Tawny Scrawny

Sorting through the pile of old Little Golden Books Kate pulled out of the closet at my parents' house, we found The Tawny Scrawny Lion, one of our family favorites from when I was small.

We only had to read the very first line before we knew we'd discovered a new nickname for Claire...

"Once there was a tawny, scrawny, hungry lion who could never get enough to eat."

Claire's not scrawny (though she seems tiny to us, she's quite average in weight), and her hair is more brown than tawny, but it really seems she can never get enough to eat!

She wants to nurse every 1-2 hours usually, sometimes just for 10-20 minutes, but occasionally it's for 40-50 minutes, and she's still back for more an hour later! If she's taking a good nap or we're out running around (in which case, she's lulled by being in the car or the sling) she can go about 3 hours. At night, she can sleep up to 4 or 5 hours (even 6, once) for the first stretch of nighttime (10:00-2:00 or so) but it's often the 1-2 hour schedule for the wee hours.

Matt joked, "Well, you hoped she would nurse—Careful what you wish for!" I really am so thankful and happy that she nurses, and so voraciously! I guess it just seems different to me because we don't know how much she's getting at each feeding, and she's sometimes just snacking and sometimes falling asleep off and on while eating, whereas Kate would down her bottle of breastmilk and be good for a solid three hours at this stage.

Whenever Claire cries (even if she's just eaten), Kate says, "My sister is probably hungry." (Sometimes adding, "You need to feed her with your boobies. Use that one.") She doesn't cry just for food, Kate, but that's always a good guess with Tawny Scrawny ClaireBear!