4 weeks old

it's so hard to believe that it has been 4 weeks since we welcomed miss charlie into the world. it's even harder to remember what life was like before her. i can't believe how complete we feel - and how much fun she is! i have to admit, being first-time parents is pretty hectic - but it is even more amazing!

sweet charlie girl

in the past couple of weeks, we've gotten a little more brave about taking charlie places. morgan and i took charlotte to her first chiro appointment at robinson family wellness in north liberty. can i just say how much we love it there? if anybody in the area is looking for a GREAT chiropractor, let me know and i'll get you the information for dr. ron. you won't be disappointed! anyway - back to my original train of thought. charlie was found to be out of place in one (very common) place, so dr. ron adjusted her and we were on our way. i couldn't believe the change i saw in charlotte immediately, and even more so during her late night (and early morning) feedings. she is a much calmer baby now - which is absolutely wonderful if you ask me!

i also took charlotte into work to meet my coworkers. my sister came with me to make it a little bit easier - and i was so thankful she did! what an awesome help cassie was. she helped carry everything while charlie was fussing, and even sat in the back of the car with her on the way home to keep her calm. thank you sister!! we had fun, and it was nice to see everyone again!

this past weekend we took charlotte to a luau party in durant for some birthday & graduation celebrations. she was okay minus the terrible heat. we stayed inside most of the time and then decided to leave. it was just too hot for the sweet girl. but it was lovely seeing everybody - we were so glad to have gotten to go.

us at the luau party

when i became a mother, or rather when i discovered i was pregnant, i thought being a mom was going to be relatively easy. i worked at a daycare for 3 1/2 years, not to mention i've babysat since i was 10 years old. i didn't think i would have any issues or really need anything at all. but then i had charlotte. i don't want to call myself neurotic, because i don't feel like that's the correct term, but i'd definitely say i'm overly cautious and very concerned about every aspect of charlotte's life. for example, she recently started getting little bumps all over her face, and they spread pretty rapidly. yep, i freaked out a bit, only to find out that it's 100% normal and there's nothing i can do about it (except wait for it to clear up). another example, when nursing, sometimes charlotte becomes upset and pulls away. so i'd take her off, but she'd cry and act like she still wanted to eat. so i'd put her back on and it'd start over again. CLUELESS! i had nooo idea what was wrong, and was beginning to feel like a terrible mother due to my inability to diagnose my child's issue. i'm learning that it could be a number of things... one being a reaction to dairy in my diet, another being that baby's just fuss, or it could be that she just wants to "comfort nurse" but is unable to due to the fact that milk is coming out. soo... my solution - cutting dairy out of my diet completely, trying to soothe her in every way possible when this happens, and trying out different pacifiers to see if there is one she'd prefer over another. (ps - the nuk wins every time.) this is where other moms prove to be so, so helpful. i have relied heavily on my friend jenn, as well as a group of mothers who i've gotten to know through a pregnancy app for iPhone. (welcome to 2011, right?) their combined expertise makes me feel so much more sane again! i couldn't be more grateful for their advice. charlie and i are getting the hang of things - but it is still so wonderful to know that other people have experienced these things, too!

as for morgan and i... morgan has been extremely busy with work, which is typical for the summer months. they have been putting in a new runway at the quad city airport, so that is where he has spent most of his time... typically 10-12 hour days. you should see his tan! :)
i, on the other hand, have been enjoying maternity leave to the fullest. there's nothing i'd rather do than be at home with my sweet daughter. she is such a blessing!!! i feel like when it is all said and done, i will be able to publish a humorous book titled, "the adventures and misadventures of maternity leave: no detail left to the imagination." every single day is a new adventure, and every plan takes a left turn no matter what you do! (like this morning, for example, we were going to go downstairs and relax, maybe take a nap. then, out of nowhere, charlotte vomits all over my hair. okay! a shower will be fine instead.) either way, the time i spend with her is so precious, even if she is pooping and puking on me.

charlotte has been sleeping for quite a while, so i'm going to take this time to get some things done before we head into town. (hopefully we make it there - silly girl always has different plans for us!)

-the mays'

OH - her pictures are up on ben shirk's website! please check them out. www.shirkphotography.com