0 Becoming the parents of two- how do you really prepare...

Everyone had plenty of advice for us when we found out we were pregnant again. Most of the advice we received was how to prepare our dear Charlotte for the new baby. Nervous was an understatement. When you decide to have another child no one prepares you for the emotions you will go through in the 9 months to follow. The first preganacy has plenty of distractions- from starting a baby registry to parties and planning a new room are just some of these destractions that make the months go by faster. When you are pregnant with number 2, you get lots of questions. Are you ready to handle two? Wow, two kids are expensive? Are you going to find out the gender this time? All of the questions become daunting in the end and sometime distract you from the things you need to prepare for.
When you are finally grasping the fact that you will be a parent of two you finally realize the questions that do need answered. We start thinking about room configurations, babysitting, time off from work and how you are going to prepare baby number one for baby number 2. The things that really matter are pushed off until the point where you realize that you need to tackle them and you arent sure if you are ever going to get them accomplished.

We found out we were pregnant in July of 2013. Middle of the summer, it was hot and I wasnt sure what we were going through. I was sicker than a dog. Morning sickness was something that I experienced morning, noon and night. Trying to hide this pregnancy was something that I wasnt able to do as easily. If you think you could hide it the first 12-14 weeks the first time you cant the second. You start showing way sooner than you plan. Your body is stretched out from the first time and you arent quite ready to see yourself growing as early as you are.  By the time we were announcing the pregancy, it was almost old news to everyone. You could clearly tell I was having another baby. Preparing the house and Charlotte for baby number two would be our focus for most of the pregnancy and who knew if we could even prepare ourselves enough for baby number two.

Our house is more than capable to handle the second child. When we purchased our home a few weeks before we had Charlotte, we purchased a 4 bedroom home knowing that we would one day want two children. As much as we loved our C, we knew that having a sibling would be beneficial for her later in her life. Having a friend and a confident, even if it was a boy, would be something she would thank us for one day even if it was in her adult life. We have always struggled with C sleeping in her own bed (ours is much more fun to her) so we prepared her for a big girl room. We planned to turn our guest room into C's big girl room and started to scope out plans to make it her space. Comforters were purchased, curtains were hung and finally paint was ready to go on the walls. After a few more trips to Home Depot than we planned, she had her big girl room. Did she sleep in in- nope, but its ready for her when she finally decides she is ready to cut that cord.

Emotionally we tried to prepare Charlotte as much as possible. When we would be around people that had more than one child we would explain big brother and big sister to her as well as babies and such to Charlotte. We spent time explaining change to her but also tried to make sure that she understood her place in our hearts. We started Gymnastics with daddy and swimming lessons with daddy to prepare her for special time and to make her have somewhat of a distraction. Not only did she learn new skills but it also helped us realize how independent she was becoming. Watching her learn and grow is something that we are both seeing. Her development is strong and she is learning but how will she react to baby number two.

Fast forward to now, as I look back on the last few months I wouldn't trade it for the world. Do I feel that we prepared her well- yes. Do I think we could have done something different-no. Would I have done anything different- no. Was the reaction what I expected- HELL NO. The first few days were awful. We went into labor in the middle of the night and C was sleeping (I will save that story for the labor update) but we didn't want to wake her to say goodbye. I regret this. I should have woken her up and told her what was going on. I guess you don't know how to handle these situations until you are in them. I made a decision as a parent that I regret, but it could have been just as bad with her waking up.  Later the next day after the baby was born we had Kim bring her to the hospital. The reaction was awful. She wasn't the little girl I left in bed the night before. I sat and watched her hold her head down and not be the vocal little person I love so much. As I look back now I understand it was just a part of her dealing with change, however, it was hard on a hormonal lady. I cried a ton and tried to make her feel special, but it was admittedly rough. C stayed with my parents and got some special time but I will say i wasn't sure how things were going to go the first few weeks.

Looking back two weeks later I can say things are adjusting just fine. Prepared for two kids - no. Adjusting to two kids- yes. C is adjusting very well and is making for a good big sister. She is finding her adjustments by sometimes acting like a baby and sometimes acting like a 5 year old. We are trying to keep her on a schedule and the only other adjustment will be when I go back to work. I am hoping she will continue to amaze me as a big sister while we learn to be a family of 4. I am excited to be a mother of these beautiful girls and really looking forward to their relationships later on in their life.

0 Year 2 of Charlotte Jane.... the adventures continue

As we started year 2 of the life of Charlotte Jane, we began to see her develop and grow into a beautiful little girl. We had our trials and lessons and learned to adjust. You enjoy going to Totters Otterville, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Newport Aquarium, The Library for story time and music class and you love to sing and dance. You will play with sticks in the mud while wearing a tutu, you will climb on rocks and play in the barnyard with papaw. You took your first vacation and are still changing constantly. You learned to become a big sister and have really learned your voice. You have a great personality and amaze us daily with the things you come up with.
Some highlights of your second year:
First trip out of town in a hotel- We went to Pittsburgh for a wedding-

Your visit to Primanti Bros in Pittsburgh

Museum in Pittsburgh

We spent lots of time in the summer eating icecream, going downtown and visiting the farm:

Daddy lunch date

Swimming beauty

Tractor wont cooperate

Family pictures at the farm

Decisions on dinner

Second Halloween costume

We celebrated you turning two just as big as turning one. You had a farm party that was amazing. Lots of love was shared and plenty of food and cake!

Birthday invites

Blowing out the candles

Cant wait to celebrate year 2-3 with you. Love the way you are growing and changing.

0 Year one recap - part 2

Of course I get interrupted while planning out these posts and they are already over a year late, but I have time to catch up so why not.

Charlotte Jane- your second 6 months were just as eventful as the first. You are starting to interact and really become a fun little girl. You had your first Christmas (I think you enjoyed the lights and the sparkle more than anything else, but you were spoiled rotten. Who knew that a little girl could get so many things at such a young age. You loved Santa and had very cute faces after
anything people showed or gave you.

Your first Christmas gifts













Proof you liked Santa




We moved into 2012 and enjoyed watching you grow and learn every month. You were not much of a crawler and actually didnt start crawling until close to 9 months and then quickly stood up and started walking a month later. I still remember taking you to buy your first pair of shoes. Your daddy was proud to get you a pretty pair of pink and white Stride Rite shoes to help you walk at Nordstrom and we were happy to watch you learn and grow.

Your first walking shoes!

We had lots of adventures and enjoyed spending time outside and watching you grow. We had a very eventful party for you and started the tradition of taking you to the zoo on your birthday for time with mama and daddy without distractions.  Thank you for being your fun little self and letting us learn how to be parents. Here are some pictures of the second 6 months of Charlotte Jane. The joy you bring us is more than you can imagine.

Feeding yourself for the first time

First Birthday Party

First Birthday Photos

Our little Daredevil

Sitting in her high chair downtown at Nada

0 Year one recap - Part one

To my Charlotte Jane

I regret not doing this sooner. Its hard to remember just how little and precious you were at age 1, but as I look back at pictures I am flooded with the memories that you have created in my mind and in our lives. You gave us a good run for our money your first year. We spent a lot of time together since Daddy was traveling to Boston every week to give us a better life. Some days were easy and some days were hard, but you always managed to smile or giggle and make me feel like I wasn't alone at home. Your life is pretty simple yet you have so many people that love you very much. I will try to recap your first year in 3 month sections because so much changes in this small amount of time. Just remember we love you and will always cherish the memories that you have given us.

Months 0-3:

You came into the world with a bang. You challenged me the entire time I was on maternity leave. I took 12 weeks off with you to learn how to be a mommy while you grew to be a great little baby. You didn't sleep well, but were an eating champion. You loved to eat and weren't afraid to hurry up and get it done so you could go back to playing. You didn't let a single thing go past you. Every noise, motion, sight was caught in your big blue eyes. We spent time in the summer swimming (it was a really hot summer so sometimes hard), taking walks, spending time at the park and exploring our new neighborhood. We started to make friends with the neighbors and you seemed to charm everyone you met. You took your first trip to Lake Wawasee for a quick weekend getaway. You had great behavior and were very good the majority of the time. A little too small to enjoy it but it was nice for mom and dad to get away with you. You made your first trip to see the Reds play and were a hit with all of daddy’s co-workers that were there. All in all we had a great time learning each other and learning our new lives together.

Months 3-6:

You continued to develop your little personality. Mommy went back to work and hated every minute away from you, however you were in the great hands of Jessica a wonderful nanny who loved you and took wonderful care of you. You would go over in the mornings to the Flamm’s to spend time with Lainey and Jessica and mom or dad would pick you up on the way home. You learned to sit up, belly laugh, started to talk and babble even more, had your own form of dancing and never really got into crawling. We celebrated Daddy’s 40^th birthday and Mommy’s 30^th birthday with a big party and you would just not go to sleep. You stayed right up with all the adults and had a great time. We visited the pumpkin patch for your first pumpkin and you dazzled us all in your adorable spider Halloween costume. We made a lot of trips to the farm and you grew to love the outdoors. You took a liking to hats after fascination with papaw’s hats and daddy’s hats. We continued to watch you grow both in personality and in body and even got your first two teeth.

I could go on and on about these first 6 months but I will split them up to show you some pictures. Thank you for teaching me how to be a better person, to give more of myself and challenge me every day.  

0 If you want to meet a slacker- you have found one...

Slacking is not something I am proud of, but after looking back at this blog I realize that I have done just that. Slacking for 2 years on something I promised myself I wouldn't do is a little frustrating. I promised myself I would keep up on things so I will try to back date as much as possible to attempt to catch memories before they fade in my crammed full brain. I give myself some credit – I am working full time and taking care of a toddler, but I should carve out time to jot down the memories that we have created as a family. I can at least say we are living life vs. trying to document or write everything down, but one day I will appreciate taking the time to do this. Hang in with me as I throw a bunch of random posts about the last 2 years of C’s life as we get ready for baby #2. See how far behind I am- I haven’t posted anything about baby Lee 2.0. 

0 4 months already!

Work and babysitting are becoming easier and easier each day. I think I am actually getting lazy about it sometimes. I am still breastfeeding (well exclusively pumping in our case) but Charlotte is getting bigger and healthier for this effort so I will continue. We had our 4 month checkup on the 12^th of September and we got a perfect score. This was the first appointment daddy couldn’t attend (he was in Boston) but we quickly called to check up with him when we left. She was 16.5lbs and 26.5 inches long. Off the charts in height and weight we were at 95%. Growing strong and healthy is the way to go.  Favorites this month are Bruce the Moose, Monkey blanket and Sophie the giraffe. We are wearing 6 mos clothing and moving on to size three diapers soon. We started solids (peas were the first food attempted) and you love them. So far you have had peas, banana, oatmeal, rice, avocado – not a favorite, and pears.  First real time mommy and daddy went out (since we left you with aunt Kat to see Steely Dan and you cried for 3 hours straight) and you were PERFECT! Aunt Kat and Zak watched you and you were great. You played and ate well and went to bed for them with no problem. It was nice for mom and dad to celebrate their anniversary and for you to spend time with Aunt Kat!  

0 3 months young...

Month Three recap: August is a busy month at the Lee Household. Birthdays, farming and general life gets the best of us. We had big changes this year and it was big for Charlotte as well. Babysitting started on the 3rd of August. I was a mess both the 1st and 2nd just trying to hold her as much as possible. I didn’t want to put her down. It was VERY hot out so that didn’t help my need to just snuggle and stay home with her. We did take a trip out to teach swimming lessons on the 2nd but were quick to head back home and get some more snuggle time in. Mark stayed home from Boston that week to help me with the transition. Thank the Lord he did. Charlotte did wonderful. Mommy- only cried two times during the day which is a win in our book. Charlotte did great. We checked in about 3 times to see how she was doing and we realized our worries went out the door. Jessica was doing a wonderful job watching her and Charlotte loved the entertainment of Lainey. She was worn out by the time we picked her up at 4:30, but it was nice to see she had fun. She has made the transition easily to Mrs. Jessica and I am glad she likes her so much. Birthdays are plenty in our household in August. Mark’s birthday is on the 4th and mine is on the 14th (yes 10 years and 10 days apart) so we celebrated the big 40 and the big 30 this year. We had a party with lots of friends and family to celebrate the occasion and to show off the new house. All in all it turned out very well. The month flew by- Charlotte loved going to play with Lainey and Mrs Jessica every day and mommy is getting used to dropping her off. Big changes for our family, but welcomed as she gets bigger.