[*krista*]

I go back to work next Monday. I'm super anxious about it. Luckily family is going to come in for the first four weeks of work to look after Charlotte, so she won't be going into daycare right away. After the four weeks I'm thinking about asking DH if I can ask my manager if I can just work part time. I could deal with Charlotte being in daycare part time. I have to crunch the numbers first and see if we could swing it, plus my manager might not even go for it, so we will see how that works out. So long as I'm working full time I will be super busy, though, so I don't know how much I will be able to get on JM. So if I'm not around as much it isn't because I don't want to be!

On a happier note, BFing finally seems like it is working itself out for us. I honestly never thought I would say that and I'm pretty stoked about it. I have you ladies to thank, I never would have made it this far without your support and advice. It doesn't really hurt anymore, finally, so no more nursing breaks! I haven't taken one in probably about 3 weeks. We are nursing about 3 times a day and pumping the rest, which I'm okay with since DH wants to feed her too and I won't be able to nurse full time while at work anyway. I will have over 400 oz in the freezer when I go back to work, so hopefully that will tide us over if my supply goes down. I'm a little confused because I always have more milk when I nurse one session then pump the next. I thought maybe Charlotte wasn't emptying it out enough, but then again it seems like my supply has increased overall as she has nursed more. Do you think Charlotte is emptying it more or less than the pump? Also, she is still nursing every hour and a half when awake. When does that start becoming less often? Just curious.

Charlotte is doing well. We are finally having our little conversations here and there. We had one this morning, it is so cute. She's smiling a little more, but still not an easy smiler. She's learned how to pout, which is the cutest thing EVER! She'll poke out her bottom lip and give us the most pitiful look and a little lack luster cry. Except it doesn't work well for her because it only makes us laugh. She's sleeping wonderfully, easy to put to bed, wakes sometimes once, sometimes not at all, but always goes right back to sleep. She's a sweet little thing. She doesn't fuss much at all, and she's not one to fuss for no reason. It is usually pretty easy to figure out why she is crying.

And the good stuff... a couple of pics. I'm trying to get that smile on camera. Almost, not quite though. As soon as I get out the camera the smile is gone and she just studies the camera.

Mommy and daddy...





Cute faces... and a bad hair day.











Okay, enough with the momarazzi!



That was more than just a couple of pics huh?

[Angelaosaurus-rex]

She is so sweet I love her little bad hair days! She looks a lot like both you and DH! Next time I go to TX we HAVE to meet up and get our kiddies together! I'm glad nursing is going good now! I'm sorry you have to go back to work soon that has to be hard. I hope you can and DH can work it out so that you only have to work part time!!!! Thanks for the update!

[*krista*]

DH gets to claim all of her cuteness. He gave her her face. I gave her her dimples, skin tone, and ears... that's about it! Daddy is a gene hog. He even gave her her big ol' feet! She has the biggest baby feet I have ever seen! Baby socks look like toe warmers on her.

Oh and her hands... she got my long fingers.

[JediRach]

She is so adorable! I'm sure you'll get something figured out as far as child care goes and I'm happy to hear your family is stepping in to help with the transition.

[Trannyfromtheuk]

Im glad the breast feeding is working out

Charlotte is just the cutest little thing ever

[CandaceDianne]

so cute!! What a great stock you have in bm!!! Glad everything is going so well for your family.

[~*sierra*~]

awwwww what a sweet little munchkin!! i'm so glad BF is going well for you guys now! she is so one of those babies who looks like you when you hold her and your dh when he holds her. thanks for the update!

[midnight_starr]

She is just precious! I hope things work out and you only have to go back to work part time!

[~Caroline~]

I can't get over how cute she is. I'm glad breastfeeding is working out. It makes me even more motivated to really stick with it no matter what when baby comes.

[Mars]

She is just gorgeous! I'm so glad things are working out.

ETA: I just got to look at the pics again and she looks a bit like you in the last few pics.

[LisanAndy]

Aww she's so precious! I feel like Rylie always has bad hair days too, she has a mullet, I swear I hope you can only work part time, that would be great! I love it when the smiles start happening and once the giggles start, that melts your heart. Enjoy her

[*krista*]

Her hair is trying to work it's curls out. When she was born it was board straight. Now it is starting to curl into ringlets. It is pretty cute most days now but it wasn't cute in the in between stage, which is what the pic was.

[greeneyes]

Oh Krista, she's so beautiful! I remember how hard it was to go back to work with Lily, I bawled the entire way to work and throughout the day, too. The next day I went in and gave my two week notice, haha. I'm glad to hear bfing is going better, you worked really hard for that!

[**Jenn**]

I'm glad everything is going so well!!! I hope you're able to go part time soon! She's so adorable!!!

[ScottishBrit]

Oh MY, When did she get SO big!!!!!! She is so cute!

[~* Helen *~]

Shes so cute!!!!! Love the pics and thanks for the update!! Glad all is well!!!

[Babybear4]

She is just precious!

I can imagine how hard it must be to go back to work. I am glad you have family to help you with the transition. Hopefully you can go to part-time so you can get some extra time with your little girl.

As far as when the nursing becomes less often, I think it really depends on the baby. Lorena nursed every 45 mins- 1/12 hours until 9 or 10 months, when I had just had enough and cut a few sessions out. Now she only nurses when she wakes up in the morning and when she goes to bed at night.

[*kyle*]

She's been growing well! She looks older than a 2 1/2 month old to me. I love the little half-smiles you caught. So precious!

[bittersweet]

She is so beautiful Krista! My DH is a gene hog too so I know the feeling, haha!