2 week update

Little Ashley is 2 weeks old today.  She is a great baby who is rarely fussy.  Ashely is a big eater and is now 8.5 lbs.  That's almost a pound over her birth weight!  She is also a good sleeper.  Ashley can sleep for 5 hours straight sometimes.  I've been told that 5 hours is considered "sleeping through the night" for breastfed babies.  The problem is this usually doesn't happen at night!  That is something we'll need to work on over the next couple of weeks.

The rest of the family is adjusting to our new addition quite well.  Ryan calls her Dolly and it's so adorable when she wants to hold Ashley.  She usually holds out her hands and says, "come here", in a sweet little voice.  Carter is always telling me he will always be nice to the baby and will never hit her.  Then he proceeds to remind me how he hits Ryan sometimes and perhaps that's not a very nice thing to do.  He is actually a very caring big brother to both of his little sisters.

Mom and Dad are tired (as to be expected).  The older kids are requiring lots of TLC right now because they are sick with colds and ear infections.  Nursing Ashley has been a challenge and has caused a lot of physical pain and emotional stress on me.  I have high hopes that we're about to turn a corner after a positive meeting with a lactation consultant today.  I also have a doctor's appointment today to discuss medication and options for my arthritis.  Unfortunately my symptoms are coming back and are difficult to control.