started the day on Sunday with a bath before church in her grandparent's sink:



After church I made the cousins sit down for a photo shoot.



Charlotte ended her visit with a nap in Grandaddy's lap.


I know I'll be complaining about triple digit power bills, heat, and humidity in a month or so, but for now I'm so happy that summer is here!

Feeding the addiction

Last night Judd bought us each a Blackberry. I really can't believe that he did this. He knows that I have a serious addiction to blogs and email. I literally cannot walk by a computer without checking my email. (And I'm really not that important, so there is never anything urgent) So, now I have access to email and the web whenever I want. This is going to be a real problem. I'm pretty sure I'll be checking into a rehabilitation center within the next month or so. Will someone help Judd take care of Charlotte? Although, you might have to hold her, change her diapers, and make all of her bottles because Judd's fingers will be very sore from typing on his QWERTY keyboard.

Bath Time

Charlotte's first bath was a little traumatic for all involved:




She seems to enjoy them a little more now:

Sleep Training Mommy

From about 7 weeks - 14 weeks Charlotte slept through the night like a champ. She would be down from 7:30pm - 7:00am. It was wonderful. For the past couple of weeks, she has started to wake up at night again, sometimes twice. I think Charlotte found this article...

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great--I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep through the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.

Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.
It goes like this:

Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.


Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3--every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.

If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with. My sleep sack tickled my foot. I felt a wrinkle under the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I burped, and it tasted like pears. I hadn't eaten pears since lunch, what's up with that? The cat said 'meow'. I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL. Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room. Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn' t matter! Keep crying!! It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me

Bittersweet

I think whoever invented the term "bittersweet" was watching their newborn turn into an infant. It is sweet because they begin to develop their little personality and become much more human. They smile when you smile, "talk" to you, begin to use their little hands, and become much more observant. It seems you are finally getting something back for all of the work you have put into them. But bitter because she isn't my little 8lb baby anymore.

This weekend I had to buy the bigger size "Swaddle Me" blanket. (This is a miracle blanket that I would highly recommend to any new parent) The new size is huge for her, but it is about as big as when we put the smaller size on her the first night back in February.

I can't wait for the day when she has enough hair that I can run my fingers through while she falls asleep, or the day she starts eating solid food, or the day when she can take my hand when I help her cross the street. But, I want her to stay a little baby forever - can't I have both?

We had a nice weekend, other than Charlotte's new trick is to wake up 1-2 times / night. My mom was here until Sunday morning. Mom kept Charlotte Friday night, and I went out to dinner with some friends. We had a very busy day Saturday. We picked out a new rug for our living room and hung some pictures.

Judd got back from Amsterdam Sunday afternoon. He brought yummy chocolates back for me, and a cute Holland t-shirt for Charlotte. (Doesn't she look like a big girl in her jeans?)

New Seat

Charlotte has been a little under the weather this week. She has had a low grade fever off and on, as well as quite a bit of congestion. She only went to daycare one day this week. I kept her home on Tuesday because her day care provider's son had a fever. She went to day care on Wednesday, then my mom kept her yesterday. I was planning to fly up to PA yesterday, but Charlotte's been a little congested, so I asked mom if she'd come to us.

Judd is off to an undetermined destination tonight. He and a couple of his buddies from work try to go to a new location every month or so. Tonight they are planning on going to Amsterdam, but we'll see where they end up.

I went to see Erin, Dave, and the girls on Tuesday night. Those girls are so precious. I held Emma for a while. I'm amazed at how good they are - they don't cry. It was so good to sit and talk with Erin in her house while we were holding the twins.

We got this Bumbo seat for Charlotte last weekend since she is beginning to have better upper body control. She seems to like it for 10-15 min at a time, but then she gets frustrated. She looks all grown up sitting in it.

Motherly Advice

I read the following blog:

http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/

Today she posted an interview with her mother. The last question is "Any other advice you'd like to add for moms out there in the trenches?" I love the the last part of her mom's answer:

3. Pray for your child's future spouse. That child is out there somewhere. It's such a joy to later meet that unnamed someone you've prayed for countless times!

I think that this is wonderful advice, and not advice that is given often. Judd and I actually talked about this the other day. He mentioned the fact that Charlotte's husband is probably out there somewhere. We imagined and hoped that his parents love him as much as we love Charlotte and that they love each other as much as Judd and I do. If he grows up in an environment like that, then he'll be able to love Charlotte the way she deserves to be loved.

I know that there must have been lots of prayers for spouses from my mom and Judd's mom when we were growing up. Because there isn't anyone more perfect for me than him - it must have been God's work that we're together.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers that read this blog, especially my mother and mother-in-law. I'm not sure you can fully appreciate your mother until you become one yourself. Even then, I'm sure that there are many things that my mother sacrificed for me that I don't realize.

My Mother's Day was very nice. It started out with bagels and Starbucks in bed, followed by sleeping in with Charlotte:

The rest of the day was spent getting this house organized. I had a bunch of odd jobs that I was able to get Judd to complete because I had the excuse of Mother's Day...so, I took advantage. He made a nice dinner for me tonight and I think I'll probably head off to bed early.

Here's the reason I love my new title as a mother and the new day I get to celebrate!

Cupcakes

My mom gave me this book, Hello, Cupcake. It has the most amazing cupcake creations in it. Since I got it Monday night, I have been wanting to make cupcakes. There were a few of good reasons to celebrate and make cupcakes this weekend, Mother's Day, celebrating my niece's birthday (Happy Early Birthday Katie!), and the fact that Ella & Emma are going to sleep in their own crib tonight!! (We're so happy for you D & E!)


Last night while Charlotte was going through her bedtime routine with her old man, I went to the store to get all of my ingredients. I came home, mixed up my batter, and baked my cupcakes. I didn't want to make any of the complicated cupcakes in the book, I wanted to test out their frosting technique. They use canned frosting from the store, put it in a microwave safe bowl, microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin. Then, they dip the cupcake tops in the frosting so you get a smooth, shiny top. After a little decorating, this is how they turned out:

Stomach Sleeper

I put Charlotte in her crib yesterday for a nap. When I went in to check on her 20 min later, this is what I found. (Yes, she's asleep in this position)

Of course this freaked me out. What about SIDS? She's not on her back!! So, after checking on her every 2 minutes to make sure she was still breathing I realized I was being a little ridiculous. If she's strong enough to roll over to her stomach, which she does with ease now, then I shouldn't worry that she won't be strong enough to pick up her head to breath. She is also pretty darn cute when she's asleep on her stomach.

We played with Elephant yesterday. Hello Elephant!

A Visit from Grandad

My dad had a business meeting this week in Atlanta. He got here around dinner time on Monday evening and is leaving tomorrow morning. We have had a nice visit. He didn't get home until 6:50 last night, so he didn't get to spend too much time with Charlotte. Tonight they are making up for that lost time:

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I present to you Charlotte Davis rolling. Yes, that's right, she can now roll from her back to her stomach.


She hasn't figured out how to get back to her back...she just cries and I flip her back over - well, then again, maybe she has figured out how to get back to her back.

She has been changing before our eyes over the past week. She is starting to reach for things and grab them. She is following us all around the room with her eyes, and turns to look at us when we talk to her. She is a joy.

Peeking

3 months

2 months	3 months

No doctors appointment at 3 months, so I don't have any stats. She is such a good baby. She is really trying to roll over now. It seems that every time we put her down she is rolling over onto her side, then gets very frustrated because she can't get all the way over.

She had a little story time with Dad tonight...she just LOVES her Dad. She and Judd had a 10 min conversation the other night. Judd would babble to her, then she would babble right back to him.

I'm in heaven

I'm sure most of you came here today to see the 3 month picture of Charlotte, and the comparison shot between 2 months and 3 months. Don't worry, I'll post that later tonight.

For now I want to tell you about my very exciting discovery. You may recall from this post, that my pumping environment at the office has not been the nicest. Today I decided to seek out the 2nd lactation room in the building - it is WONDERFUL!! It is a nice private room (no windows) that has a big sink and counter to clean all of the pump parts. There is a nice table with a comfortable chair. In one corner there is a bookcase with books about breastfeeding and going back to work. On the wall is a bulletin board where you can post a picture of your baby. Also, the first woman that used the room started a journal for all of the mothers that use the room. So, everyone writes while they pump about their experiences as a working mother. I read it today while I pumped and the pumping session just flew by!

I'm also the only one that is using this room for the next week. The other woman that has been using it is out of town. So, I can just keep my pump down there and not have to carry it back and forth.

I was really dreading pumping at work the last couple of days, this makes the experience so much better - I think I can really make it to my goal of breastfeeding for 6 months.