It has been a while

I feel like I should apologize for not blogging for a month, but it is hard to get some things done with a newborn in the house. Charlotte is doing great. At three days old, the pediatrician measured her at 21 3/4" long and 8lb 15oz. At her one month appointment she was 22 3/4" long and 10lb 13oz which is 95% for length and 90% for weight. We are happy that she is healthy and growing. The downside is she out growing her 3 month old clothes and she is only 5 weeks old. It is hard to believe she has only been with us for 39 days.  The best news of all is that she slept for over 7 hours last night.  This was after a period of inconsolable screaming because she was over tired and I didn't manage to sleep 7 hours because my body is not used to going that long without nursing, but we are excited for what this could mean to our lives when this starts happening on a regular basis.  The night before her longest time of sleep was only 3 1/2 hours, so there is no telling what may happen tonight.

Here is a sampling of pictures from the past month.  If you want to see her one month old portraits, check them out at www.kiddiekandids.com, click the mystudio link and login with sitting number 014019823 and sitting code WD465D6C.

I started pumping last week, so that I can have a supply of milk saved up before I go back to work.  Chad is giving Charlotte her first bottle of pumped breast milk to make sure that she will take a bottle and to give me a little break.

My parents, sister and nephews came over for dinner on Halloween.  The kids all dressed up, but Gabriel hated his costume and wouldn't put it back on for the picture.

Charlotte's first costume.  She is sucking on an orange pacifier to match her costume.

Benjamin (2) kept saying "Benjamin cute pumpkin"

Charlotte is getting her first tub bath.  She seems to like bath time pretty well.

The cats have lost their laps, but they are learning to adjust to their new place in the pack.

She is getting more awake and alert.

We love it when she sleeps on our chests.  She is a really snuggly baby.

Chad is giving Charlotte a sponge bath the morning after we brought her home from the hospital.  The nurses had used band-aid glue to glue a bow on her head because no one could tell if she was a boy or a girl unless they read her name card.  We didn't bring any pink clothes to the hospital because we didn't know we were having a girl.

Chad's parents came to visit for a week from Illinois when Charlotte was three weeks old.  They are coming again in January along with his sister, brother-in-law and niece.  His niece is only 4 weeks older than Charlotte.

This is her first trip to the park where we actually got out of the stroller.  Her very first trip to the park was when she was five days old.  Mommy took her for a three mile walk and then decided that was too much too soon after giving birth.  We've taken things much slower since then.

Our first family photo

The swing has been an absolute life saver on many occasions.

Sleepy baby

Hanging out

She makes funny faces

Hanging out with Grandma