Four Months Old

Charlotte Louise (August 2013)

Dear Charlotte,

Sweet girl, what a big month it's been! Shortly after my last post you began sleeping through the night. At three months old. It was glorious.

It was also relatively short-lived (about 8 consecutive days), but it was awesome. You are quite young to be sleeping through the night on a consistent basis, so I took it as a beautiful (and restful) gift.

Even when you're not sleeping through the night, you're a relatively good sleeper. Daddy gives you a bottle before he goes to bed (around 11:00 PM) and then you usually only wake up once in the middle of the night to nurse. You eat very quickly and go right back to sleep (up for about 25 minutes max). Part of me really enjoys our middle of the night cuddles, and I know that extra feeding helps keep my milk supply up. So it's totally worth it, even if I need an extra cup of coffee in the morning.

In the past month you also started rolling from your belly to your back. It seemed to really startle you at first, but now you roll with a purpose, giving me a triumphant smile when you succeed. You still dislike tummy time when you're tired or close to nap time, but for the most part, you don't mind being on your stomach. You hold your head up high and look around the room for your brother, who remains your absolute favorite person.

You've started reaching for and batting at toys. You are almost able to grab them, but your coordination needs a little work yet. Still, it's awesome to see you interact with your surroundings a bit more. I can't believe how fast you're growing!

Bedtime continues to be a hard time of day for you. We've found that you get very upset if we try and put you to bed before you're ready. You regularly scream at Daddy when he puts you to bed alone. While you're a little fussy for me, I can usually keep you content until you're drowsy enough to fall asleep. Before bedtime, we spend a lot of time walking around the house or watching Will play. You also like to go outside... something about the fresh air seems to soothe you.

You continue to nurse like a champ, although we're encountering some new nursing troubles now that you're more active and alert. You recently whipped your head around while you were latched, creating a gnarly crack on my nipple (ouch!). It hurts a bit to nurse you on that side right now, but we're pushing through it.

Your absolute favorite activity right now is standing. Not by yourself of course, but standing on someone's lap while they support you under your arms. You lock your legs and hold yourself up forever. You love to look out and take in your surroundings while you do it. You're quite alert and interested in the world around you.

You are such a sweet, smiley girl. You love to look at people and make eye contact. You gave us your first giggles in the past month, and your smiles absolutely light up the room (and our lives).

We love you so much, baby bug.

Love,

Mama

Three

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet Boy

School Supplies

The best part of having a preschool-age child? School supply shopping!

One box is never enough!

I loved school supply shopping when I was a kid. The ritual of going to the store with my mom and picking out my new items was often the highlight of my summer.

Back-to-school shopping felt like such a major event, as if those new supplies were going to set the tone for the entire school year. I'd give serious consideration to whether I should get notebooks that were regular or college-ruled, debate the merits of pens with purple ink vs. pens with black ink, and agonize over which Trapper-Keeper to buy. I even loved supply shopping as a grad student (albeit with far fewer Lisa Frank folders). There's still something incredibly intoxicating about pulling out a brand new notebook or writing deadlines in a never-before-used planner.

(Writing that, I'm acutely aware of what a super-nerd I am.)

So granted, I was really amped up to buy supplies for Will, but he had a great time too. He was so proud to be picking out his own items, and he's really, really excited to go to school in a few weeks.

For this year, Will's school supply list included...

• Child-safe scissors
• Two white glue sticks
• Small box of crayons
• Two #2 pencils
• Large pink eraser
• Medium-size pencil box
• Folder
• Kleenex box

And here's what he chose...

Will's 2013-2014 school supplies

I could just die from the cuteness.

By the way...

I totally jinxed it.

But it was a solid 8 days of all-night slumber.

Plus, it's a promise that I will indeed sleep again.

Not now and not consistently. But someday.

I'll take it.

Neon

Always be bright

The Great Preschool Saga

You may recall that Will's preschool closed last December with little warning.

Since then we've spent hours and hours researching and touring new schools. We found a school that we really loved right away. Let's call it the "awesome" school. We were referred to the awesome school by a close friend whose daughter will be attending in the fall.

We trust this friend implicitly, so we were thrilled to have her recommendation. We toured the school and LOVED it. It's a very small Montessori-based preschool (12 students total, ages 3-5). The teacher is awesome and the curriculum is exceptional. We quickly submitted an application and crossed our fingers.

Unfortunately though, they were unable to offer a spot to Will for the 2013-2014 school year. In addition to spacing out the students' ages, they also try and keep a gender-balanced classroom (6 boys, 6 girls). Not only had they filled all of their three year old spots, but they also had more boys than girls enrolled due to sibling preference (siblings of current and prior students are guaranteed enrollment).

So we kept looking. We toured six different schools over the course of two months. Nothing felt great, but Will needed something for the fall, so we selected another local Montessori preschool. The curriculum and philosophy of this school was good, but the tuition was outrageous. Let's call it the "stupidly-expensive" school.

Ben and I went round and round on whether we should enroll him there. Ultimately, we decided that a Montessori preschool was the best environment for Will, and the stupidly-expensive school was the best local Montessori after the awesome school. So we sent in a check to reserve our spot at the stupidly-expensive school for the fall. (You still with me? Great, hang in there.)

Fast forward several months: We got a call from the awesome school offering us a spot for the 2013-2014 school year! I just about died. We accepted immediately, hoping that the stupidly-expensive school would give us a tuition refund. The awesome school is the best place for Will, and we were willing to send him there even if we received nothing back from the stupidly-expensive school. (Although I think Ben would have had a coronary if we ended up paying tuition for two different preschools.)

We reached out to the stupidly-expensive school and heard nothing for several weeks. Honestly, I wasn't optimistic that we'd receive any reimbursement. We had already made a commitment to them and they were counting on Will to be there in fall. Until today, when we received a full tuition refund along with a notice that the stupidly-expensive school would be closing before the 2013-2014 school year.

I'm still in shock! Not only that we got a spot in the awesome school, but that I'm holding a check reimbursing us for a sizable tuition payment. Although it's unfortunate that our community is losing another option for Montessori education, I'm reminded...

What's meant to be will find a way.

Feel Free To Punch Me In the Face

Snoozy

I hesitate to write this because...

a) I don't want to jinx it, and

b) when Will was little (and not sleeping) I wanted to punch these people in the face, but...

Charlotte has been sleeping through the night for the past week.

Girlfriend goes to bed at 7:00 PM. Ben wakes her around 11:00/11:30 PM to give her a bottle. Then I wake her at 7:00 AM because my breasts are so full I feel like they're going to explode. Except for the 10-15 minutes that she's taking the bottle and getting a diaper change, she's sleeping.

Let's just take a moment to reflect on how awesome that is... 12 CONSECUTIVE HOURS, PEOPLE. At three months old. I'm pretty sure that Will didn't sleep for 12 consecutive hours until he was almost two.

So I'm kind of in awe. It can't possibly last, but I'll take it while I can get it. It feels ah-mazing to sleep all night (except for the overwhelmingly painful breast fullness when I wake up). But the sleep. Bliss.

I feel like a fully functioning member of society again.

Three Months Old

Not late! Well, only a week late. But still, an improvement.

Charlotte Louise (July 2013)

Dear Charlotte,

Sweet baby girl, you are growing so fast! I can hardly believe the first three months are behind us already.

You are becoming very alert and watchful. You love to sit in my lap, facing out so you can see what's happening around you. Unsurprisingly, your favorite person to watch is your brother. You seem absolutely fascinated with him, and will track his movements across the room. You also love it when he talks to you... smiling from ear to ear and cooing back at him.

You recently found your hands and love putting them in your mouth. You also firmly grip anything you can get your hands on. I've noticed you batting at toys in your play gym, but I think it's mostly involuntary yet. You seem so surprised when you strike something and it moves!

You love your pacifier, and almost always need it to fall asleep. You're also a fan of white noise, or any sort of background commotion. We still swaddle you at night, as you have an unbelievable strong startle reflex. You sleep so soundly wrapped up like a little mummy... the tighter the better! I'm dreading the next big milestone (rolling over) as we're supposed to stop swaddling you then.

You're getting quite comfortable with tummy time. You like it when we prop your chest up with a little pillow so you can pick your head up and look around. You'll stay on your stomach for quite awhile if you can watch Will play, but you will also "help" me fold laundry that way.

You are a very vocal baby, cooing and "talking" constantly. You love to lock eyes with people and give them the sweetest coo/grin. You also have this adorable complaining voice when you're feeling cranky or bored. Daddy likens the sound you make to an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer is having night terrors. As a result, we've taken to saying "ah, cobras!" virtually every time you squawk.

You are an overwhelmingly happy baby, but if you get mad, WATCH OUT. When you get upset you let us have it, unleashing what can only be described as a mad scream. You have a pretty high tolerance for most things, but you straight up yell when you've had enough. You tend to get pretty upset in the evenings, especially if Mama isn't here to put you to bed. Daddy reports that you pretty much scream at him for 15 minutes before settling down and going to sleep. It's almost as if you want him to know that you're mad that Mama's gone!

You love, love, love being outside. If you're fussy, I can usually take you outside and you'll calm instantly. You love the breeze and the sun on your face. Often times, I'll bring your swing outside so you can nap under the patio umbrella while I garden or read. It's so awesome having an infant over the summer months!

It is our greatest joy to watch you grow. You bring so much happiness to Daddy, Will and me. We love you so much, darling girl!

Love,

Mama