Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Wow. One month old.  It actually makes me a little sad to see how fast Charlie is growing.  Our family is complete with two beautiful boys, but I just adore this newborn stage so much that it is hard to believe that this is my last one!

Little Charlie is growing so quickly.  He was born at 7lbs 15oz, but came home from the hospital at 7lbs 4oz.  At one month old, he is already 11lbs 6oz!  What a little chub!

Charlie at 1 week, 2 weeks and 1 month

What a little love bug!  We'll definitely keep him.

A New Project!

I just don't have enough to do.  Life as a stay-at-home-mom of 2 busy boys is just too easy.  I needed a new project.  Oh, wait.  You aren't buying that?  Hmm.  Well, even though my life is crazy busy at the moment, I have some high hopes that I'll have a tiny bit of extra time once Carter starts kindergarten next week.  What will I do with that extra time, you ask?  Blog!  Obviously, I already have a blog, but it is all about the family.  My new project will chronicle my attempts in the kitchen, craft room, and garden (if I ever get going with that!).  I hope you find a minute to stop by and say hi at The Happiness of Rainy Days.

So Hard.

I thought adding a new baby would be tricky - back to sleepless nights, endless amounts of poop, and a baby that is attached to my boob 20 hours a day.  But, here's the thing... I really just thought the baby stuff would be hard.  Not so.  The baby stuff has actually turned out to be relatively easy (dare I say that? Knock on wood...).  Charlie is a sweet baby - he sleeps well, for a newborn, he eats well, and my obsession with cloth diapers has made the frequent changes better than expected.  The hard part was what I didn't expect - Carter.

He is pushing every button he can think of to try and get attention - negatively - from me.  This morning, I told him that he could not bring snacks to summer camp.  He's been going to camp ALL summer, and they provide the snacks - why are we even talking about this?  Instead of being reasonable about it, he totally flipped out.  Seriously.  Like a two-year-old-on-the-floor tantrum.  Of course, this was followed by my threat of "Put those snacks away and get in the car in the next 10 seconds or else...".  Unfortunately, it just got worse from there.  Refusal to leave the house.  Refusal to buckle seat belt.  Unbuckling seat belt as I was backing out of the driveway.  I thought it was going to make my head explode.  Luckily, my head is still intact, but now we have a host of consequences - no wii, ipod, ipad, computer or tv for the rest of the day.  Have I mentioned that it is raining outside?  Bummer.  He's going to have one boring afternoon.

Maybe I'm not providing enough positive reinforcement?  Maybe this is completely normal?  I just feel like mornings like this are *way* harder than I ever thought they would be.  Sigh.

Pacifiers

As a first-time mom, I swore I wouldn't use a pacifier.  I felt like many parents just pop a pacifier in their baby's mouth instead of trying to figure out what their baby actually needs.  I didn't want to start a habit that would be hard to break later, and it seemed like Carter got along just fine without one.

Fast-forward 5 years to baby #2: Charlie loves to eat.  Well, more accurately, he loves having something in his mouth.  Unfortunately, this means that he wants to eat all of the time - but ends up spitting up tons of milk because he truly isn't hungry at all.  What a waste a of precious sleeping time milk!  I'm definitely a lot more relaxed this time around, and I'm no longer concerned about starting a bad habit or relying on the pacifier too heavily.  I went to my favorite eco-friendly baby boutique and bought a couple of bpa/phosphate/phthalate-free pacis and an adorable clip to keep it attached to Charlie.  Can't have it falling on the floor!

We'll find out soon if he actually likes it...
 

2 Weeks Old!

Our house has been a whirlwind of activity during the past two weeks.  Nana (Chris's mom) stayed with us for the past 3 weeks - one week in anticipation of Charlie's early arrival - and Chris's sister and brother-in-law were with us over the past weekend.  Carter and Charlie have had tons and tons of attention... but now it is time to get back in the routine of our regular life.  

Charlie had his 2 week check-up today, and he has already hit 9lbs!  Not bad, considering he came home from the hospital weighing about 7lb 4 oz (born at 7lb 15oz).  He is one happy eater and is growing fast. He has also gained almost 2 inches!  He's definitely going to be a little chubber like his brother.  He is sleeping really well, 3-4 hour stretches usually, and he doesn't seem to know how to cry.  Well, he definitely makes his needs known, but in a much cuter, squeakier way.  I'm sure the crying will kick in at some point, but I'm hoping he holds off as long as possible!

Carter has had a hard time adjusting to the diverted attention.  He does not like to share mom and dad, and the disruption of his regular routine has been really tricky.  Luckily, he LOVES his little brother and cuddles him at every opportunity.  He even "babysits" him when I take my shower (don't worry - Charlie is always strapped in a bouncy or swing, so Carter doesn't have to really do much of anything!).  This morning, Carter called to me, "Mom! Charlie is making noise, so I'm singing to him."  Awww... brothers.  Love it!

Guess Who!

Time to play the "Guess the Baby" game!
So, which baby is which?
Carter? Charlie? Hmmm...

Cloth!

Here's a little peek at Charlie in his very first cloth diaper, getting ready from his trip home from hospital #1.  Other than the disposables we used at the hospitals, and a couple that Nana used while Chris and I were out, Charlie has been in cloth diapers the whole time.  I was a little intimidated at first, but I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it - and Chris is, too!  The washing isn't nearly as yucky as I imagined it to be, and there really isn't anything cuter than a little cloth-diapered bum.