Four Weeks Old

Well, the past couple days have been rough. Charlie has decided the only place she will sleep is on someone. So as I write this she is sleeping on my chest and Izzy is sleeping on my lap (yes, Izzy has been very needy too). I am not sure what is more frustrating, Charlie not sleeping or unsolicited parenting advice. There is something about pregnancy and parenting that makes people think that I want advice from them or that they know what is best for my child. I even received unsolicited advise from a 20 year old male checker at the grocery store about picking up a crying infant. Along with all the other changes I have gone through it looks like I am going to have to get some even thicker skin.

Back to the sleeping issue or lack of sleep. It seems like Charlie has done a 180 in the last couple days. She used to sleep in her bassinet with no problem. She would even sleep for a good 3-4 hour stretch. But not lately. I have been doing a lot of research on the internet and reading a lot of books. I gave up reading parenting books for a couple days but have found myself with my nose buried in them again. What else I am supposed to do at 2 am when someone is hungry? I have decided that you can find experts who support or experts who are against almost every parenting style. There is the cry it out method, the attachment parenting style, experts who say the only way is to put your child on a schedule, others who endorse having the child lead the schedule. Some support co-sleeping, others say the crib/bassinet is the only way. Honestly it all makes my head hurt and I don't have the answer yet. But I don't think there is just one answer otherwise there wouldn't be 500 parenting books available.

We have our 1 month pediatrician appointment next week. I am looking forward to seeing how much she weighs. She eats ALL THE TIME but to me doesn't seem like she has gotten that much bigger. But then again I am with her 24 hours a day. As long as she is happy and healthy then Adam and I must be doing something right.

On the triathlon front Adam's training for Ironman Florida is going really well. As you can imagine, training for an ironman is difficult but training for one with an infant is even more difficult. I am trying my best to care for Charlie during the night (although there really isn't much Adam can do since I am nursing) so that he can get his sleep. I have jokingly told him that as soon as he crosses the finish line in Florida I am putting Charlotte in his arms and he gets her for the next nine months. :)

This past weekend Adam competed in the Chesapeakeman Aquavelo. Chesapeakeman is an Ironman distance triathlon and the aquavelo is just the swim and bike portion (2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike). He approached the day as a training day and didn't push himself as hard as he could have. He took 3rd in his age group. I think that day really helped his confidence for Florida.

Here are some recent pictures of Little Miss Charlie: