Karoline as a newborn...

When I look back to when the twins were newborns, I realize that those first weeks were kind of a blur. This was most likely due to the fact that I was a first-time mother of two babies, not an ideal scenario for sleep, but also because I didn't write it down (and seriously, if I didn't have time to sleep, I definitely didn't have time to blog!) . So here I am letting you know what life is like with Karoline as a newborn so that I will never forget the sweetness.

Those first two weeks seemed long, but not in a "when will this end" kind of way, but in a "I don't want to do anything but this (lounging around with Tucker and the kids while holding my new baby) for the next good while" kind of way. Karoline was a sleepy newborn and I was a grateful mother. With Roman and Capri waking up every 2 hours, and often not at the same time, it was so nice to have such a big block between feedings. It also made it possible for me to sleep in my bed, something I wasn't able to do with the twins until they were 6 weeks old. Beds definitely beat couches and rockers as far as sleep is concerned!

So, two weeks had gone by and I was thinking, wow, those moms that have just one baby at a time-I can handle that no problem! But I did have one problem and that was breastfeeding. Just like the twins had done, Karoline latched on with our first attempt which I was grateful for. However, just like the twins, Karoline would fall asleep within just a few minutes of feeding. Thankfully she was a bit stronger and was able to be woken up to keep eating. Even though she would be taking an hour to eat (with her intermitten naps!) I was so worried she wasn't getting enough to eat, especially because she was dealing with jaundice and eating was one way to get rid of it. I ended up taking her in when she was one week old and surprise, surprise, she had surpassed her birth weight and the jaundice was completely gone. Hooray! She continued to grow and when we took her in for her 2 weeks appointment, she had gained even more weight and stretched another inch and a half in length.

Over the next couple of weeks, Karoline started to "wake up." Rather than me having to wake her up for her next feeding, she would wake up on her own. We loved watching her become more alert while holding her head little head up. It has only gotten better as she is incredibly responsive to others talking and singing to her. Even the swing produced a reaction at only a month old. As soon as I placed her in the seat, she would start to look up waiting for me to turn on the mobile and music. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but after she did it three times in a row I knew she was genuinely responding! Karoline loves to use her little legs and tries to support all of her weight on them. Tucker scared me a bit when he quickly let go to see her stand...she has got to be too young, right?!

Smiles started popping up (and the real ones-not just from gas!) around 5 weeks and all of a sudden you don't care about the 2am feedings. I loved the concentration and focus that went into such a feat. Her blue eyes would sparkle as she did everything she could to get her mouth to follow suit. We even got her to smile for Roman and Capri soon after and though Roman didn't give it much thought, it was quite a reward for Capri. "Mommy! Baby smile at me!" A little piece of heaven!

Feedings still took an hour up until she was 5 weeks, but at least I knew she was getting enough to eat. I relied on the Baby Bjorn to carry her around while I cared for Roman, Capri, and the house and thank goodness she was content in there. That's what we kept thinking about this sweet little girl, how incredibly content she was. She did have a case of the tummy problems at 4 weeks or so. She always wanted to be upright with me bouncing her around holding her under her armpits so I was thinking it was acid reflux like Capri had dealt with. The doctor let me know that a lot of the time the problem is simply an underdeveloped digestive system that can't be cured, but that we could definitely try with acid reflux meds, change in my diet, etc. Well, there was nothing to worry about after all. I had to deal with a fussier than normal Karoline every evening for a couple of hours for a week. Then it turned into a fussier than normal Karoline every other evening, and now just once in a while! I probably went through a bottle of Mylicon drops every week or two with the twins so, again, much easier this time around. Having such a content baby has made the transition from two to three kids much easier. My mom always said that if you can handle three kids then you can handle six, so here we go! Just kidding, there is no way I can do six...Tucker, you can start breathing again.

Karoline has already created a great routine of waking up, eating/burping for 35 minutes, playing with mommy or in the swing for an hour or so, and then going to sleep. Repeat every three hours. Now, however, she will sometimes skip a feeding at night and so we get a solid 5 hours of sleep. These are the days that I wake up feeling like a new woman! She loves being held, cuddled, and talked to, but I guess all babies do! I swear I love it even more, to hold her, feed her, sing to her, and then cuddle in our big red rocker and take a nap together. I hope to do that every once in a while in the future because there is simply nothing like it! I also love the act of putting her to sleep. She will start to get fussy and so I swaddle her in a baby burrito fashion-really tight. I then walk around and sing to her until she falls asleep. It's so funny, but it seems as though Karoline doesn't want to go to sleep in fear she will "miss out" on all the fun. As I sing to her she will start to close her eyes and then quickly wakes up to smile, holds it for a second or two, and then falls back asleep. She does this over and over until she finally gives in. Precious.

I love her hands and she rarely has them still. Karoline has beautiful long fingers that are always formed in such delicate positions which reminds me so much of Capri. Too, when she is eating, she holds them right up to her mouth. I also love her new rolls and dimples. She now ways close to 11 pounds and they are everywhere!

As far as stats go, we just went to her 2 month appointment and they are as follows:

Weight: 10lbs 12oz placing her in the 50th percentile

Height: 23.2 inches placing her in the 80th percentile

Head: 15.7 inches placing her in the 85th percentile

The doc said she looks perfectly healthy!

She still looks a lot like me, but I think she has a lot of Capri in her. She still has all of her hair, perfect skin (obviously not from me), and blue eyes (also not from me, but we will see if they change!). She is absolutely perfect and I am so grateful to be her mom!