Caroline is 3 Weeks Old Today & Other Random Updates

This has been a really long 3 weeks. But I think finally I am starting to feel a little better. I started driving again yesterday -- just went out for about an hour to get some lunch/do an errand, but it was nice to get out. Today I have a lunch date with a friend, and am contemplating attempting an errand as well (taking my phone to the Verizon store, because it has not been receiving text messages in almost a week).

Joel has been doing all the kid-schlepping and dinner cooking, and I am slowly starting to be able to do some chores like dishes, laundry and errands, and helping with bedtimes again. It's just been a much slower recovery from the c-section than I expected, combined with major breastfeeding issues so that I've reluctantly decided to give up breastfeeding, because I cannot deal with sharp stabbing pains 24 hours a day (yes it hurts even when she is not nursing). So I am just pumping a couple times a day now to gradually decrease the milk supply.

Clara (yes we still have a dog, though she has not gotten very much attention lately at least not from me) turns 4 months old today - happy 4 month birthday Clara! Clara went to the vet yesterday for her final round of puppy shots, and as you may recall at her last vet appointment she got out of her seat belt harness and chewed through my GPS charger. Well yesterday Joel took her to the vet himself, and on the way home she got out of her seatbelt harness (definitely we are not doing something correctly with that) and tried to crawl underneath the driver's seat. Joel called me in a panic half way home to report that she was completely stuck underneath his seat and he could not get her out. After confirming that she was still breathing, I told him to drive the rest of the way home. Once he got here, I observed poor Clara with her nose sticking out from under the front of the driver's seat and her butt sticking out the rear, very firmly stuck. I instructed Joel to pull on her hindquarters while I pushed her head back gently through where it had gotten stuck, and we managed to get her out in just a minute. Definitely a two-person job though. She was not any worse for wear, fortunately.

Caroline (as mentioned 3 weeks old today) weighed in at 9 1/2 pounds on Monday, having gained a pound and a half since her discharge from the hospital, so I can only imagine that by her 1 month checkup on the 17th she'll be well over 10 pounds. She also seems to be very long, so I have a feeling we'll be saying goodbye to the 0-3 month clothes pretty soon already!!! She seems to be taking after her brother. She is a very content baby, as long as she is well-fed, well-fed meaning as long as she eats 4 ounces every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Last night I tried giving her 5 ounces, which she happily ate, no spitting up mind you, and she slept for 4 hours after that. That's been her longest stretch of sleep in quite a while. So we may be going to 5 ounce feeds soon. That sounds like way too much, but oh well....

Those are all my updates. Ben and Becca are doing well and surprisingly seem rather unaffected by all the changes in the house lately. Ben starts basketball practices and games this weekend, so looking forward to that and just getting back into a decent routine now that we are a family of 5!