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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Grateful Tuesday.

Man am I grateful for my family today. Charlie's doctor called me today to tell me they're going to start her on medicine tomorrow which is great but it makes me nervous because they have to monitor her for 24 hours at the hospital. I'm sure everything will be fine though:) 
I asked Doug to give Charlie and I a blessing tomorrow which I know will make us both feel better. 
Anyway I wanted to make a little post about how grateful I am for my family because this is very short notice but my family is still able to take care of Bella while Doug and I are at the hospital with Charlie. I would feel guilty about leaving Bella for so long if she wasn't so excited to have a sleepover with her cousin Olivia! I'm grateful that Doug and I will be able to focus on Charlie and not having to worry about how Bella is doing. Man having two kids is tough when it comes to mom guilt. So tonight I made sure to spend some fun quality time with my bellsie while still snuggling my Charlie girl. We watched Taylor swift music videos while I watched Bella dance and sing. That girl loves to dance! 
Wish us all luck tomorrow and say a little prayer for Charlie. I hope that tomorrow goes by smoothly for my little baby. 

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Best Sunday.

Oh man this week was hard on my heart. My little Charlie was born with a hemangioma on her lady bits and normally they aren't a big deal just a red birth mark that go away on their own but hers opened up and so every time she peed or pooped she'd scream in pain:( I took her to the ER when I realized it opened and of course it was 9:30pm when Doug wasn't home. Luckily his work is awesome and let him get off early  to be with his baby. They gave us some antibiotics and told us to see the dermatologist ASAP. Bella was sweet on our way there though. Charlie was crying and Bella handed her her violet (stuffed animal) and turned on the nighttime lullaby and said "it's okay Charlie. They're going to make you feel better." 
And the next day Bella thanked me for feeding her and taking care of Charlie. 
Anyway the next day we took her to the dermatologist who said she wants to start her on Propranolol which is a medicine they usually use on older people who have high blood pressure and when she starts it they'll have to monitor her at the hospital for 3-4 hours and then every three weeks. The Propranolol is suppose to make the hemangioma shrink. Ugh I just hate the idea of my baby in the hospital and every time she shrieks because she's in pain breaks my heart. So far the two ointments they gave us have been helping and she doesn't cry as hard when she goes potty. I wish I could take the pain away. I'm a pretty tough person I believe. I can handle a lot but when it comes to my babies I'm mush and need Doug and to pray a lot. I am grateful though that I could ask him to give us a blessing. 
So after a hard week Saturday came bright and early! Bella had her soccer game at 9am and she was crazy as always. Would play for 2 min then come talk to her Grammy and hug her grandpoo and ask him to buy her popcorn. She's silly. 
Hilarious picture of Bella taking a "selfie" with her soccer buddy. Bella found my old camera this week and has LOVED it! 

Then we went to the kids fair in Boise and that was a lot of fun. Charlie and I got to really use our moby wrap and Charlie LOVED it! She slept so good while she was in it. I think Bella's favorite part of the day was going to a Mexican restaurant (with her aunt becki) to eat because she has asked us every day since if we can go back...it was super yummy :) 


So Sunday Doug and I got up with ugly attitudes because we had a meeting with the bishop at 9:30 and we go to church at 1. We were pretty certain we were going to get callings and what do you know...say hello to middleton 9th ward ctr 4 teachers. Again! Doug and I thought it was pretty funny that they picked us again to teach the 4 year olds especially since they didn't know that was our calling before. We must be really good at it :) I'm super excited! I love going to relief society but I loved teaching before too, especially with Doug. 

Since we were ready hours before church we were really able to relax and enjoy each other. We honestly were all in great moods by the time church started. As always we had amazing talks and lessons and I was able to meet more people which is always nice. Me we got home the day was still so nice we hurried and are dinner so we could go outside. Bella rode her bike and scooter. I put Charlie in the moby again which she again loved! She looked around for a while then passed out. The give if us (including the bailey) walked to the park where Doug got baileys frisbee stuck in a tree and on top of the baseball pit. He also got Bella's doll stuck in a tree...he's awesome. So Bella had to help him (she is so brave!) 
(In the tree)
Bella helping Doug while I was super worried. Being up there didn't phase Bella at all! Doug was so proud of his brave girl he told me to take a picture...only reason I did. 
My Charlie girl enjoying being outside! 

Seriously yesterday was great! Church was great, exactly what I needed. And I was able to truly enjoy my family. I missed being outside so much. When I was pregnant I didn't really want to go on walks because my body hurt and then it was too cold to take Charlie outside so I stayed inside with her so this felt like a treat. Best way to end a crazy week. 






Monday, February 3, 2014

Charlie's Newborn Pictures.

Our good friends Amanda and Cameron gifted us with newborn pictures for Charlie and we were so excited! Amanda always raves about what an awesome photographer Becky is and she was right. Becky made us feel so comfortable and she was amazing and patient with Charlie. even when we got Charlie naked and she pooped and peed on her blanket :) newborns are fun!
click here to check out Becky Robinson's Photography Facebook page and here to see her website if your interested in using her as your photographer in the future. again she did an amazing job! now enjoy my babies newborn pictures :) I know I am!























 

Baby Charlie is 1 month old!

I can't believe my baby girl is already one month old. I knew that time would go by so fast when she got here. Charlie has been such a beautiful addition to our family and i can't imagine our family without her. But at the same time I can't believe I'm a mom of TWO!
Bella has been absolutely great with Charlie. She loves kissing her head and hugging her. We have to remind her to be gentle. It's funny because she doesn't ask to hold her a lot but when she does and decides she's done she says "alright in done." and tries to put her to the side too quickly. Good thing I'm always sitting next to her. 
A funny thing Bella said was the day after we got home from the hospital Bella woke up and asked when Charlie was going back because she kept her up all night crying. It made me laugh. You wouldn't know it from her comment but when Bella herd Charlie cry that night she came out if her room and we told her she needed to go back to sleep and she said "I can't, she's crying she needs me!" She wanted to soothe her and was worried about her crying baby sister. It was sweet. 
I'll admit that first week was tough. Trying to adjust to two kiddos. I was exhausted from waking up and nursing Charlie and Doug wanted to help but he really couldn't do much since he didn't have the right equipment. During the day it was nice because he helped a lot around the house but the biggest help was entertaining Bella. He played with her constantly and it helped me not feel so guilty about tending to Charlie so much. That dang mom guilt gets you. My baby needed me but I didn't want to hurt my 1st babies feelings in the process. I honestly think Charlie had a hard time being outside of the womb. Bella came out ready for the world but Charlie came out ready to go back in. She loves to be snuggled tight. loves movement (Doug bounces on our yoga ball while holding her to calm her.) mostly she needs her sleep! if she her naps get interrupted too much during the day she ends up needing extra soothing at night from being overtired (cant blame her.)
Speaking of sleep though we are super lucky parents! again the first week was tough. she wanted to nurse every two hours on the dot so I was awake a lot! like most newborns her nights and days were mixed up too so she would be wide awake from 1-3am so we were extremely tired! Doug really is amazing though because he would wake up with me and try to help but id usually tell him to go back to sleep because there was no reason to have two exhausted parents. I would need a break sometimes and he would of course help. since he couldn't nurse her he was on diaper duty at night for the most part.  after that first week of learning how to soothe my little baby, learning to nurse, and trying to catch up on sleep we finally got her days and nights back in order. one month in and she is only waking up twice at the most at night! the last two nights she has only woken up once!!! she goes to sleep by 10pm (before it was midnight, I've been trying to get her to sleep earlier and she's going to sleep 2 hours earlier than before) and wakes up at 4. I nurse her and back to sleep until 8am! seriously its amazing. she goes back to sleep after 8am too and I usually get ready for the day while she sleeps and Doug gets Bella breakfast and starts her day.
I really am starting to get the hang of having two kiddos and mostly I feel like I am able to enjoy both of them which is so nice. i am able to clean a little everyday and get ready too which really helps me feel better. I know I had some baby blues for the first two weeks, nothing terrible but I really think showering and getting ready helped me. It sounds vain but i have to get ready everyday or else i feel like garbage.
Charlie had her 1 month checkup today and she is a healthy 10 pounds and 5 ounces! I love my little chubby girl! she is in the 70th percentile too. id tell you her height but I forgot...I think she was 23 inches long...my brain hasn't completely come back yet. in fact when we checked in and they asked me what her birthday was it took me a minute to remember. at least im remembering to feed both girls :)
   


Love my growing girl! She has already started smiling at us. Starting around two weeks she'd smile a little when I talked to her and at 4 weeks she had been REALLY responding to people it's adorable! She also loves takings baths, which I love since giving a little baby a bath can be a little scary. 

I thought I'd also share my top 11 favorites for this month, And in no particular order:)

 
1. These adorable little baby booties! Not only are they adorable but they stay on ALL day and keep Charlie's little feet nice and warm. 

2. My nursing cover. Doug's aunt actually made me one and I LOVE it! I can't leave the house without it. I love having the freedom of nursing in public while still staying modest. 

3. I honest don't even know how many times I've said "I love my boppy." To Doug. Seriously makes nursing so comfortable for both Charlie and I. Also I can sit her back in it and look around. She even takes naps on it while I do laundry or clean up the kitchen or living room. Seriously I love my boppy!

4. Carters swaddling blankets. My aunt gave us these and I had no idea how much Doug and I would love them. Yes they are adorable but they seriously keep Charlie nice and snug! Doug and I loved them so much we decides two wasn't enough since we were constantly washing them and got another set. 

5. Lansinoh cream. Okay nursing is hard! I thought as long as baby had a good latch we'd be good to go but it really takes a good amount if effort especially that first week: thank goodness my sister told me to get some before Charlie was here so I was prepared. This stuff saved me! And yes I carried this with me 24/7 for the first week and a half. 


6. My WTE app. I use it to track how long Charlie nurses for and from which side. Being a bit sleep deprived this really helped me keep track of Charlie's eating habits and helped me learn her eating habits/routine. 

7. Carters burp rags. Adorable and handy! I love how thick they are. My little lady no matter how long I burp her she still spits up quite a bit so we go threw these a lot too. 

8. Mommy's bliss gripe water. These bad boys help with gas, colic, & teething. Again Charlie gets lots if air bubbles and even after burping her constantly I could tell she still has air bubbles in her tummy and almost immediately after giving her these she'd burp or toot. Or both lol. 

9. My medela double electric breast pump. I'm not a fan of pumping but I'm glad I have this and only have to pump for 5 min instead if 15-20 min. I also love building a stash in my freezer for when I need a break or just so other people can feed her too. Also if Doug and I want to go in a date I don't have to worry about Charlie starving :)

10. Wipe warmer. I think this is Charlie's favorite. When we came home from the hospital she would seriously scream when we wiped her cute little booty. I turned on our wipe warmer and she didn't mind anymore. It's also nice having warm wipes to clean her neck every morning or her face. Makes it easier on both of us :)

11. I already have a post about these but Charles newborn pictures! I will seriously treasure these forever! 

All of these items seriously made life easier on me and would recommend every new mom to have these handy!