Have I Ever Been This Busy?

A whole week has passed and I survived! We were home alone on Monday and Tuesday (the four kids and I), then John was home with us the rest of the week. Although having him home didn't really "count" because of his little surgery on Wednesday and subsequent recovery. Yes, folks, it's official. We are not going to have any more children. John sent an email to his classmates from the Air Force Academy that said, "Charlotte Ivey was born 2 weeks ago and is doing well. For those of you keeping score at home, that is Lodmell child #4. This will be the last edition of Lodmell children. The production line is being disassembled tomorrow. Wish me luck!"

I have to say I'm a little sad. I sure do love having a tiny baby. I love giving birth and being in the hospital and picking a name. I love the smell of a freshly bathed baby and I love baby noises. I love nursing a baby and rocking a baby and watching a sleeping baby. But one thing I do NOT love is being pregnant. I can't even count the number of times during this last pregnancy I said, "I am so done. I am NOT doing this again." So, four is a good number. This is a good place to stop ... our family is complete.

So, after telling, oh, about a hundred or more people who have asked, "Oh, she sleeps great - she only wakes up once during the night to nurse then she goes right back to sleep!" Charlotte made a liar out of me. Last night I was up from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. Let's back up. I usually try to make her have some "awake" time in the evening. But yesterday we went to church and she just slept in the infant carrier from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Then I woke her up and fed her and she went right back to sleep until I woke her up and fed her again at 10 p.m. I should have known that I was in for a long night. Because when she woke up at 2 a.m., she thought it was time to be awake! If the lamp was on, it was all good, but as soon as I would turn the lamp off, she would get mad! She finally ended up falling asleep on my chest about 5 a.m. I think I feel a nap coming on this afternoon.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist for Mitchell. It's not a big deal, except for the fact that all four children will be going with me. This should be interesting.

Here's a new picture of Charlotte. It amazes me how much she has changed in just one week.