3 Month Photo Sneak Peak!

We were so blessed to find an amazing wedding photographer who captured our wedding day perfectly! We had contacted her when I was pregnant in the hopes of getting her to shoot newborn pictures of our baby girl, but life got quite hectic and we never had time. When Charlotte turned 3 months, I contacted her to see if she'd be able to shoot her 3 month pictures. We had an absolute blast, and Charlotte was so well behaved.

We can't wait to see the rest of her pictures, but for now here is a sneak peak:

This was taken in Charlotte's nursery, on her sheepskin rug. I just absolutely adore and love this little girl to pieces! 

We had quite an eventful weekend with Miss Charlotte. For the last 4 nights, she has been waking up after her "normal" bedtime whining and fussing. The only thing that calms her is nursing/a bottle, which has me thinking it's either a growth spurt or she's not getting enough food during the day. She's still nursing every 2-3 hours, but does seem distracted while nursing. I think she's realized that there is a lot more going on while she's busy nursing, and it makes her curious! 

Other new things in the world of Charlotte:

- We've increased her bottles from 4 oz to 6 oz each, hoping she'll sleep longer through the night. This is our new attempt at stopping her from waking an hour after bedtime. 

- She discovered her feet toes. Now all she wants to do it suck on them...

- Blowing bubbles. This was our wakeup call on Saturday morning! 

- Not interested in the pacifier, which is fine by me!

3 Month Must-Have's

I have to be honest and say that 3 months is really hard in terms of finding toys and activities that baby loves.

I've been finding that Charlotte wants to be able to chew on everything, but she doesn't quite have the hand-eye coordination that she needs to be able to bring her toys to her mouth. This makes for either a frustrated baby or a frustrated Mama (I mean you can only play "drop and pick up" so many times!). She's getting a lot better at grasping her toys, but some of them are either too big and awkward for her to hold or they don't have smaller extremities that she can put into her mouth.

We bought a couple new things that should hold her off until she has better coordination. Here are some things she's currently loving:

Sophie-O'Ball-Buzzing Bee-Dinosaur Ring-Laugh & Learn Dog

Sophie is great because Charlotte can fit her nose, ears, and legs in her mouth. She can easily grasp her legs and/or neck to chew on it. She is a little too long for her, though, especially when she's sitting in her bouncer or booster seat, so she looses control of her easily. 

The O'Ball is so easy for Charlotte to hold on to, but she obviously can't fit the ball in her mouth, like she wants it to! 

As annoying as the Laugh & Learn Dog can be, Charlotte LOVES it. The music, the light up heart and the giggling are really entertaining for her. We keep it in her pack-n-play and turn it on when she gets fussy during diaper changes. Once she figures out how to turn it on herself, it'll play non-stop! 

The Bee and Dinosaur teething toys are new, but she loves them! The dinosaur is so easy for her to grasp, plus the tail and spikes are perfect for her to chew on. Plus, it's a natural product, so that's always nice! The buzzing bee is really fun, since the wings are a soft plastic AND the entire thing vibrates when you push on the stinger. She seems to like this feeling on her gums. The bee's antennas place music, too, which she loves. 

3 Months Old!

It's hard to believe that Miss Charlotte is 3 months old today! She's been changing so much lately, and we couldn't be happier! I always thought I'd miss the baby stage, and while Charlotte is still very young, she's also very independent and active!

Here are some updates on our baby girl:

-She's been sleeping 10+ hours the last few nights. I'm waiting on the dreaded 3 month growth spurt and the 4 month sleep regression, but in the interim I'll take a good night sleep for myself! 

-Rolling over onto her belly. She did this in her sleep last night, and woke up in a panic this morning! 

- Nursing around 7 times a day, sometimes 8 depending on fussiness/hunger. She feeds every 2-3 hours. 

- Wearing size 0-3 and 3 month clothes. Some are getting too short on her (like her sleepers) since I believe she's quite long for her age. 

-Loves to "talk" and babble at us and her toys.

-Getting tired of her bouncer and MamaRoo...I think she needs more stimulating activities, but she's too small for her activity saucer at the moment. 

-Doesn't hate tummy time as much now that she can push her head and chest up.

Still isn't sure about bath time...

-Loves music and toys with lights, and loves when I sing to her (probably the only person in the world, but I'll take it...)

- Started teething (we think)...she has been gnawing on her hands fingers for the past few weeks. I don't see any buds, but I think we're getting there. She's been loving Sophie lately! 

-We caught the first baby giggles while on vacation a few weeks ago. It was hysterical and Hubs and I couldn't stop trying to keep her going. It was priceless and I'm so glad I got it on video!

-Charlotte is a major kicker. She loves kicking her feet in the car, in her bouncer, and most recently on the dining room table, so much so that we had to move her chair back so she didn't tip herself over! 

On Returning To Work Post-Charlotte

Today marks my second day back to work since Charlotte was born. I never imagined I'd work once I had children. Hubs and I decided that with my income and job flexibility, it was best that I go back to work after our baby girl was born. 

I have to say the transition has been harder than I imagined. It probably didn't help that I didn't even think about going back until the day before, essentially in denial that I had to go back. On Monday, I cried as I got Charlotte out of her crib in the morning, and at every other moment I'd be missing once I headed back to work. Bedtime was the hardest, probably because my baby looks so big in her crib now, and also because I didn't want to put her down. 

The past two nights she's gotten up to eat in the middle of the night, and I've been okay with that. It gives me a little extra time to enjoy her and hold her close. 

The hardest part of this transition is that I worry about not seeing her enough. Yesterday, I went straight to my sisters after work and nursed her around 4:30. By the time I got home and unpacked our bags, she was ready for a nap. I held her in her glider until Hubs got home so we could start dinner. She went to bed around 8, which meant we saw her for about 3.5 hours all day. I worry that I'll miss something in her development by not being with her. 

Coming back has also put things into perspective. While on leave, I felt like I was always on her time, and it's hard to be depended on so much, but once that's taken away from you, you want it back. I'd give anything to be at home with her. 

I didn't mean for this post to be so down, and I hope that this transition gets easier and better for us as a family. I'm just thankful that Hubs supports whatever decision I make as far as staying at work full-time. 

Newborn Must-Have's Part 2!

After completing my first post on our must-have's, I realized I forgot a lot of other essentials! 

One of the things I was most hesitant about with Charlotte was putting her in her crib in the nursery. By the time she was 4 weeks, Hubs demanded that we put her in her room for my own sanity. 

I'm a huge sleeper, and Charlotte isn't a sound sleeper by any means. Most nights she ends up 180 degrees from where she started. She talks in her sleep, groans, and grunts. 

The biggest lifesaver in gaining sleep while being able to spy on her is our Angel Care Monitor. My only complaint is that because she's a mover and groover in her sleep is that we've had our fair share of false alarms with the sensor pad. 

We used the motion sensor feature for the first few weeks, but then had to turn it off because it'd wake us up in a panic. I will say that the video is so crystal clear that I can often see her breathing on our monitor, which is super comforting when the sensor pad is off. 

Here is a glimpse of Charlotte on our monitor (she loves staring at the green light on the monitor):

Another huge must-have for us is a stroller fan. Yup, they make them and it is one of the best things I purchased. Charlotte hates being hot, so I invested in this so I would be able to go out for walks without her sweating. Now, the fan acts as a toy/distraction while she's being buckled into her car seat.

I mentioned our booster seat in my last post, but I love that ours is suitable for infants. Hubs and I always ate dinner at the dining room table, and that changed when Charlotte arrived. I really wanted to get back to our tradition, and Charlotte is able to sit with us while we eat. We used to put her in her bouncer on the floor, but she couldn't see us or anything but the toys dangling in front of her. Now, she gets a higher view of our dining room and new views she's never seen before! Plus, she loves to push on the table with her feet. It does seem a little cheap since it's plastic, but we registered for it as a portable high chair so it won't get too much use. 

We all know how Charlotte hates to be wet (waiting on THIS to end!), and most diaper companies don't have overnight diapers in her size, but what seems to help a little bit at night are Pamper's Baby Dry diapers. My only beef is that they don't have the wet/dry strip on them, so you have to do the old "stick your finger in" to see if they're wet, and that's just plain gross.

Our Boppy pillow has been a lifesaver for me, especially with nursing. I've even gone as far as bringing it with me to family members homes so I can use it while I'm visiting to nurse! Charlotte is a petite little thing, so I know that she'll grow out of me using it soon, but while she's little, it's perfect for nursing. It rests perfectly on the arms of my glider, and elevates her to the perfect level to nurse. 

Now that she's getting better at holding her head up, we can use it for propping and tummy time. The only thing I didn't think of before I had her was to have more than one cover. My first cover was always covered in breast milk, especially during the engorged phase, so being able to switch out covers would've been key, had I thought of it. I ended up purchasing a second cover a few weeks after she was born and it's been so nice to have! 

I hope this has helped anyone looking for necessities! 

Mimosa & Bloody Mary Bar!

Who doesn't love a Sunday full of church, family and both a Mimosa AND Bloody Mary bar??? 

When planning Charlotte's Baptism party, we knew immediately that alcohol was a must. I always think that bars of options are wonderful and can appeal to a lot of different people and tastes. 

For our Bloody Mary Bar, we used Zing Zang mix (which is by far the best, most amazing mixer out there!) and Sky Vodka. We pre-made 4 bottles of this, and put the mix into pitchers for easy serving. 

Now for the fun part...the skewers! These skewers were adorable and perfect to adorn your cup of Bloody Mary! 

Our skewers contained the following ingredients:

Cherry Tomatoes

Spinach

Buffalo Mozzarella

Pepperoni

Prosciutto

Green Olives

Baby Pickles

Additional adornments included:

Pepperoncini's

Shrimp

Celery (duh!)

and....

BACON SWIRL STICKS!

Yep, you read that right! I found this awesome idea on Pinterest and made these. They were so easy to make and super popular, hence why my picture of them only has 2 remaining...

All you have to do is twirl the bacon and place on a cookie rack on top of a baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cooked. 

Now, for our Mimosa Bar, we chose 3 different juices with corresponding fruits. 

Pomegranate Juice- Pomegranate Seeds

Orange, Peach & Mango Juice- Peaches

Orange Juice- Strawberries

We used glass champagne glasses, which did limit the amount of alcohol in each, but they were super pretty and classy, much like our special little girl ;)

Cheers & ENJOY!

2 Months Old!

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Charlotte! Time is flying and Hubs and I are enjoying every minute of this munchkin. We never thought she'd bring us this much joy and happiness and a love that grows stronger every day. 

Here are some recent pictures off Miss Charlotte!

Fourth of July! Dress

 Got her thumb! Onesie

Still looks like her newborn self when she sleeps... 

We feel so blessed to have such a good baby! She loves to smile, especially when she gets up in the middle of the night. It makes it just a little bit easier to be awake :) 

She recently started cooing/talking, and makes the cutest face when doing so! Her upper lip curls and she seems to be using all her energy to talk to us. 

She found her thumb the night of the 4th of July. We knew we'd have a thumb sucker from the second night in the hospital. She has been able to put herself  to sleep with it which has been amazing!  

We pulled out her Mama's and Papa's chair, which she enjoys but only for short periods of time. She also likes sitting in her booster seat as seen here: 

She loves being able to see everything up high! 

Charlotte's sleep is still inconsistent and it's hard to know if she will sleep for awhile or wake to either eat or be changed. She still hates being wet, so we've been changing her in the middle of the night without feeding her hoping she goes right back to sleep. She has been able to go about 7-8 hours in between feedings, typically 8:30-4:30 with a diaper change in between. She will normally fall asleep within a half hour or 45 minute of eating, but sometimes it takes longer. 

Altogether I'm really pleased with her sleep and her pediatrician is as well! 

Charlotte got her first round of vaccinations at her 2 month check-up. Aside from the initial pain from the shots themselves, she didn't have any side effects. We gave her some baby Tylenol for pain, since she was really uncomfortable, especially when you held her. 

As for stats, Charlotte weighed in on Friday at 10 pounds, 1 ounce, falling in the 25th percentile. She was 22.75 inches long, which puts her in the 75th percentile.