Lately...

Travis brought it to my attention that I haven't posted anything about Clara and our last three weeks and that our grandparents don't necessarily read Facebook. Along with fellow bloggers, I go through feast and famine periods where I'll blog all the time and then nothing for 5 months. Quite frankly, I just don't have as much free time, or really a desire to blog in my free time. I'll try to do better, if only for Clara's sake, so that she feels just as important as Henry.

Lets see...the last three weeks have gone by so fast. I'm going to do this in a sort of bullet format so that it's easier to read. It will be hard not to compare the two children, so I'm not even going to try.

Feeding: Clara came out with a strong sucking reflex. In the time it took Henry to drain one breast, she can do both, have a diaper and outfit change, and be ready to move on to belly time! Nursing Clara is relaxing and easy. She spits quite a bit out when we're finished and has already gained a ton of weight, so I have no doubts about my milk supply. Henry would nurse every hour and a half - Clara, every 3 to 4 hours! Travis and I think back and laugh at how ignorant we were when it came to Henry and nursing...every time the child would cry, our fix was to stick a boob in his mouth (sorry, that's the best way to say it). He was probably so colicky because all he was getting was sugary foremilk and it hurt his belly. Poor boy.

Awake Time: Unless she is overly tired, she doesn't make a peep! She is very alert and strong. Loves the bath. A little fussy when you first put her in the carseat, but once there is movement involved, she is content (or falls asleep).

Sleeping: I think this is the area where the sharpest contrast lies between my kids. Except for getting up to nurse (every 3-4 hours), Clara sleeps from 9pm to 9 or 10am!! With NO awake time. Henry would nurse every 2 hours and also have several hours of awake time, where Travis or I would have to be awake as well. It is AMAZING how much easier it is to take care of my children and myself when I've had some decent sleep. And honestly, since this child has been born, I've had some great sleep. Even naps! We started out co-sleeping for the first week because she was so quiet. Over the last two weeks though, she has started to make loud, but sweet, baby noises. So she's in her crib, swaddled up like a burrito.

Big Brother: When Henry met Clara for the first time, he wanted nothing to do with her. Just walked right by and kept playing. The first week was ROUGH - he acted out and started to wake up multiple times at night, calling out for me. He would also be very jealous when I was nursing or had to stand with her. He'd say, "Me, me" or "Up". Heartbreaking to say the least. The hardest part about having a newborn was HENRY ;) Slowly though, he has been back to normal. He loves Clara - tries to give her his toys and kisses. Two times, I've caught him trying to feed her pretzels on our walks..lol.. I told him she only drinks Mommy's milk. I have to watch him because he will try to pick her up or lay his body on hers and give her hugs. He gets a kick out of burping her, even going so far as to burp Travis and I (we let out little fake burps and he has a good belly laugh). He's going to be an amazing big brother.

It is impossible to know if Henry really was as bad as we remember OR if we are just better parents with Clara. I'm sure a combination of both (read this post, or this one to see just how much of a monster-baby Henry was). I do think that Clara is an angel, so beautiful and very laid back. She is growing like a weed - the last three weeks have flown by. Travis and I aren't just surviving, but we're actually enjoying this time with our newborn!