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| Lily Katherine! |
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Getting acquainted! :)
Our sweet Lily is here! She joined us on a Wednesday morning, April 13th. When she was born we absolutely could not believe how much she looked like Hannah. When I reached out to stroke her cheek I couldn't believe how soft it was (and I thought I knew soft - I nuzzle Hannah's sweet cheeks every night as I tuck her in every night, but I had underestimated how much just two years ages "roughens" the skin and how unbelievably soft newborns are when they arrive!) There were subtle differences too - the nurse almost instantly said "it looks like she has some red hair!" and as we snuggled I was immediately struck by her beautiful tiny little fingers and how long they were! From the start, Lily has been incredibly sweet and snuggly and the coziest little sleeper in my arms. While Hannah always seemed really excited about my growing belly and the baby that would soon arrive, we weren't sure what to actually expect when Lily arrived - but Hannah's reactions and responses have been amazing! For us, the adjustment to having two has been surprisingly natural and we have spent the month enjoying the time with our two sweet little girls! |
The second time around...
The first few weeks of the sleepy snuggly newborn phase were amazing and we knew we needed to take advantage of it while we could. Simultaneously, we also tried to stagger our out of state visitors better and that gave me the first week or two to nap when I needed it. The baby snuggles that first week was absolute blissful magic. (They're still magic...but that initial hibernation was unparalleled and cannot be replicated). But unlike with Hannah, when leaving the house with her felt very daunting, by two weeks we had made it through three restaurant meals, been to a farm, a tire shop and three docs appointments. By a month we had eaten out nearly a dozen times (all without incident!), enjoyed two trips to the farm, hopped in and out of several stores, and drove to NJ and back to attend my grandfather's funeral services. And while all of that sounds really busy, simultaneously it's been a beautifully slow and simple month. Life is simpler while I am home on maternity leave. The demands of caring for a newborn may be endless, but they are fairly straightforward and we've enjoyed the simplicity of it all while we huddle up in our little home and all bond as a family of four.
She's been amazing! She has loved Lily from the start! In the hospital she was so heart meltingly adorable with all of it!
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| She was so excited to meet Lily! |
Hannah greets Lily before me when she comes home from preschool and wants to hold Lily daily. She wants to observe every single diaper change and is awesome at carrying the dirty diapers to the trash can. She's obsessed with wanting to know whether Lily was "wet" or "poot poot" (a term she has come up all on her own). She also loves to use her doctor kit to check Lily's heart, take her temperature, check her ears, and give her a shot. At the hospital anytime a nurse or doctor came in the room she would say "check Lily's heart?" And another favorite, is putting her feet up against Lily and comparing them. So cute!
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| Hannah - 2 years old |
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| Yes, room service? Haha. |
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| Umm..guys...she's crying! (Or as Hannah puts it "Lily 'kay?!" (is Lily okay?)) |
And to Hannah's credit, in the past two months many major constants in her life have changed - where we live, her sleeping arrangements (she sleeps in a beautiful big girl bed), and our family dynamics (hello Lily!) and she has handled it AMAZINGLY. No epic change-induced meltdowns, almost all laughter and smiles and enthusiasm and curiosity. She's so awesome.
Magical Moments
Hannah was requesting that her dad "airplane" - which is when Daniel picks her up and she "flies" with her arms out and he lifts her up and down as he spins her around. Totally fun. The other night when she requested airplane, I had Lily join in too - and the laughter and magic while Daniel and I spun our daughters around in circles as "airplanes" laughing... :) magic
Things we had forgotten or underestimated
- the laundry! I had discounted that a newborn didn't increase laundry by a factor of one additional human...it's more like three, especially as Lily's nickname the first two weeks was "Vesuvius" and she was famous for massive wet burp/spit up/stomach empties. So really...it's more like a factor of three more humans between all of the extra clothes I use, that Lily uses, and all of the linens - she has an uncanny ability to take out full blankets or sheets or something big in each major eruption.
- that everytime I'm six inches from "landing" Lily in the infant car seat I will realize Hannah has used the click tight pull to tighten the seat to the max and has buckled all the buckles..again.
- how many times we would reach for a diaper and accidentally grab the wrong size for the wrong child, lol
- how everything around the main "nests" I have set up for nursing is magically rearranged by our sweet toddler nearly everytime I sit down to feed Lily
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| stockpiling for survival before Lily arrives |
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| Lily's nursery! |
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| She parties in her sleep :) |
Lily
Was born in the morning and was 8 pounds 7.9 ounces and 20 and 3/4 inches long and at her month checkup she weighed in at a thriving 10 pounds 2.5 ounces and grew a full inch. She wore newborn clothes for a decent part of the first month, although I have graduated her into mainly 0-3 month clothes, partly because of length, partly because she has a lot more to choose from. She is so so sweet and snuggly, loves to be upright or on her tummy, is a guzzler and requires constant burping and has had many a Vesuvius episode, hiccups multiple times a day - 3 am is her best time for it lol. Wakes up at 2:30 am for food like an alarm clock. Is all around more laid back than Hannah. Takes a while to really get blazing mad, but will cry angrily and really stand up for herself if she feels like she's being ignored. Doesn't have a hot meal alarm, but does have a when mommy needs to get dressed alarm. She will be totally happy hanging out in the rock and play while I shower, but the second I need to get dressed (and try to figure out what clothes I have that fit me) - it's game over. She laughs in her sleep and smiles during almost every nap she takes. Her happiest places are sleeping on my chest or in my lap with a gentle back rub.
She seriously smiles more than any newborn I have ever known or seen. It's incredible. When Hannah kisses Lily's cheeks, Lily often twitches with a quick smile - not super noticeable for Hannah yet, but I definitely see it. She smiles in her sleep all the time, but she has steadily flashed a smile for anyone who watches long enough!
Puppies?
I think Hannah was a big adjustment for the puppies - they went from being our only children to being our fur-babies and I think they each had their own little depression. This time? They seem fine! Quite happy and content actually! They are moderately interested in Lily, Chance is protectively concerned if she cries for more than a moment or two and does come running. Holly is interested on occasion and has bonded so beautifully with Hannah it is often the sweetest thing! If Hannah wakes in the morning and we don't hear her before Holly does, Holly will sit outside her door and whine until we notice. When you go to get Hannah in the morning, Holly likes to help us get her from her bed with playful pouncing and the most adorable greeting. And if Hannah throws an "I don't want to nap meltdown" and is crying in her room - Holly is at the door while Hannah is crying, on the floor on the other side. (no we don't let that go on forever...but we do have a toddler...throwing yourself to the ground and sobbing happens...so quickly sometimes it's dizzying).
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| Chance and Holly meeting Lily |
Dad?
I would also say that last time the adjustment to having a newborn was tremendously earthquaking for Daniel as well. He struggled and will openly admit that he didn't bond with Hannah right away (which is quite common for dads). He struggled with how consumed I was with Hannah and the dramatic change to everything in our life. And he's never done well with crappy sleep. He didn't cave and finally start drinking coffee until Hannah was at least six months old (which helped...a lot). This time? We were stock-piling K cups before Lily was even born! To say things are going "better" is a huge understatement. This time has been better in absolutely every single way. He may not feel as bonded with Lily as I do yet, but he knows it will happen in time and he has so much more confidence with Lily than he did with Hannah at this age. And, he has been the rock that Hannah needs. My teammate is all in and it has been absolutely amazing!
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| Getting ready to head back for surgery - I was thumbs up ready to go... |
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| Daniel not so much. But he made it! :) |
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Coffee? Check! |
How am I? Wonderful! I am so incredibly in love with my sweet family and falling in love with Lily has been something I would give anything to get to relive again. We did many things differently this time, including a cesarean to avoid all the complications I had with Hannah and I am thrilled with my decision. This was SO MUCH better and I feel so much more like myself at a month out than I remotely did when I was a month post partum from Hannah. At that point, I didn't know it wasn't normal to feel the way that I did - but hindsight certainly helped inform the decisions I made this time. I'm very grateful to have a doctor that listened to my concerns and made the recommendations that she did. And in some ways, the fact that I had official limitations for the first several weeks forced me to really slow down and enjoy all of those extra snuggles - and that, was awesome.
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| Ready to head home from the hospital! |
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| Loving those early snuggles |
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| *bliss* |
I am doing the best that I can to soak up every precious minute that I have with my family, the days are flying by and I am trying very hard not to feel sad - and instead be grateful for this "world stopping/times stand still" magical moment in my life. I feel like a rockstar more days than I feel like a hot mess and that friends, is something I am incredibly grateful for this time around!!
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| Mommy of two on mother's day! |
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| Our family of four the weekend we brought Lily home! |
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| Lily @ 1 month! |
