(Note: My thoughts and stories may be a bit jumbled and/or random this week. I am learning to juggle this mommy thing…. Just Charlotte and me! So typing can be difficult. Not to mention my focus. My brain is all over the place, and VERY tired! So bear with me…and I hope it’s not too difficult to follow!)
Charlotte’s third week in this big world did not disappoint! She spent this week of her life bonding with her Grandma Jill…
Charlotte kicked off her visit with Grandma Jill with quite the pizzazz. Monday morning dawned and Miss Charlotte was in need of a diaper change- Grandma Jill jumped at the opportunity. I hung back and began to round up Charlotte’s clothes for the day…as well as my own. As I located a suitable onesie I heard Grandma Jill exclaim… “ahh! Wow, little girl!” I quickly entered the bathroom where I discovered the two of them had shared quite the moment… Charlotte literally shot poo from her behind….directly onto her Grandma’s clean clothes for the day, the changing pad and the floor. We didn’t even know Charlotte had it in her to do such a thing! I imagine her Uncles would be proud.
Grandma Jill wasn’t about to let a little poo slow down her day or disrupt her visit with her darling granddaughter. She finished up the diaper and clothing change and then took care of her own clothing. The two ladies settled down for a mid-morning nap and some cuddle time shortly thereafter. I imagine after the poo incident they were both in need of some relaxation…
If you recall, we were robbed of our TV last weekend and so we were without a TV for all of Monday and Tuesday. With no TV for background noise and/or distraction…. Grandma Jill and Charlotte ended up enjoying a good chunk of nap time. Now, I know what you are thinking. I should have been napping too…well… I am a horrible napper. Especially with people around! Instead, I worked on the blog from last week and some other things around the house. Don’t worry; I am working on the napping thing.
A new TV was delivered to our house on Wednesday and we decided to take advantage of this new form of entertainment. (I must mention that the guy who delivered the TV was an elderly gentleman and I have no idea how he was able to lift and arrange that TV on the stand all on his own! I feared he was going to drop it at one point, but he somehow managed!) We watched the first season of “Glee.” (Glee is apparently a new and quite popular TV show in the USA…hasn’t quite made it over here to South Africa. It’s about a glee club, includes lots of singing, some humor and don’t forget the drama!) Anyway, I think Charlotte also enjoyed the show, because she LOVES music. Her cousin Elizabeth (who is a music teacher…and actually, DR. Elizabeth now!) would be quite happy to hear of our girl’s fascination with music…especially classical. Charlotte also loves to be sung to. I may have mentioned this in the past, but she really enjoys “Jesus loves me” and “This little light of mine.” I don’t know all of the words to “Beyond the Blue,” but she likes the parts that I do know….maybe I should look up the words online… Anyway! Back to Glee- we watched the entire first season between Wednesday and Friday. I’m thinking Grandma Jill may have been surprised by my devotion to watch all of it in such a short amount of time… but once I get started on a show, I gotta finish it! (if it is good…)
Bath time for Charlotte has continued to show great improvement. Charlotte loves bath time. If Charlotte is fussy prior to bath time, she immediately ceases her wailing once water touches her skin. The only issue is our little lady is quickly outgrowing our sink. It appears it is time to upgrade to the bath tub- which is unfortunate for our backs and knees, but I’m sure we will survive as all parents do. We’ve also discovered Charlotte loves to lie on her changing pad and stare to her left…at nothing in particular. Kind of funny that she enjoys such a spot…
One particular evening, Charlotte was not a happy camper. I was exhausted and after feeding her around 9:30pm, I just plain fell asleep. I woke around 12:24am to Molly sleeping in her old spot: on my head. At first I thought, aww, Molly is warming up to Charlotte! Then I listened intently for Charlotte’s breathing…which I could not hear. All sorts of thoughts rushed through my head in that moment and I quickly woke Ben and asked him to check on Charlotte. Turns out Grandma Jill had Charlotte bunked up with her for the night! I later found out that after I had fallen asleep, Charlotte continued to fuss and so Grandma Jill gave Ben a little break by holding her. While Ben was enjoying his “break” he fell asleep… and so Grandma Jill decided to hold onto Charlotte until she really needed us (i.e. needed to be fed by me, hehe!). If only I had known…instead, I woke up and worried. I’m such a first-time mom! (And thanks, by the way, Grandma Jill, those 3 hours of sleep were great!)
I kind of broke a rule this week and drove before my 3 week mark. Charlotte had her 2 week check-up on Friday afternoon and we had to get there somehow…so I drove. Grandma Jill rode in back with Charlotte- who was content for the drive to pick up Daddy and go to the hospital. Charlotte continued to maintain a state of happiness throughout her check-up. I was so proud! Our little lady had already gained about a pound and grown about 2 centimeters in length! I’d say she is getting plenty to eat and she’s certainly one healthy little lady! All of that action of course made Charlotte hungry…so we settled into a corner for a quick nursing. And then we adults were hungry, so WE ate our meal in the hospital café. By the time my food had arrived; however, Charlotte was getting tired. She and I ended up “ballroom dancing” for a few minutes before Charlotte fell asleep and I ate my meal. Overall? The outing was a success! But of course I had to push it and swing by the grocery store on our way home. Let’s just say that 15 minute drive back to our house was a very LOOOOOONG 15 minutes! Poor baby girl…
After our successful doctor/lunch outing…we decided to try eating dinner at a restaurant (it was Grandma Jill’s final night). I’m proud again to say our sweet girl did very well! She only began to fuss when we contemplated desert. Now, I had brought along a bottle of “fresh-squeezed” for Charlotte…but I was too scared to try the bottle. Instead, we paid our bill, ordered desert for take-away and retreated to the car for Charlotte’s meal. I will eventually be comfortable with the bottle feeding…
Saturday. Grandma Jill’s final day. :( It was a leisurely morning followed by an outing to Bryanston Organic market for some shopping and lunch. Charlotte attracted all of the attention as we strolled through the stands. Grandma Jill beamed proudly as she carried her sweet, sleeping granddaughter. Yes, sweet Charlotte slept the entire 3 hours we were there (well, with exception of lunch time. She of course had to wake for her food just as I received my meal!).
It was a sad goodbye as we dropped Grandma Jill off at the airport. These next 50 days can’t pass quickly enough…I’m telling you!
To cap off Charlotte’s third week in this Big World…Ben and I took her to church on Sunday morning. Whew. Now was that ever an ordeal! Mainly the getting ready part. It took us a good two hours, but we made it to church on time and Charlotte slept throughout the service. (Then cried the afternoon and evening away when we returned home…)
(After all of our outings, I felt very optimistic about taking Charlotte out on my own in future days. However…now that I am solo during the days…reality is starting to sink in!)
1 comment:
I want to meet Charlotte SO bad. I'm counting down too.
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