One Month Old

Well we went to the doctor for Charlie's one month appointment yesterday and he tipped the scales at a WHOPPING 10 lbs 2 oz! He jumped from the 25th percentile at 1 week (6 lbs 12 oz) to the 75th percentile in length and 70th in weight...I couldn't believe it. I guess his nickname of "chubby bunny" is appropriate. The past few nights he hasn't been sleeping as well; wanting to feed every 2 hours and now that I know how much weight he has gained, I'm going to do my best to spread out those feedings. He was sleeping so well in the beginning!!! We're hoping to return to that...

At one month, his favorite "toy" is the bouncy seat that we got as a hand-me-down from Scott's coworker (with the vibration on). He has only had a few naps in his real crib since he sleeps in the "newborn napper" of the pack-n-play. He's still in newborn diapers but we're using up the last few and then switching up. He loves laying on Scott's stomach for tummy time and has excellent head control. We're pushing the pacifier (so he can soothe between feedings!) but he has a tough time keeping it in. He's been out to lunch and dinner several times (most of which he slept through), he visited grandpa at the office yesterday, we went plant shopping at Lowes (he was in his sling) and we go for daily walks with Lexie and the awesome BOB stroller...I couldn't survive my maternity leave without it. He still has blue eyes...and blond hair. A mini-Scott. This picture is completely unflattering but I just couldn't resist, look at his belly!!! Scott said "now people will be able to see the resemblance between me and Charlie" haha.

Mutt Strut

Scott, Charlie & I took the dogs (Lexie plus Lucy and Sophie, my parent's dogs) down to Mutt Strut at the track on Sunday...to join the Delta PAWcet team. It was a very hot day to be on the track so the dogs were true troopers...the news said over 10,000 people participated--we were glad we got there early to avoid the crowds, because it was insane when we left.

Team picture

Mini pony (mentioned on Will & Emily's blog) with shoes on...hilarious.On the track...Clearly Charlie had a blast... haha. No pictures of me, as usual...I was manning the camera!

Visit with Jaidyn

Saturday night we had friends over for dinner and they brought their 2 kids...Jaidyn was born in December and her mom and I already decided the two will be friends :) So here are the two shots that Scott took...love that the first one, Charlie has his tongue sticking out...and the second Jaidyn is laughing! We were happy to get the two together (although I'm fairly certain they had no idea what was going on)

Baby sling

I finally got a sling and it has been a lifesaver the past week as Charlie has gotten a bit more fussy... he likes sitting up in it and looking around, but mostly he snuggles in and falls asleep while I do dishes, fold laundry, etc. We have a baby bjorn but this sling is much easier/quicker to get him in and out (and more comfortable for him to sleep)

Charlie's first bottle

Scott gave Charlie his first bottle last night...it took him a few tries to figure out what he was supposed to do, but he ate quickly after that! And good thing I listened to everyone's advice that 4 ounce bottles aren't necessary...I had 3 ounces of milk for him in the 8 oz bottle (I didn't want to waste much just in case he couldn't figure it out) and he drank those 3 ounces in record time...and proceeded to breastfeed after that. Prior to last night, I had no idea how much he was eating.

Staring up at daddy...the whole time he was eating he didn't take his eyes off Scott.

Baby blue eyes

His eyes are blue for now...per Gigi, they're navy blue...this picture captured it really well (wide awake in Aunt Maggie's arms!)

Charlie and Lexie

When we brought Charlie home from the hospital, Lexie wasn't quite sure what to think...and for the first few days we think she was depressed (that sounds silly...but she wasn't keeping food down, which for her is unusual). It took her several days before she would really go near him...but now she's adjusting quite nicely. She still sniffs him all the time, and licks his hands (and face if we're not close enough by!) but they're getting along just fine. I got this picture idea from Amanda's pictures of her twins sitting on her dog when they were tiny babies!

Gigi's visit

Great Grandma Wells came to visit (my dad's mom) this past weekend and met Charlie for the first time. Charlie loved Gigi! Friday we spent the whole day together; we took Lexie and Charlie out on a long walk and had lunch together. Friday night I had my family over for dinner (we ate Karen Crossley's home made lasagna which was delicious!) and then had a fire in our fire pit. Saturday we had dinner at my parents house--so Charlie had some quality family time with grandma, grandpa, and Gigi. We're already planning a trip to Decatur so Gigi can show him off to all of her friends!

Gigi with Charlie at my parent's house...the only picture I have of the two of them together because she hates cameras :)

Grammy (my mom) with Charlie at the campfire...he slept through the whole thing (obviously he enjoyed being cuddled in everyone's arms). Her arm that's out of the picture is holding a wine glass :)

Tummy time, Easter, and nap time

Just some more pictures because I'm a proud mommy and can't get enough of him...Charlie loves to lay on Scott's tummy and lift his head to look around...I tried him on his tummy in the boppy and he really liked it; he lifts his head really well although it's wobbly!!! He certainly makes us laugh.I completely spaced taking a picture of Charlie with the "Baby's First Easter" from his Aunt Becky (yes I'm a bad mom already) so this was actually taken the day after Easter...really we didn't have a "real" Easter anyways; casual dinner at my parents (for which i'm greatful!! I didn't have to cook!) but my dad was out of town. He has some growing to do before these bibs fit him!!! I couldn't get a good picture of him...Snoozing on my lap and the boppy after his meal, doesn't he look satisfied :)

He's just so tiny I had to take a picture of him in his swing...because I know he'll grow so fast and I'll forget how small he was!

It makes me wonder what he's thinking while he's sleeping :)

Looking handsome--this outfit was a hand-me-down from Tahsha, one of my coworkers...she gave me two full bags of newborn sized clothes! Good thing because he was so small and looked silly even in the newborn sizes...we really only had 0-3 month clothes purchased.

That's about all from our end!

First day on our own

Today was Daddy's first day back to work...Lexie has been depressed all morning (besides the rainy day...she usually goes with Scott and he drops her at my mom's house to play with her dogs all day)...the rain will prevent us from taking our daily walk too. Charlie has been an angel.

I realized that I need a good picture for the baby announcement...so while my pictures can't compare to Lauren Simpson's, I thought I'd give it a whirl. For a backdrop, I used the super soft blanket from my Aunt Carol, Uncle John, Christine and Melissa...and he loved it...even slept for 2 hours in it afterwards!

Bunny shoes for Easter!

Great Aunt Jane (Scott's aunt) sent Charlie bunny shoes for Easter...we didn't have an official "easter outfit" for him but I figured ducks count...and he wore the bunny slippers over to my mom's for dinner! He had to wear socks underneath because his feet weren't quite big enough.

Family Game Night

Saturday afternoon we went to Broad Ripple Park again to watch "2 legit to kick" play (daddy's kickball team)...another loss but the weather was beautiful (and Charlie slept through the whole thing, bundled up in his BOB stroller)

After the game, all of our friends headed to the bars for the kickball specials...and Scott & I went home for family game night ;) Even Charlie joined in with Scrabble...he was awake and alert most of the game!

One week old

We went to the doctor on Tuesday for Charlie's one week checkup. He is back up to his birthweight (6lbs 12 oz)! He was 6lbs 4oz the morning we left the hospital (Thursday) so he must really be a good eater :)

Everything has been going really well...the past week has flown by. The past few nights, Charlie has been sleeping in increments of 4 hours!!! So 10.30 feeding, 2.30ish feeding, 6.30 or 7am feeding....it has been awesome. He only cries when he's hungry (which is often, especially when he sleeps like that at night...daytime feedings come every hour or two) and is just adorable when he is awake, just looking around at everything and so content.

Saturday I took him out a little bit--to Scott's kickball game at Broad Ripple Park (he stayed in his carseat/stroller) and then Saturday evening Scott & I walked to our friend's house down the street to introduce Charlie to our friend's daughter (born in December)--it was so beautiful outside and he slept the whole time in his stroller.

Today Scott's mom caught her plane home...but Sara and Bob will be back the first weekend of May. Our freezers have enough meals to feed an army. Scott is loving fatherhood and his claim to fame is making Charlie pee during diaper changes (Charlie's done it three times with Scott and never with me...) and I'm loving that Scott gets two weeks paternity leave--makes things easier on me and fun to hang out as a family!Scott was laying next to Charlie...Charlie turned his head so they were touching, it was so cute.

Finally some pictures with me and Charlie (aside from the awful one that Scott sent out in the initial email)

We gave Charlie his first (sponge) bath the morning of his doctor's appointment. He wasn't a big fan but he was much happier after he was wrapped up in the towel! The bath was negated, however, when Charlie's diaper leaked out all over the table at the doctor's office (while the doctor was checking him out!)

More pictures

Here are some more pictures of the little one...we made it home yesterday and last night started off a little rough but finished with him sleeping 2am-6am so we at least got some sleep (and he went back to sleep after feeding!). Scott's mom is on her way from Philly now and my brother and his wife are coming tomorrow...so we should have more family pictures soon!

Charlie's First Day

After what felt like a quick 9 months, Charlie blessed us with his presence on March 31 at 4:39 in the afternoon, tipping the scales at 6lbs 12oz & 21.5 in....but not before a few scares through the night. Katie was admitted Monday night to be induced the following morning. Shortly after being admitted, Charlie's heart rate would periodically drop, but recovered quickly. The nurses were great in attending to Katie throughout the night. Scott got about 4 hours of sleep and Katie even less...which is expected when everytime she rolled over, nurses rushed into the room for the baby's heart rate. Soon after induction on Tuesday, Charlie's heart rate dropped again and didn't recover quickly. Before we knew it, teams of doctors/nurses were in the room. They broke Katie's water, gave her the much needed epideral and hooked up several internal monitors to Charlie, and prepped us for an emergency delivery. Fortunately, they were able to stablize Mom and Charlie and from here on out it was smooth sailing. After a quick 21 minutes of pushing, out came Charlie with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and shoulder, with his arm pinned to his side (the cause of all the concern earlier in the day...the cord wasn't choking him but it was getting pinched). Charlie was greeted by family later in the evening and Aunt Becky (Scott's sister) brought a birthday cake to celebrate, and of course Mike & Annie brought wine.