Week 5 of Charlotte May 31 through June 7

 Charlotte is 5w and 2 days old today and I am already having a hard time watching her grow so much so fast. She is great baby except when she is hungry and then it becomes a little bit hectic but we are working on patience for both her and me.

Charlotte:

Babywise: So far so good on the BW front. We are slowly working on really sticking to the schedule and following the BW guidelines but also doing what makes the most sense for our family. It is so much harder to do BW with a sibling and also with a daddy. When Clayton was this age Jason was in Iraq and I was basically free to do with Clayton as I saw fit without any one's opinion and now I have to take Jason and Clayton's needs into account when I make her schedule. The biggest thing I am working on right now is the first wake up or the Early Morning feeding. BW says this sets the tone for the day so I am really wanting to get this time set in stone. We are also working on getting full feedings. Charlotte is wanting to be a snacker and I am trying to get full feedings every 2.5 hours instead of the wanted every 45 minute nibble...um no!

Schedule:

 6:30 wake up-diaper-feed

         within that 30 minutes she eats for 10...diaper change and burp for 10...eats for 10

7:00 wake time (WT)

7:30-9:00 nap

and repeat every 2.5 hours until 9pm. At 9pm she eats and goes right back to bed at 10 and will usually want to eat again around 11:30 and then sleeps until 6:30.

Over the last few days she has wanted to get up 6 so I may adjust everything up or wait until she moves on to the 3 hour schedule.

Sleeping: So far she is doing great with sleeping through the night (mostly). She is in her "bed" by 11 for the final time and doesn't get up until 5:30 usually and will go back to sleep until 6:30 when she is up for good. I can work with this schedule. I have to get up to get Clayton to "camp" by 8 so the forced 6:30 wake up helps everyone get up and moving in the mornings. As far as naps she is getting in a more regular schedule . As long as she is swaddled and has a paci she is good to go. I am working really hard at making her nap in the pack and play or her bed and not get used to the swing or bouncy for a nap. This is mostly because she needs something to do during wake time and I want her to associate certain places with certain activities.

 Eating: She is eating every 2.5 hours right now but I feel like she is trying to push to the 3 hour but there are times during the day she just can not go that extra 1/2 hour. There are even times in the evening she tries to cluster feed and eat every 2 hours...um hello we have a schedule in place!  I'm kidding on that but only a little :) She is still breastfeeding and you can read all about that is the post I plan to write soon on our trials and tribulations of the baby vs. boob saga! There have been some issues but we are working through it all and my goal of six weeks is only 6 days away and I am extending it out to at least 3 months...if nothing more than so we don't have to worry about formula in GA.

 Diapers: She is in a size one and doesn't look like she is moving anytime soon
Clothes: She wears a newborn or 0-3 months

 This is 0-3 and it's kind of big still

Pacifier: We offered her a pacifier when she is sleeping or in the car and I hope it stays that way. There are certain times during the day when she will calm if she has it and usually will nap soon after she gets it. She loves the Advent and the Playtex Binky's.

Your Baby's First Year Week by Week: This is where I will touch on the major topics I read about this week:

bathing :she bathes about 3 times a week in the cutes and coolest little tub. YBFY talks about family tubs...no thanks but that's just me.

Obviously not me but I didn't have a bath pictures of her yet ( i know crazy right?)

swing: she is not a super huge fan of the swing and that is so sad to me because Clayton loved his. We got her a new one after we realized the movers in our last move lost the major pieces. It is a safe place to lay her though when I need to do something or run upstairs.

milestones:
-her actions are becoming more voluntary
-she bats at objects not within her reach
-she is calmed faster by me or another woman that a male
-she is retaining memory of objects (such as a paci or sounds)
-can be quieted by a paci
-quiets when held or a familiar face is in her line of vision
-she prefers to watch people over objects

pain: According to what I have read at this point babies can remember pain. They will not remember having a pain at 6 weeks when they are three but they will remember tomorrow when they encounter whatever ailed them again.
sounds: She loves music and sound machine noises. New sounds are supposed to be good for babies so I am trying to find some lullabies to introduce weekly and not just the norms!
physical development: She is working really hard at holding her head up when laying on her tummy.

She is stretching out and uncurling from the fetal position when laying on her back

She can move her hand to her mouth at will to soothe
vision: She is able to focus on people within 18 inches of her eyes

Different Cries: We are slowly learning the different cries and working on what best fixes her problem

This is her I am not happy cry!

Gums: We have not done this but the book suggest even at this age massage the gums and clean them after feedings. It will stimulate growth and help adjust her to cleaning to avoid that issue later.
massage: Baby massage is great and calming for both of us.
where to sleep: The book talks about the family bed. We chose not to do this and instead she sleeps in her Rock and Play beside me. I still have access to her at night and can see her but she is in her own bed. We will transition her in the next few weeks (after out trip home I'm guessing) into her own bed.
hiccups: Oh man she is the hiccup queen! And that is said to be uncommon in breastfeed babies but b/c she is using a shield (whole post on that here...or coming) she may be getting more air then I think. I give her Gripe Water when they get so bad they are interfering with her sleep or causing obvious pain. 
toys: Clayton is her toy of choice followed by me and Jason and then when that fails she likes her own hand.

Me:

I'm doing pretty well with sleep and eating. I am actually finding time for both. 

I of course would love to drop this baby weight a little faster than I am but I am getting into a routine of working out in the mornings while I only have one child and hopefully that will drop the weight! I lost a lot in the beginning thanks to breastfeeding but that was all nature could do the rest is up to me!

Clayton:
He is doing so well adjusting to her and has been a HUGE help! There are times he wants more attention than I can give...usually at feeding times. He is going to camp 5 days a week for 3 hours and loves the time and friends there. He tells everyone that she is his baby sister and all the details about her!

First day of camp!