This girl

Caught the notoriously camera-shy smile!

Oh Ms. Avery Paige. I call her my "freebie baby" because she is SO easy. I woke up this morning and stared at her for a good half hour, so sad that I'm going back to work soon. And then she goes and throws a day like today. It was a total sitcom/stereotypical newborn day. Seriously, ALL DAY all she did was scream, eat, and scream. I spent most of the day bouncing around the house, "shh shh shh"ing, swaddling, unswaddling, changing diapers, changing clothes, and occasionally hopping on one foot. A friend of C's came over to pick up a table they're refinishing and I literally thrust the baby at him, said, "Here, you try" and walked away. She's finally sleeping in the swing, where I will gladly leave her all night if she wants. C thinks that she didn't sleep well last night but I'm afraid her glorious mood today may be a direct result of my glorious extra large vanilla latte at church yesterday.  I really hope not though. I don't really know how that works and what my time frames are. No coffee today though, so I'm really hoping that tomorrow's a bit easier.

The day that wouldn't end

OMG. Everyone was so bored today that I broke out the "toys with a million pieces" closet just so I could pick them up later. I think we woke up bored. We were almost redeemed by a sports expo with free bounce houses, but it was short-lived. Remind me next time to go on a day trip instead.

Every princess loves mail

Did you know that if your kid writes a letter to a Disney character, they'll get a letter back? Syd got on a kick of "writing" to the princesses a while back. I was just letting her put the envelopes in the mailbox and I assume the mailman was trashing them. Then I thought to actually address one. Today Syd got a postcard signed by all the princesses. She was so thrilled! Even Eli was excited for her :)

Avery Paige is not amused

You can take your pink cadillac and ...

Dear *world wide make-up company* Lady,

 Although I appreciate your promise of a FREE! nail polish if I attend a meeting with you, let me explain why I will not be there for your scheduled appointment.

1) Hollering, "I've got something that will clear up your skin! Guaranteed!" to a six-week post-partum, thirty-something woman is a poor sales tactic.
2) Continuing to bring up my obviously glaring skin problems, in front of other women, is just fucking rude.
3) Offering to come to my house, since I'm "so busy with all those kids" is patronizing. Also, as I mentioned to you, inconvenient because I would then also have to clean my house and send away "all those kids."
4) I'm not impressed by your offer to "get a place" at the Marriott for my "free" skin consultation. Also, I don't trust your assertion that you'll "type my skin and figure out the right formula" for what you diagnosed as "acne skin."
5) You obviously missed the class on reading social cues and polite invitation declines. Also, your partner was wearing a feather boa and crocs.
6) As I told you, my last experience with a *world wide make-up company* lady bordered on stalker-like. Pointing out your pink Cadillac only tells me that you'll be harder to get rid off.
7) I will likely miss your confirmation call. I think maybe I gave you the wrong phone number?

                                                              Sincerely,
                                                                    Chiconky

PS: Please don't try to repair our relationship. Although I spent no money at your booth, I did throw my credit card down to buy a pink stun gun and matching pepper spray. They make me feel pretty. Kisses!

Catching up

I've been so focused on being "fair" that I'm afraid Avery is terribly underrepresented on here. So for your viewing pleasure, several pictures of my adorable baby.

Middle

Miss Sydney LOVES being a big sister and refuses to entertain the possibility that she remains anyone's little sister. She also loves being a "big girl." And she absolutely adores Avery. However, she is not loving not being the baby. She's become my little shadow, and if I'm with the baby she's my second skin. If I'm nursing, Syd wants to climb up in my lap too. If the baby's crying, Syd wants to play a puzzle. And every morning for the past week she's been "unable" to go potty alone. 

 I'm trying to remind myself that this is a phase and that her world has been rocked, but I'm not perfect. I find myself getting irritated by her neediness. On the other hand, I don't want to be over-indulgent.
 What's working is bringing back naps, lots of emphasis on "big girl" privileges, and cutting her some slack. She's brought her babies back into the rotation but refuses to be "Mommy's helper" (because she's Sydney and she doesn't fall for such shenanigans). I'm sort of at a loss, because she seems so big and still so little.
So those of you with multiples/middles, what's worked? Or is this something that just gets easier with time? 

The first month (and one week)...

We still can't decide who she looks like. I'm leaning towards Eli. Definitely not Syd. And a lot of C's "Crazy Uncle Manual" (totally a family name)

 I'm probably jinxing it, but I cannot believe how easy it's been going from two to three. Avery is SUCH a good baby, and she asks for very little. I mentioned to my OB how well it was going and she joked that this one was horrible birth control. But she was SO RIGHT! Seriously, this was my total freebie baby. We've settled into an awesome routine and she is just so perfect and squishy. She's on a pretty predictable schedule of three hour feedings and has been since the very first day. She's an awesome eater. She gained nearly a pound and a half between her two week and one month appointments and is topping the scales at a whopping nine pounds now. I had to put away the first outgrown NB size onsie this week. Though she has a strong voice, she rarely cries and when she does it's pretty easy to get her to calm down. She has a couple awake periods during the day, once in the morning and, awesomely, from about 10:00-11:30 at night. She spends that time sitting on our laps, in the bouncer, or lying on the floor and studying what's around her. I'm struck by how analytical she always looks.

Avery's my first baby who loves/needs to be swaddled. I'm developing some mad skilz, and was seriously tempted to post a picture of her swaddle last night to Facebook. It was a thing of beauty.

She always sleeps best outside. Syd was the same way.

 The other kids adore her. I was worried about Sydney, but she's doing pretty well. She does try to crawl in my lap or she needs one of a million things when I'm nursing, but she also LOVES being a big sister. She and Eli have been more snarky with each other, but I don't know if that's just how they are or because of Avery. All in all we're having a lot of fun and I'm so happy that it wasn't as hard as I had expected. To be honest, I really expected that this would suck. I mean, I knew that I would love her, but I expected that we'd all be low on patience and that we'd be running around like headless chickens. I have my moments of "stimulation overload," and I've lost my patience a couple times, but I feel like this is totally doable. I even suggest that I take all three kids, on my own, when I run errands!

OMG. How did I live without the Ergo? It's amazing! Because she's a "unique breather" I've been too nervous to wear her in a sling yet but I'm loving this. And the infant insert is about the cutest thing ever. When I take her out she looks like she's been pressed up against glass.

My recovery has been remarkably uneventful. I had hoped that because I didn't gain as much, I'd drop the baby weight quick and unfortunately that's not the case. Although I am a lot closer. I keep having to remind myself that with the other two I was still wearing maternity clothes when the babies were four months old. At least this time I've discovered leggings and haven't busted out the maternity jeans (much)! I got the all-clear for low-impact exercise, and I'm trying to mimic some of my GD diet in hopes that I can get this weight off a little quicker this time. Plus, I'm finding that I'm actually missing running. WTF? It's probably hormonal...And speaking of, today marks the halfway point of my maternity leave, and it's making me so sad to think about missing everyone's day again. It's been so awesome to be around all the time. Also, I'm dreading going back to pumping. I love nursing but I HATE pumping. Better to focus on how much pumping sucks than how much I'm going to miss this little peanut.

How freaking cute is this kid?