Dear Charlie,

You’re just over a month old already! In what feels like less than the blink of an eye, you’ve gone from this…

to this!

Obviously you are not one to miss meals! So far you’ve done a great job on your three main tasks as a newborn: eating, sleeping, and pooping. 😉 You sleep pretty well at night, going about 4-5 hours between feedings on average & usually going right back to sleep after you’ve been fed and changed. I was worried that your cries would wake Alex at night, leaving me with two fussy boys to deal with, but so far that hasn’t been an issue (phew!). During the day you’re a bit more needy… you have some issues with gas, and at certain times of day want to be held and/or given your paci constantly (which you also constantly spit back out despite your desire to have it. I guess there’s just a learning curve with pacifiers). Still, none of it is nearly as difficult as what we dealt with during Alex’s newborn days… so we’ll take it!

All in all, getting back into the swing of newborn care has been much like riding a bike– you pick it back up quickly, even though it’s been awhile since we’d done it. We’ve been able to enjoy and savor this time much more than we could the first go-round…. in addition to the lack of colic, I largely credit our choice not to breastfeed for this. It was definitely the right choice for us. Dad and both sets of grandparents each took a week off to help with you, and having them be able to help was invaluable.

We also decided to keep sending Alex to daycare even though I’m home from work… it’s been good for him to keep up his routine and get TLC from the ladies at daycare, and it’s been good for you & I to have some one on one bonding time. And frankly, I can get a lot more rest during the day without an energetic toddler around! Haha

(more photos from your newborn photography session here)

That being said, I do love watching you & Alex together. You of course are fascinated with him (as you are with anything that gets in your line of sight, haha), and he loves you to pieces. He’s a very good big brother so far– remembering to be gentle with you (well, most of the time), giving you lots of hugs and kisses (getting him not to kiss your mouth during this cold/flu season has been a challenge!), and wanting to help with you as much as he can… especially when you’re crying. When you cry, he says things like “Shh”, “What’s wrong Charlie?”, and he’ll tell me that you need your paci or that you’re hungry.

As far as milestones and development goes, you’re doing great with things like head control and even have rolled over from you tummy to back several times! No social smiles yet, but I think that’s not too far off. And so we’re all settling into our new life, with new routines. The biggest challenge still at this point is bath/bed time… it’s a lot of work getting two little ones fed, bathed & in bed each night!

We’re still working on getting adjusted, but couldn’t be happier overall. 🙂 I suppose that’s enough for now, you’re waking up and it’s time for lunch and snuggle time!

All my love,
Mom