'Caitlin runs on food.'

Earlier, just sitting here with Ben printing off some Thomas and Friends activity and colouring pages we came across a picture of 'Mavis'. Ben quickly said 'That's Mavis. Mavis runs on coal.' Then he paused and said 'Caitlin doesn't run on coal. Caitlin runs on food. Caitlin runs on baby milk.'

Totally cracked me up.

Caitlin has her first cold already.

A couple of months before Ben, who had his first cold at 4 months. She's fighting it off well though, and slept fairly well last night too, so hopefully some decent rest will help her kick it more quickly.

And yay for having a wedge pillow to prop up her mattress, as well as the Vicks vapourizer.

Feel better soon, wee one.

Ben gets his very own 'Caitlin'.

Earlier today Ben said he'd like his own 'Caitlin', so Nic took him to Toys R Us to pick out a doll. Once they got there it turned out that Ben prefered a motorcycle instead of a doll and was rather disappointed that they left with a doll regardless (Nic helped him pick one out).

BUT! Ben's certainly been enjoying his own Caitlin since he brought her home. Here are some pics of the fun.

Ben gives his baby a bottle.

Time for her soother.

Better get her hat back on. Don't want her to get cold.

Playtime AKA 'choking the baby with great enthusiasm'.

Phew. After all that activity baby needs a nap. Better swaddle her up.

Head and all.

And into the vibrating chair. (Which he turned on, BTW.)

A little easier second time around.

Firstly, I hope I'm not jinxing myself by throwing this into the universe.

Caitlin is a pretty easy baby. Ben was generally a pretty good sleeper. Naps were a struggle at first, but that was largely due to my inexperience because once I started getting it right he was an excellent napper. So I figured we were due to have a crappy sleeper. Fortunately that's not the case.

Caitlin sleeps well at night. She's up twice to eat and is easy to settle back to sleep. Often times she drifts back off on her own in her crib after a brief rock in the chair, and doesn't always want her soother. She appears to be like Ben in that too much 'in your face' doesn't always help to settle her.

And due to my experience with Ben I now know about infant sleep cycles, and that they're only 45 minutes long. And so when Caitlin wakes up from her nap crying after 45 minutes I know she's not crying because she's hungry, it's because she needs more sleep. Fortunately, so far, after the first 45 minute nap I'm able to settle her back down for another.

It's funny how much anxiety a first-time parent feels as they're learning to swaddle a baby, to bathe, to comfort, when to feed and how often, wondering whether or not to use a soother and how much is too much, all the worries about getting it 'right', and frantically going through the mental checklist whenever the baby is crying... is she too warm, too cold, need a diaper change, hungry, tired, gassy, etc. The list goes on.

The second time around, however, these things are much more clear. I *know* when Caitlin's hungry, or tired, or uncomfortable. You could set a watch to her. Seriously! Lucky for me I have a very predictable baby on my hands. And if my experience with Ben has taught me anything it's that an infant who's needs are met quickly is much more content and a lot less work!

All about Caitlin!

Boy, it has been a busy six weeks. It's true that what they say: two children are quadruple the workload of one. And as a result I've been neglecting the blog. So Caitlin, when you're older and reading this, please know you weren't the neglected second child, in fact, the blog was neglected so I could care for you. And quite happily so. :)

And now to get caught up and share a little about Caitlin.

At Caitlin's last weigh-in, about a week ago, she was weighing in at 9 lbs 13 oz and found to be following the 50th percentile curve for both weight and height. She was born around the 75th percentile and dropped significantly. Whether it was a result of ineffective nursing (I'd learned Caitlin's suck wasn't very effective, so basically all she was getting was what was literally pouring into her and the rest of the time she'd just suckle, but nothing strong enough to get a significant amount of food - this was fine in the beginning when she didn't need much to eat, but became our challenge as she started growing and needing more food) or if she's just settled into her natural curve remains to be seen. We've since gone to the bottle (with a bit of nursing until my milk's gone, and unfortunately it almost is) and she's consuming about 3 oz per feeding and eating about every three hours through the day, and up once or twice through the night (between 8pm and 6am). She'll be back to the doctor in February for her two month shots and will be weighed again then.

So far Caitlin is a great sleeper for a newborn and is generally predictable. She naps pretty well through the day and sleeps well at night. The past few nights she's gone to bed at 8pm and woke at 2am, and again at 6am. Thank you for going easy on Mama, sweetie!

Caitlin is a fan of the bath. She's just so content when she's in the water. It seems she could just soak in the bath endlessly. What she does hate with enthusiasm is getting out of the bath. She'll cry until she's dried and dressed again.

For the most part though Caitlin isn't a big crier. She'll cry when she's hungry or tired (although this time around I'm on top of the naps sooner than I was with Ben and so she doesn't often get to the point of freaking out for a nap). She's happy to nap pretty much anywhere, like her swing and especially the vibrating chair Granny and Granddad Bloomfield gave her for Christmas (what a godsend that thing is - thank you!), but she also naps well in her room. Her brother can be a bit too noisy for her at times, and one thing she is is a light sleeper. She doesn't necessarily nap as soundly on the go, but hopefully that will change with time.

I think Caitlin's beginning to smile 'real' smiles, not just sleepy newborn smiles (which I adore) or gassy smiles (which I also adore). Of course, I could be wrong. She was all smiles the other night, and I was so excited that she was smiling at me. Then I changed her diaper and found she'd had an enormous poop. Ha!

Oh, and if you're waiting on a birth announcement I'll be getting on those soon. I should bring her in for a photo and get them printed next week. It's been a bit hectic since she was born with the initial recovery, Christmas, Ben's birthday, Nic's birthday, and now Nic's in Japan this week so birth announcements have taken a temporary back seat.

For now, here are some pics of Caitlin I've taken over the past weeks.

Hitting the playmat already:

Modeling a t-shirt she received as a gift from my friend Dawn who works at the hospital Caitlin was born ('I was born at Southlake Regional Health Centre'):
I brought Ben a Mater and McQueen balloon when I was grocery shopping. He kept insisting Caitlin 'hold' it. :)

Bundled up for a winter walk:

Finally! Ben's three year retrospective.

I am so not on the ball these days. I finally got around to scanning a couple of pics that I just couldn't do this without. Both kids are napping, so knock wood, I might get through this entry today!

So yeah! Ben turned three years on December 27th. And what a fun three years (y'know, with a dose of frustration in there for good measure ;-) it's been. I just can't say enough about my boy. He's become such a bright, funny, clever loving little guy who always keeps us on our toes. Always looking to negotiate his way out of (or into!) things (we think we may have a lawyer in the making here). Always willing to give hugs and kisses when I'm down (or maybe not a lawyer after all). And an imagination that constantly amazes us. We certainly hope he's as proud of himself as we are of him. I'm so happy to call myself 'Ben's Mama' and look forward to the joys, pleasures, and challenges the years bring us.

Without further adieu, here's a little photo retrospective of my sweet boy.

First pic (in the OR at Southlake Hospital) as a family of three:

Sleeping peacefully @ three weeks:

First smile caught on camera @ two months:

Lookin' cute @ four months:

A brief love affair with his thumb:

Tummy time @ five months:

Trying green beans for the first time (the expression says it all) @ six months:

Beaning Daddy on the head @ one year:

Blowing out candles on his second birthday:

Having a bit of a meltdown @ two-and-a-half years:

First day of preschool:

Being a great big brother:

Looking too much like a big boy for my liking in his preschool pic:

And FINALLY, the big THREE!


Follow your dreams, my love.

I'll get things updated soon!

I've not been great at keeping the blog up-to-date lately, but I will get on it soon. I have Christmas photos, Caitlin photos, and photos (few) from Ben's birthday (this is what happens when I'm an active participant and not manning the camera - so if anyone out there took some photos, I'd love to have copies!).

Everyone's doing well. I have a few cute stories to share.