Loving Life in the Pines: The Past Few Weeks in Pictures

We are loving life with our new little girl Charlotte. She is so sweet. She does like to be held all the time and has a hard time sleeping on her own. I have never been into co-sleeping, but it is the only way we can get her to sleep at night. I nurse her and she goes straight to sleep. The past few nights, she has done six hour stretches, so I think she enjoys it too. I have been able to get her to take one decent nap a day in her baby papason chair, but other than that, she likes to sleep in the baby k'tan wrap when I am wearing her. Neither Ashley nor Peyton liked to be help that close, so I am enjoying all the extra snuggles with her.

She is nursing so well! It is such a relief! With my supply issues with both Ashley and Peyton, I was nervous but fully prepared to supplement with formula. We have had two nights where she was especially fussy, so I thought maybe she was hungry. I attempted to give her some formula, but she refused it and then slept great, so I guess hunger was not the issue.

At her appointment on Friday, March 22nd (4 days after she was born), she was 7 pounds, 11 ounces. They were not concerned. At her two week appointment, Friday, April 6th, she was up to 8 pounds, 10 ounces! YAY! The doctor said she was gaining weight "beautifully". I am so happy I have been able to nurse her exclusively and it is so much easier than doing both! She nurses every 2-3 hours, so she likes to eat a lot, which is just fine with me. I don't know how pumping is going to work when (if??) I go back to work, so that makes me a little nervous, but I am not going to worry about that now.

The adjustment from 2-3 has been easier on me than the adjustment from 1-2. I feel like I am more calm and relaxed. It is a challenge at nap times and meal times, but those time were always challenging. Charlotte hates her car seat and screams most of the time she is in it, so that is stressful. But we have had some successful family outings (lunch, dinner, the mall, Easter egg hunt, fun gym), so hopefully she will get used to it.

The weight DEFINITELY does not come off as fast with the third, ughh! I am still 15 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight and I don't think this weight is going anywhere anytime soon. I have cut out all caffeine (no tea or sodas) but do indulge my sweet tooth most days, so that may be part of the issue. I don't want to cut calories or start exercising heavily because I don't want to do anything to risk my milk supply. If I could just get rid of 10 of these pounds, I would be okay with the last 5, oh well!

Here are some pictures of our past three weeks:

Two days old (March 20th)