Not a very happy Jen today! It's now 6am... yes you guess it, and I had a pretty crappy night. Woken up by baby almost every 2 hours, and on top of that, I had difficult trying to get to sleep with a combination of my itchy chest from my cold and hubby's scratching from his eczema. Aaaaah!

Well, Charlotte is now 8 weeks old. She still has some reflux, but generally it has improved a bit. She is also starting to smile when you talk to her. Her head strength is also pretty good, but occasionally she still looks like a drunken person with her head wobbling at times. I am still waking up an average of 3 times a night. And on average, it's not till 11pm before she starts to settle for the night.

I am still finding it a little difficult trying to juggle 2 kids under 2, but have settled into some sort of routine at least. This week though I have been a feeling a little more fatigued than usual as a result of getting a cold. I think I got it from Isabella, who got it from Scott. So far, I think this is the 4th time I've gotten a cold in the last 12 months - 3 were during my pregnancy with Charlotte. As a result of this cold, I've lost yet another kilo. At least there was some good out of it. Ha ha.

Not to make anybody feel bad, but as of today, I've finally reached my pre-pregnancy weight with Isabella. Yippee! This breastfeeding thing is fabulous for loosing weight. Makes me think that when I am finished with breast feeding Charlotte, it might be worth continuing to express to keep my weight off. Sounds a little extreme, but it's easier than dieting. Currently, apart from my usual meals, I also have ice creams and cookies a little more than when I was pregnant, and I've still managed to keep the weight off. I'm not sure what it does to my cholesterol level though. I wonder if breastfeeding keeps my cholesterol lower as well.. Hmm, will have to look that one up. By the way, do you know that there are breast milk banks?

Anyway, that's all for the night. Am so tired now. It's 9pm. Will try my luck at putting Charlotte down early tonight. Fingers crossed!

Charlotte is now 5 weeks old. How time has flown since her birth. The first 3 weeks especially went super fast with the recovery from my caesarian surgery and adjusting to life with a toddler and new baby. Life is getting a certainly super busy now. I have no idea how other mothers with more than 2 children cope. I find every day a challenge, but I suppose I get a little better at organising things each day that goes pass.

Since Charlotte was born, she has suffered from infant reflux. After every feed, she often spills. We have tried splitting her feeds with lots of burping in between and keeping her upright as much as possible, but she still spills on most occasions. On a visit to the child health nurse, we were told to try using a peristaltic teat by Pigeon. We finally got it today, and have used it 3 times so far. I am not sure if it is just coincidence for now, but she seems to be more settled and has slept a little better following her feeds. I guess I'll have to update you at a later date. Anyway, it is 2am now, and I've just put Charlotte back to sleep following her night feed (half of this entry was typed with one hand whilst rocking her to sleep). So now, time to express and get back to sleep. Catch ya later!

Welcome Princess Charlotte!

I would like you all to welcome our Princess Charlotte to this world. Today she is 6 days old. She's a beautiful girl just like her big sister Isabella. So far, she sleeps most of the day and wakes up a little longer during the evening and nights. But she lets mummy sleep during the day. Can't complain I suppose, at least I am getting some sleep. I feel so blessed to have 2 beautiful daughters.

Isabella has already shown great maturity and everyday she surprises us with great developments. In the few days that I was away at the hospital with Charlotte, on return, I am so awed by how much she has grown. She loves being a big sister and loves seeing Charlotte and giving her lots of kisses and hugs.

Anyway, I know this is short, but for now, I just wanted to write a short welcome for Charlotte, and when I have recovered a little more, I will write again soon.

Hugs and Kisses to my beautiful Girls, and big smooches to my wonderfully supportive loving husband!

Updates

My little miss princess has been growing so fast. She is no longer crawling. You can see the glee in her face when she walks, how proud she is to have achieved such a milestone. When we go out for walks or to the shops, she refuses to be held by the hand, instead insisting her independence by walking on her own.

Whilst Little Miss has been insisting her independence, the amount of tantrums have also risen. There are times she refuses to hold my hand, and refuses to follow by herself, and she squats down to scream and cry because she something didn't go her way. The first day she decided to walk by her self in the shopping centre, I got caught without a pram and at 38+ weeks pregnant, had to carry my Little Miss Cranky to the car. Had to talk to her and bribe her a little with the reward of some hot chips I'd bought for lunch. Not having those yummy chips straight away made her very miserable. Here's the start to dealing with more tantrums for us.

Apart from that, Isabella's new word has been something that sounds like "Angus Star". Whatever that means. We've never said anything that even resembles that word. But just about every 3rd to 5th word that comes out of her mouth sounds like it. She is such a chatter box now, there is hardly a quiet moment from the time she wakes till she sleeps. Still, she's my little princess, and every time I look at her, I can't help but squeeze her tight and cover her in kisses. I'm sure time will fly so soon, that it won't be long before she gets to a certain age where she'll refuse to be kissed all the time. So, I'm fitting them all in whilst I can.

Mega Nesting

Today was an extremely busy day for me and Scott. With 2 and a half weeks left before my booked caesarean, I needed to get a few things and I'd wanted to get done a while ago. Here's what we've done today.

- 4 loads of washing

- vacuuming

- changed 2 sets of bed sheets

- hang up some professional portraits

- organised and cleared the spare room

- cleaned out 2 sets of baby car seats

- sweep out the garage and drive way

- cooked dinner

Phew...! Luckily, considering all the stuff that needed to get done, Isabella was a really good girl mostly occupying herself throughout that time. We thought she'd be grumpier due to the lack of attention, but she showed the opposite, proving to us that she is growing up fast. Our little girl is definitely not a baby anymore, especially when you look at her standing up and walking. I love my little girl! She's the cutest, bestest daughter I could ever have wished for! Love you sweetie! Mwah.. mwah.. mwah!

Pushing the boundaries

Isabella isn't 2 yet, but already her cheeky personality has emerged, and she is hard and fast trying to push the boundaries. A few things she is doing at the moment is hiding food next to her legs in her high chair during meal times; throwing food on the floor when she is finished; being more physically retaliative and also trying out the crying game when she doesn't want to sleep.

I think the crying game isn't working for her and she is quickly loosing that battle, as we were quick to wisen and didn't give into it. As for the other things, hmmm.. hopefully, she'll move on from that. The question is, what will she do next and will it be worse?