We have a sitter!

I am constantly amazed at how much Charlotte has changed in five short months.  Just this week, she has started to be able to sit up on her own, unsupported, for a couple of minutes at a time. She has not quite grasped the concept of righting herself if she starts to topple, but she's getting there!  It's only a matter of time.

Also, we started her on oatmeal at 4 months and have recently added in applesauce and peaches because the girl LOVES to eat.  She will whine for more between bites faster than I can scoop up another spoonful for her.  Unfortunately, she has also decided that she is not really fond of drinking from the bottle. The only times she will really drink the whole thing are when she is really sleepy, right before bed, or her first bottle of the morning. Otherwise, we fix her 6 ounces and she drinks 2.  I know she is supposed to be getting her main nutrition from milk, so this is stressing me out a bit.  We have started feeding her breakfast, lunch, and dinner to try and supplement so she is eating enough.  Has anybody else had this problem? I don't think she can do a cup yet, so I'm not sure what to do.  She's not having any problems sleeping through the night, so she must not be too hungry, but she gets fussy at times and when she eats, she gobbles it down like she's starving.

Currently, her feeding looks something like this:
Wake anywhere frm 4:30-6ish: Drinks 5-6 oz. of formula
8:00- oatmeal with a little applesauce
11:00- fruit- the whole container (She eats these two so close together because of daycare's schedule)
After fruit, she will drink about 2 oz.
2:00- She drinks about 2 oz.
5:00- Again, about 2 oz.
6:30- Fruit (She eats the whole little container)
8:00- 6 oz. bottle
11:00- 6 oz. bottle

So she's getting about 24 oz. of formula, but sometimes a little less.  Is that enough with 3 other meals at 5 months?  We just started having to send her food for lunch to daycare because she refused the bottle, so she's only had fruit because that's what I had on hand.  I want to make her veggies myself, so I didn't want to buy veggies, and I have been super busy this week with work.  This weekend I hope to make veggies and try her out on those.

Any mamas that read my blog, have you had a similar experience?

My mother said that I ate food at an early age and also started refusing the bottle.  At 8 months, I wouldn't drink from it at all anymore, and they gave me a cup.  I would continuously throw the bottle on the hardwood floor, and that was during the days of glass bottles, so after a few big messes, she gave up.

I just want to make sure my child isn't hungry!  And I really hope I haven't spoiled her for veggies by giving her fruit first, but if she's like me, she'll like it all!

Happy Friday!

MeMa's Little Cavalier

Excuse the bad quality of these pictures.  They were from my mom's phone, which isn't a smart phone, and it doesn't have the best of cameras.  However, I just thought they were too cute not to share!

Charlotte's overalls were made by a dear family friend.  I babysat for her children from practically their birth, and now they are all grown up. The overalls say "MeMa's Little Cavalier"  My mom is a teacher at the school I attended my entire life, and the mascot is the Cavalier.  Please notice the baseball bat and ball- Mrs. Marla knows the way to this mommy's heart!

Charlotte is spending the weekend in Elloree with MeMa and Poppy.  She went yesterday and is staying through Sunday- her longest trip without Mommy and Daddy.  We miss her, but have some fun weekend things planned.  Dinner with friends tonight, a massage for me tomorrow, DU banquet tomorrow night, baby shower for a dear friend on Sunday!

 Happy Friday!!

Charlotte is 5 months!

Charlotte turned 5 months old yesterday.  Five months already?!  I'm still having a hard time believing it!

This month has been one of so many changes.  We had a week and a half of terrible sleeping.  We would put her down in her crib and she'd cry and cry and then wake frequently through the night.  Come to find out, it was an ear infection and continued congestion.  So, for the past month we have continued with breathing treatments two times per day and adding a second medicine to the treatment.  A month later and Charlotte is improving!

Daycare has been difficult since she started in January, the height of one of the worst cold and flu seasons we have had, but every day is better!

 

Despite being so sick, Charlotte is growing every day and doing so many new things.  She has discovered her feet big time, and loves to get them in her hands.  She absolutely loves when you strip her down to her diaper and wiggles all around on the bed, quite happily.  She has been rolling for a while, but is a master of that now and rolls all over the floor. Her exersaucer is one of her favorite things, and she has figured out that the dragonfly on it is a great teething toy.

 

Speaking of teething, no teeth yet, but I swear they are coming!  I have never seen quite as much drool as she produces.  Some days, she will go through three outifts at daycare.  And quite often, when it's time to eat, she'd rather chew on the bottle than drink.  And eating!  Our sweet girl is now eating cereal twice a day- rather messily, I might add- but she seems to like it.  Especially when daddy mixes it and puts a whole scoop of formula in.  Haha!

And, after being sick and a week and a half of no sleep at all hardly, our girl has been sleeping pretty well.  We finally broke her of the swaddle, and she's sleeping in a sleep sack.  Recently she has made it to anytime between 4 and 5 before she wakes for food, which is great in my eyes.  There were a couple of nights recently where she slept through the night...from 8:45 to 5:45 one night and 8:45 to 7:45 another, with only a dream feed before I went to bed.  But, these appear to have been a fluke.
We are currently cluster feeding before bed, which helps her make it longer.  I know she'll be sleeping longer stretches before long, and right now, I'm enjoying my time feeding her when it is still and quiet and dark.  It's a great time to pray, and I use that time to talk to God.  To thank him for our many blessings, like Charlotte, and to send up prayers for those around me that are suffering. 

 

In addition to her other milestones, Charlotte is working on sitting unassisted.  She's getting there!  When you place her on her back, she will try to pull herself up, like a mini-sit up, so she is getting stronger each day.

She is such a joy to us and is generally a happy baby.  She talks (coos), and laughs, and smiles, and recently, she has found her vocal chords and loves to scream.  It's pretty funny.  There are still times when she won't crack a smile for anything in the world (except maybe her Daddy or Poppy- that girl loves men!) and looks so serious, even frowning a bit just like Mommy when she's thinking hard.

(Screaming, not crying!)

 

Our love continues to grow for this sweet child that God has blessed us with.  The past 5 months have had their share of trials, but the joys far outnumber them!  Happy five months, butterbean!

 

A friend in need.....

Today something is weighing heavily on my mind.  I don't have any cute pictures of Charlotte to share, and the topic of this post will be pretty somber.  Mostly it will be for myself as a way to put my feelings into words as I know I don't really have that many readers anyway.

On Sunday a small community, much like the one in which I grew up, was rocked when one of its beloved daughters took her own life.  Although I did not know her well, she is someone I will always remember from my high school years as beautiful, friendly and outgoing.  A mutual friend described her on Facebook as someone whose smile could light up the darkest of rooms, and this one quote has affected me profoundly.  What a true statement it was.  This girl had a mega-watt smile that lit up her whole face. 

Which leads me to the question: what do our smiles hide?  We have been taught as a society to "grin and bear it," but are there times when our smiles hide pain that we would be better off sharing with others?  Do I have friends that are hiding pain, sadness, and difficulties behind brave smiles?  Am I missing the signs of a friend in need?  Perhaps, I am not.  I really hope I am not, but sometimes you just never know.  Am I being a good friend to those I love most?  Over the past several days I have examined this question in my life, and I've come to the conclusion that I am probably not being the best friend I can be.  Often, I am so consumed with my own busy life and raising my child while working full-time and keeping house that I don't think to pick up the phone and call my friends just to say hello and ask how they are doing.  Another reason in addition to being busy is my dislike of the phone.  Why call when you can send a text or email is my motto.  But, I realize that I can't tell what my friend sounds like when I send a text or an email.  However, if I would just pick up the phone and call, I might hear a sadness in a voice or someone might reveal to me something that they would not over a text message.  I've come to realize that I need to reach out more.  I never want to experience the feelings that the small community near me are feeling...the pain of losing a friend and all that comes along with it...regret, sadness, uncertainty.

And, as is the case in situations such as this, I'm sure there are those that are questioning if they could have done more?  Seen any warning signs or picked up on anything that might have led them to reach out to this woman who was obviously struggling with something pretty profound.  Maybe it would not have helped, but maybe it would have.  I am certainly not placing any blame on anyone.  I am simply putting the feelings that have been running through my head out in the open.  This post will be a reminder to myself to reach out more to those I love so they know I care instead of me just assuming.

As a community prepares to lay to rest a member of its family this afternoon, I ask that everyone take a look at your friendships and think about what more you could be doing.  Maybe you're doing it all perfectly, but chances are, you are like me...busy, weighted down with the world and everything that consumes our time...and need a reminder.  Friendships are important, and we must cherish them always and protect those we love when we can.

Charlotte's First Easter

We celebrated Charlotte's first Easter this weekend, and it was such a great time.  We skipped the Easter Bunny this year because I know she would have had no clue what was going.  We'll see how she likes him next year.

Instead, we got dressed in our Easter duds and headed to church.  Note to self, everyone in Irmo must attend Riverland Hills on Easter because even if you make it on time, you will not get a seat in the traditional service.  Annnnnddd....you might just have to sit on the back row of the contemporary service.  Lesson learned.  We will go early next year.

After church, my parents and my grandmother joined WEG, Charlotte, Aunt Charlotte and me for lunch at our house.  Charlotte played contentedly in her high chair through the entire meal...score!  Thank goodness for the Fisher Price snail. We had to hear the tune to "If You're Happy and You Know It" over and over again, but it was worth it!

Charlotte wasn't all too sure about her Easter basket.  She is five months old...what did I expect?  But she did look a little interested for me to snap some pictures.

The weather was beautiful this weekend, and now I am ready for it to stay this way.  However, I think Mother Nature has other plans this week with a bit of a cold snap before it warms up (for good...I hope!)

I hope everyone had a great Easter, celebrating with family the real reason for the day.  That Christ sent his son to die on a cross for our sins.

God sent His son
They called him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive
He lived and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives

A visit from the Smiths

This past weekend we had friends in town to visit.  My best friend since childhood has two boys, ages 5 and 13 months.  My house was definitely not toddler ready...ha!  I guess I don't have too long until I have to toddler-proof, huh?

We had such a good time visiting with them.  No real plans, just meals at home, a little shopping for the girls, hunting for the big boys, and playing in the yard with the little boys. 

Then yesterday I got my house in order for the week and rested a bit.  After not napping any longer than 20 minutes at a time on Saturday (too much excitement, Mom!), Charlotte zonked out for a 2.5 hour nap.  She never does that!  Because she did, I was able to get my pictures uploaded.  Score!

 

It was a great weekend, and it went by way too fast!

A 4 month letter to Charlotte

Charlotte Ruth,
Sweet girl you are four months old!!  I'm sorry that mommy did not do one of these posts for each month of your life thus far, but I'm just getting back to blogging.

 

Last week we went for your 4 month shots.  You handled them like a champ.  It's mommy that is a wreck!  At your appointment they told us that you weigh 12 lbs. 10 oz. and you are 25 inches long.  That puts you in the 18th percentile for weight and the 83rd percentile for height.  You are going to be one tall girl if you keep growing like this!  Perhaps basketball or volleyball is in your future.  Let's pray you did not get mommy's coordination, but instead got your daddy's athletic genes. 

 

At four months you are doing so many things!  You are rolling everywhere.  Front to back, back to front.  You love to roll to your side or stomach in the crib and sleep like that.  We surely can't leave you on a bed or couch unattended these days- you will roll right off!  Luckily, that has not happened.  You are so active.  You love to play in your exersaucer even though your legs don't quite reach the bottom.  It's so funny to watch your faces when you make the iguana or gator make noise. 

 

You love to "talk" and you talk to daddy, mommy, your grandparents, the animals on the exersaucer...really anybody who will listen. One night last week you sat in your high chair while Daddy and I ate dinner, and you talked the entire time.  You have the sweetest little voice.  I can't imagine where you got the talking gene.  Ahem...pointing my finger at myself.  Yes, sweet girl, you get your talking quite honestly.  Mommy always had teachers tell MeMa "Emily is so bright, but she sure is chatty." 

Your smile lights up the room.  You can be so serious, but when you smile, it's beautiful.  You love to "flirt" with daddy.  When mommy is holding you, you will look over at your daddy in the other chair and smile at him until he looks at you.  Then you shyly bury your head in mommy's shoulder.  It is the cutest little thing.  You are clearly going to be a daddy's girl.  I'm pretty sure you do your best sleeping in daddy's arms.

Your eating and sleeping habits are pretty good, all things considered (like the fact that you have been sick for going on two straight months).  Sometimes you will refuse your bottle after only a couple of ounces, but you are doing well, overall.  Sometimes you suck it down like someone is going to take it from you....kind of like how mommy eats her meals.  You will go to sleep anywhere from 9 to 10.  That is the best routine for us to give mommy and daddy a little time with you in the evenings after work.  (You do sleep in our arms and your swing off and on in the evening, though)  You usually only wake up once in the night around 3 a.m.  On weekdays, mommy has to wake you up at 7:15 to get you ready for daycare.  This does not make you very happy.  You whine the entire time I am putting your clothes on and give me the stink eye.  It looks like you are going to like sleeping late, just like Daddy.  Unfortunately, with the oral steroid you are on and an ear infection, you are not sleeping well as of late, but we are hoping you will feel better really soon and go back to your good habits!

In your four short months, you have made several trips.  You have been to Yonges Island twice, Elloree several times, and Conway once.  You adapt pretty well to sleeping in new places.  Thus far, you've been a good dinner companion and you usually sleep right through the meal when we take you along.....strange since you don't like to be left by yourself when we are eating at home!  You seem to know the minute the food is ready and that's when you decide you will get fussy.  We've just introduced oatmeal by spoon and it is so funny to watch you eat it.  You must think you can do it by yourself because you grab the spoon.

Butterbean, you are the light of our lives....our perfect little princess.  You bring us joy every single day.  The past four months have been so wonderful, and we can't wait for all the future holds with you.  We thank God that He chose us to be your parents.

I love you,
Mommy