precious friends

So many people have helped to make this transition from one to two children even more of a joy.  Friends and family have visited, brought meals, and sent gifts.  They've entertained Rachel and held and fed Rebecca so I can eat...or shower...or run errands...or take a nap...or sleep all night (thank you, Mom...you are the BEST!!!!).

I appreciate all of these things SO much.

This week has been one of my favorite visits of all--my dearest friend, Allecia, and her kids are visiting.  It's been so fun to see Kaden and Rachel playing together again.  

And a bunch of our old, dear friends got together last night and our kids all played SO well together. 

Most of us don't see each other very much anymore (we used to all go to church together and now we're all at different churches), so we were all thrilled to see each other and catch up.

And though I've loved them all, this is one of my favorite gifts we've gotten--my college roommate, Nancy, sent a gorgeous quilt  she made for Rebecca,

and she also sent a gift for Rachel: a matching doll quilt and an adorable crocheted doll with a diaper you can take on and off. 

Isn't it just the cutest??  Rachel loves it. 

And I love it when people remember Rachel, too, when they give a gift.  Thank you so much, Nancy!!!!  You are so talented!!

I love my friends and family!!

6 week struggles

We've just been through a few days of torture....the 6 week growth spurt.  I think we're through the worst of it now, but it was bad for a couple of days this week.  15-20 minute naps, inconsolable crying, constant eating....rough days. 

But she's a cutie, so we'll keep her.

I took Rachel swimming with friends yesterday after my husband got home from work and could stay with Rebecca. 

The pictures aren't so great because I was in the water with her the whole time, but it's all I got this time.  She had a ball.

red, white, and blue

Happy 4th of July!

All of us waiting for the parade to start
(minus Daddy, who took the picture)
(and I swear that Rebecca was in the shade at all times,
except for when my husband made me move her for this picture!)

Rachel waiting

Rebecca waiting

The Parade (Rachel LOVED it!)

We went to the fireworks last night--Rachel's first time ever!  We don't have any pictures, but we have some video.  You'll just have to imagine Rachel's squeals of glee when they started! (and Rebecca sleeping through the whole thing....)

And here's the rest of the photo shoot of Rebecca's dress. (I tried and tried to find matching dresses for the two girls, without luck...maybe the next holiday.)  I couldn't get a very good picture of Rebecca, but these are the best of the lot.

Right before I took this picture she had her head up, looking at the camera.  Ugh!

pictures

Over the weekend Rachel and Daddy went to the beach (our version of a beach, anyway, which is a reservoir with some sand on the side....but Rachel loved it just the same!).  We don't have any pictures at the beach, but here she is, very excited about going!

Grandma sent a package this week with a Care Bear (Rachel LOVES it!) and some cowgirl boots!  (She's been dressing up like a cowgirl lately, after seeing Toy Story 3 on Father's Day with Daddy.)

The weather this week has been fantastic, and I've been able to take both girls outside a lot (when it's super hot like it has been prior to this week, I don't like taking Rebecca out).  Today I took some pictures of my girls while we were out.

survival

I haven't really written much about the transition from one child to two.  Right now I feel like I'm in survival mode.  I'm so tired and no matter how hard I try (and I AM really trying!), I can't seem to find any sort of schedule for little miss Rebecca.  Every day is SO different.  One day she's good as gold in the morning and fussy all afternoon/evening, when all she wants to do is eat and catnap for a few minutes here and there.  The next day she'll be super fussy in the morning and want to eat all the time and sleep all afternoon and evening.  And she has only slept through the night two other times besides those first two times (once was last night!  Hooray!!!).  She's usually up sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 AM and again between 5:00 and 6:00.  Thankfully she goes right back to sleep most of those times, so we're not up too long with her, but there are some nights when she's wide awake and would like to play at 2:30 AM.  I'm thankful that doesn't happen too often, though.  But I'd really like some predictability and a schedule! 

We have made a little bit of progress, in that I can now put her down to sleep awake and she'll fall asleep on her own with only minimal fussing.  Originally, she only wanted to sleep in our arms (the nurse told us this after night one in the nursery at the hospital--she only wanted to be held, and she's right!  She's definitely a cuddler!).  She'd only fall asleep in our arms, we'd try to put her down, and she'd wake up and cry again until we could get her asleep again in our arms. We'd try to put her down again and often it would start all over. It was an exhausting process, unless we just let her stay in our arms or on our belly.  She still would LOVE that, but that doesn't allow me to get a thing done, so in the last week I've been putting her down drowsy but awake, and letting her cry (which is agony to listen to!), and now she only fusses a few minutes and then she's out.  It helps a lot.

The hardest part of having two is finding time to spend with Rachel.  Rebecca usually needs me immediately when she starts crying, so I have to stop whatever I'm doing with Rachel and tend to Rebecca.  Rachel is doing great with not getting upset about it, but I need some planned time with Rachel.  She CRAVES attention, especially now, and I want to give it to her, but I'm struggling to figure out when.  It doesn't help that I'm just so tired.  I feel like I'm just surviving through each day....not really thriving at all.

But despite the struggle, it is definitely a lot easier this time around.  Mostly because I know that the survival mode will end!  When Rachel was a baby people would tell me it would get easier, but I didn't know anything else--I only knew the sleep deprivation and frustration of a constantly fussy baby.  Now I know that they're right--it will get better.  I don't want to wish these precious months of infancy away, like I tended to do with Rachel, because Rebecca is so sweet and cuddly right now, and I want to savor her like this, since she'll grow so fast.  So I'm enjoying it, despite the frustration and sleep deprivation....but part of me can't wait to get through it, too! 

She's a month old today.  A month!  She can hold her head up longer, track things with her eyes, and best of all, we've seen glimpses of smiles here and there the last couple of days.  The other day I even heard her first little coo, as she was sitting in her bouncy chair, "talking" to the animals hanging down.  So sweet!  I can't wait for more to come--they're almost here!

Here's Rebecca at one month.

And this was Rachel at one month.

What do you think....do they look alike?

goggles, daddy, and sisters

Rachel's new beach ball (and goggles)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Sisters

three weeks

In some ways it seems like forever ago that Rebecca joined our family.  In other ways, three weeks ago feels like yesterday.  At any rate, she's three weeks old today. 

Three weeks of cuddling and kissing the top of her head.

Three weeks of changing lots of tiny (but VERY messy!) diapers.

Three weeks of sleepy grins (I can't wait until she smiles for real!) and funny faces.

Three weeks of frustrating hours of inconsolable crying and sleepless nights.

Until two nights ago, that is, because....

SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! 

and even better....

she slept through the night TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!

I'm still catching up on lots of missed sleep, so I'm still tired, but boy, did it feel good to sleep almost all night!  (I got her to bed at 11:00 each of those nights and she was up at 5:30--and I woke up to check on her, too). 

How did I get so blessed??  (Maybe because I paid my dues with Rachel, who was a terrible sleeper for the first six months or so???) 

Who knows if it will continue, but I'm sure enjoying it while it lasts!

sleepless...

I should be sleeping right now, but I've neglected this blog for too long and need to do an update, so here's a brief one. 

Rebecca's first bath

Rebecca is doing well, though she has her days and nights mixed up.

First Outing--A walk at the park

She sleeps all day and is up for looooooong stretches at night. 

We're working on it.  Today has been a little bit better.

She eats up a storm (3 ounces per feeding, every 2-4 hours, and sometimes even sooner).  The doctor says to feed her on demand for another two weeks and then we can start letting her cry a little when she's looking for food and it's not time yet.  She's already beefed up to a chunky 8 pounds, 6 ounces (she weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth, then lost 6 ounces in the hospital).  The doctor said it's great.  It's just so different from Rachel, who has always had an eating problem (And still does!  She eats like a bird!  Maybe Rebecca will teach her big sister a thing or two about eating!).

Rachel's been great so far with Rebecca. 

This week, though, she's been having a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Painting,

Dressing up (this is my old dance recital costume!)

and here she is before she left here, collecting bugs, which is one of her new favorite past times.

It's been SO quiet around here without her here.  We miss her a lot, but also feel like we're on vacation with all of the peace and quiet (even with a newborn in the house it feels so peaceful!).  I knew Rachel talked a lot, but it wasn't until she left for a week that I realized just how MUCH she talks!  Whew! 

She comes back tomorrow, and then the work really begins, as I figure out how to be the mother of two.  So far I've only done it by myself for one day, so I haven't really faced reality yet.  I know I'll figure it out eventually, but it's going to take awhile to find a balance and a schedule for us all.

family of four

I'll try and summarize the last several days for you....

*Last Wednesday, the day before Rebecca was born, was Rachel's preschool graduation (she's got another year of preschool, but everyone graduates, for some reason).  They sang three songs and everyone got a character award.  Some kids got "Kindness" or "Obedience" or "Hard Working."  Rachel got "Decisiveness: Able to Make Up My Mind."  Yep, that's my girl....it's a nice way to say she's stubborn and knows what she wants, I think.  But we are proud of her and love her just the same!  She's made great progress at school this year.

*Thursday morning we headed to the hospital at 5:30 AM for my induction.  By 6:30 I was hooked up to everything and the contractions started.  I wasn't allowed to get an epidural until I had a bag and a half of fluid in me, which took between an hour and two hours, I think.  They started getting painful before long, but finally the fluid was done and I was allowed the epidural.  It was heaven.  I didn't feel a thing after that.

*It took a few hours to go from 4-5 cm.  Once I was at 5, I suddenly started contracting every 1-2 minutes, instead of every 4-5 minutes, like I had been.  About 15 minutes or so after she checked me at 5 cm, she decided to check me again, and lo and behold, I was already at 10 cm!  In just minutes!  The nurse couldn't believe it (neither could we!) and ran out of the room to call the doctor and get everyone to come in and get everything set up for baby's arrival.  This baby was coming FAST! 

*My doctor came and pushing began.  I only pushed through about 4 or 5 contractions, and there she was, my perfectly healthy little girl!  She was crying before she was even all the way out.  She was beautiful and I was just in complete awe and disbelief, that she was finally here!!!!

*My dad had taken Rachel to school that morning.  When he picked her up, an hour after Rebecca was born, he was able to tell her that she was a big sister!  He took her home to change her into her "Big Sister" shirt, and brought her to the hospital.  She was so excited to see the baby and hold her.  She said, "Mommy, can we put her in a bag and take her home?" 

*Rachel had a million questions, about what I was wearing (the hospital gown), what was in my arm (an IV), what was on my wrist (hospital bracelets), and on and on and on.  She loved exploring the hospital, though she was much like a caged lion in that little room.

*She's fascinated with Rebecca.  She wanted to hold her over and over in the hospital, and whenever she did anything Rachel would report it to me.  "Look, Mommy, she's moving!"  "Mommy, she's getting ready to whine a little."  "Mommy, she's crying."  "Mommy, she's looking at me!  She likes me!"   And she tells me over and over again, "I'm so glad my baby sister is here!"  She checks on her all the time as she sleeps in her cradle (where she sleeps during the day downstairs with us) and reports her findings to me.

*On Saturday morning I was discharged from the hospital.  My husband and Rachel came to get Rebecca and me and we had our first family of four trip home.  Rachel saw me in my regular clothes, patted my tummy (which is considerably smaller, but is still there somewhat) and said, "Mommy, do you have another baby in there??"  Gee, thanks, Rachel.....  :)

*Life with a newborn and a four year old has had its challenges the last couple of days, but she's a pretty good baby so far.  When we first got home Rachel wanted lots of attention, understandably so.  That was hard for me, because my mind was on Rebecca and what she needed, but I knew that Rachel needed my attention too.  Since that day, though, Rachel has done pretty well with adapting to life with a baby.  She happily played by herself almost all morning this morning, without any prompting from me, which was great!  Rebecca has been sleeping most of the time, waking up every 2-4 hours to eat.  We've had to up her intake because she was constantly draining her bottles in minutes and looking for more.  Now that we've done that, she seems much more relaxed during her feedings and is sleeping longer intervals.  Hopefully the doctor will agree that this is okay when we go later this week.  She's got her days and nights mixed up a little bit, though she did better last night than she had the night before.  She spent a long period of time today awake, so hopefully she's learning that daytime is for playing and nighttime is for sleeping.  One can always hope!!! 

*We took our first family outing yesterday, to the park for a short walk.  It was nice to get out of the house, after being stuck at the hospital for two and a half days.  I went slowly, pushing Rebecca, but I'm actually not feeling too badly, for having just given birth four days ago.  I feel much, much better than I did after Rachel was born.  I guess because this was a much faster, easier birth.

*Overall, I'm loving having a newborn again--she's so sweet, cuddly, and tiny!  I'm loving NOT being pregnant anymore--I can't even tell you how glad I am that that is over.  And I'm trying to savor each of these precious moments of babyhood, because I know they'll go by waaaaaaaaaay too fast.  When my husband goes back to work and my mom leaves, I know I'll be much more tired and overwhelmed than I am right now, adjusting to having two girls; it's a huge help to me to have them here, but I still want to remember to enjoy these days of cuddling with Rebecca, watching Rachel enjoy her, and just smelling the top of that precious baby head!  (Why do babies smell so good, anyway!?!?)