how has one month passed already?

~10 pounds
wearing size 0-3 month clothes
nurses every two hours, three at night sometimes if Mom is lucky
loves to be bounced on the exercise ball
like it when Mom and Dad sing to you
head full of hair
gaining eye control and arm control
cutest little chubby body.  you've put on good weight since you've been born.

Dear Charles,
What a wild ride this past month has been.  Derek and I have jumped in to being parents.  It's really hard sometimes but we always end the night saying how lucky we are to have you.  You are such a sweet baby.  You respond to me playing with you and know mine and Dad's voices.  You are starting to pay attention to Mingo and Haplo some but I think they annoy you mostly when the look in at you.  You like to be held and sung to. Our go to songs right now are skidamarink and favorite things.   Sometimes you get fussy but we can soothe you fairly easily.  I'm so surprised by your ability to scream!  You are hot blooded and love the cold air-just like your Dad.  You'll get fussy if you're too hot. So, I'm in long sleeves and pants and you're in a onesie and still hot most of the day.  You make the sweetest noises.  You are always babbling and listening to yourself.  Dad calls you his little terydactyl and you do sound just like one!  We are truly blessed by you and the gift you have given us to be parents.  You have made our hearts grow a little bigger everyday and we love you so much.

Oh Hey

                                                  I'm just chillin here on a Thursday, being adorable.

4 weeks

                      

Likes:

-keeping his parents up at night

-shopping with Mom and Dad

-baby wearing

-the vibrating chair is a big new like this week.  He loves it and it's been so helpful!  It soothes him and he'll also play in it. 

-being bounced on the exercise ball. 

-chilling on the changing table.  It's so funny, he'll be fussing and when you put him on the changing table about halfway through he'll just start kicking and checking things out.  So, we'll just leave him hear sometimes.  I'll do squats right by the table to kill the time and talk to him. 

Dislikes:

-sleeping at night 

-being changed

-a dirty diaper.  He's starting to want to be changed right after dirtying his diaper, a new thing this week. Before, he could have cared less. 

Milestones:

-outgrowing his newborn clothes

-can roll from his stomach to his back (but only on the leather ottoman, not quite during tummy time yet)

Last week was a big one.  Charles had his first growth spurt and it wore Mom out.  He had many, many marathon nursing sessions.  And you can tell!  He's put on sweet little baby fat on his thighs and fingers and he's gotten so much bigger.  I swear he's doubled in size.  He doesn't fit into most of his newborn clothes anymore.  *cry* my little boy is growing up.

precious chubby baby legs

He developed his first case of diaper rash this week.  I had some all natural diaper cream from Ellen that was very helpful.  I hadn't bought any because I was hoping he wouldn't get diaper rash with cloth diapers.  To be honest though, for a bit there we were using disposables maybe once a day or at nights.  The cloth diapers are hard to keep up with sometimes and so sometimes we'd run out before a load was done.  The diaper cream and lots of open air (hanging out on the changing table) has really h helped out.  It's almost gone.

Derek is so sweet with him.  Even when Charles gets fussy Derek is ready with coos to calm him down.

 

Sometimes sleeping with one eye open is necessary, just in case santa comes early for an extra little cute reindeer. 

  

We had our first outing with Charles on Thanksgiving.  We went to Whole Foods to pick up some things and him and I braved going along.  He did wonderfully and so many people wanted to say Hello to the little guy.  He did wonderfully.  I wore the Maya wrap as it's easier to get him in and out of.  I'm still not super confident to just let my hands down but we'll get there.  It doesn't look like it here but there is head support for him.

We had our first walk with him.  There was some nice weather so I put on the moby and we headed out for a walk.  My legs handled it fine and Charles slept most of the way and really really likes the moby.  When I took him out he screamed like he did at birth. 

Gobble Gobble Y'all

Happy Thanksgiving! we're getting take out from whole foods and catching up on sleep and payne pack time today. love to everyone.

3 weeks

Likes:
- being bounced.  but, he doesn't like the bouncy chair.  go figure
-the ring sling.  I've started to wear him in the mornings while I tidy up the kitchen and he enjoys looking around while in it.
-the baby swing
-his black and white stim mobile.  so glad I got this.
-riding in the car seat.

Dislikes:


Stats:
8 pounds 5 ounces
21 3/8 inches

 Milestones:
-he can roll over on his side now
-we sized him up in diapers.  he's wearing the baby g now, not the infant/preemie g diapers.  Hopefully these won't leak as much.
-2 week doctor appointment. Clean bill of health!

Derek went back to work on Wednesday so there has definitely been an adjustment. Everyday I get a better handle on things but it's not easy.  Derek makes my breakfast and lunch which helps a lot.  Putting him down to prep these things usually leads to crying.  And if he's content for awhile it's usually not long enough for me to prep and eat, so I'm very thankful Derek has been helping out with that.

We've given up on trying to switch his nights and days back.  It's just too hard to keep him awake during the day.  Which makes things hard at night.  Derek is definitely sleep deprived.  Charles' tends to be pretty good at night but there is a 2-3 hour window around 2 am that he just won't sleep.  Otherwise he's sleeping and is up every two hours to nurse like clockwork.  Every now and then it's three hours and I feel like I'm in heaven with that extra bit of sleep-though I usually wake up anyways ready for him to nurse.

I had my first solo outing with him when we went to the pediatrician.  It was a bit nerve wracking to not be able to watch him while driving and know he was doing okay.  I might have turned around and poked him to make sure he was moving at a stop light or two.  And the car seat is definitely heavy- we haven't been using the stroller just yet for these short trips.  I am definitely going to have biceps of steel after carrying him around.  Yay!

I'm healing ok.  Every day is a bit different but definitely recovering from the birth.  I'll be ready to go out for a walk when I'm cleared.  I've started to do a few exercised with him in my arms- squats and shoulder presses with him.  So, that's fun and different for us to do and makes me feel good.  Gotta lose the baby weight.  

2 weeks

Likes:
-baths
-being sung to
-hearing different sounds-particularly whale a la Nemo
-pooping in clean diapers
-being swaddled up in the car seat
-sleeping on chests

Dislikes:
-being changed
-sleeping at night

 This was a big week for activities.  He had his first bath.  He didn't like it so much.   He also had his second bath.  He was a much bigger fan of baths the second time around.  He liked to sit in the warm water and was very content.  And we had our first poop in the bath experience! 

 I love the skin to skin time after baths and our little munchkin looks pretty cute in his hooded towel doesn't he?!

 Derek spent some quality time with him teaching him the ways of video games.

 Our first time baby wearing.  The moby made him pretty happy.  I know he's not positioned quite right in this picture, it takes some fiddling and we're getting better at it. 

 More father and son bonding.  Derek is the baby whisperer and they do enjoy their time together.  It's so sweet to see Derek be a Dad.

Our first Tummy time.  The dogs were interested and Charles wasn't a huge fan.  I didn't like it so much either but it's good for him.  It's just hard to see him struggle on the play mat.

 Kent stopped by for a visit and I snapped a quick photo.  Charles' has his nights and days confused so we spent a lot of time this week trying to keep him up during the day so he would sleep at night.  We had some success but it got harder and harder to keep him up during the day.  Kent gave us some advice on how him and Megan dealt with newborn screening, but unfortunately their method of splitting the nights won't really work for us. 

 I do most of the photo taking around here and I usually look like crap.  So, we tried to set up a little photo op for Charles and I.  Of course,  by the time I got ready he was a fussy so we didn't get too many good shots.  And yes, I realize that these diaper covers look ridiculous on him- I was trying to coordinate with him.  They are too big on him now but I'm sure in no time he'll be fitting into them.

 A footie shot.  I'm still rocking my pedicure from when I went with the girls to try to induce labor from the foot massage.  I can't believe how little his feet are and they've already grown so much since birth.  Seriously, he is so much bigger than a week ago.

1st week

 We made it through the first week.  It wasn't so bad once we got used to not sleeping eight hours straight.  Our little adorable guy made it that much easier by being precious.

 I'm so thankful I made so many freezer meals.  I don't know what we'd be doing without them.  We've already eaten a few and they haven't been that bad.

 We've had a few visitors.  Katie stopped by to say hello and make the baby cry of course.  (jk Katie!)  She did great with him.

Carol, our doula, also came by to say hello and check in on us after the birth.  It was nice to see her again and talk to someone about our birth experience. 

1 week

We made it through our first week!  It was wonderful to have this little munchkin at home and we've adapted pretty well.  The first night was a doozy.  I literally was hallucinating staying up with him, now we're used to less sleep.  2 hours in a row is a good nights rest.  The doctor's say he's gaining good weight.  I had my first appointment with a lactation consultant yesterday and that helped so so much.  

Likes:
- snuggles
-being held by Mommy and Daddy
-nursing
-kisses
-holding hands
-being sung to

Dislikes:
-being changed
-nighttime
-sleeping in my bassinet

42 weeks

 So thankful to have this precious little guy in my arms.  What a journey pregnancy was!  I loved growing this munchkin and was continually amazed at the miracle of life and what the human body is capable of doing.  I am so proud to share this journey with my wonderful husband.  I am continually amazed that this little human was inside me.  Pregnancy is a beautiful thing but I'm happy to have Charles out in the world with us now!!

Wonderful things about being pregnant:
-not feeling bad accepting offers for people to help.  I had my groceries loaded in my car and dog food picked up and loaded in my car several times. 
- interacting with people in a way that you wouldn't normally.  I know a lot of pregnant people get annoyed when people ask them when they're due etc. but I really enjoyed chatting with people.  Yes, lots of people would come up and ask me about my pregnancy, mostly when are you due, is it your first,what's the gender.  and I loved it- from the male nurse that chatted with me about how he wasn't allowed in delivery rooms during his training to the checkout girls who told me about their children and I'd see a few times over the pregnancy.  It was nice to share in the happiness of children with others and learn about other people and their stories.
-precious little baby kicks.  During pregnancy, as hard as it got, I realized that it was the only time I'd be able to always have Charles with me and I made sure to treasure that.  I loved his little kicks and hellos throughout the day that I know I will miss so much when I go back to work.
- food cravings-hello!!!  there are so many things that I started eating during this pregnancy that I never ate before.  Unfortunately, they aren't exactly healthy and now that I"m not pregnant I'm trying to get a handle on them.  But, man, I'm in love with some new foods.
              Donuts!  We have a Dunkin down the street that is way too convenient and the girls and I went out a few times for some gourmet donuts in Durham-monuts. yummm. 
             Ice cream- I never really dug ice cream, but when I was pregnant, I could eat it every single night.  So many flavors, so many toppings.  I was missing out!  I did keep it healthy and ate frozen yogurt only or greek frozen yogurt.  I'm going to have to try the raved about blue bell though. 
             Peanut butter- I had started eating sunbutter before I was pregnant and it just amped up a notch when I couldn't eat deli meat.  Lots and lots of peanut butter sandwiches.  peanut butter and honey, sunbutter, almond butter, granola peanut butter, open faced peanut butter with fruit on it- strawberries or kiwi were some faves.
           Those are the top three I think. 
- sewing.  I've always sewed here and there but it was nice to finally sew for my own baby.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted since the house was top priority but I'm hoping to have time in the future.  A quilt is on the list, but probably christmas stockings first.

I'm sure there are many other things, but that's it for now.

Introducing.....

Charles Pierce Payne

Born October 30,2012 

12:56 pm

7lbs 11 oz.

We are so in love with this little guy.  We are all home and doing well.  Lots of pictures to come and birth story as well.