how we're doing

It's 9 am, I've gotten Celia off to daycare after some drama, and am finally sitting to have breakfast and take a few minutes to write. Henry's sleeping in his swing, swimming around in his newborn suit. I have so much to write about Henry's birth and adjusting to this new life as a family of four, but for now just an update of how things are going.

(Just for fun, the picture below is of Celia when she was first home from the hospital. Don't they look so alike? It's amazing!)

We came home from the hospital yesterday around lunchtime. Celia was at daycare, which was perfect because we had a few hours to get settled at home before picking her up. It's already funny how much more laid back we are with a newborn this second time around. With Celia we were so tense getting her home from the hospital. Yesterday we went out of our way to stop and pick up lunch! Right now we're trying to keep a normal schedule for Celia and just keep things as typical as possible. I think that will help all of us.

Henry
There are such big differences in how things are going with Henry compared to when Celia was born. Pita was a low birth weight baby, which made everything a little harder than usual. She also had a tongue tie that made feeding very stressful for both of us for the first few months. Henry is a healthy size and a good eater. He doesn't seem to have any of the feeding problems Celia had, and it's such a relief to know I don't have to worry about that. I'm thrilled to have the experience of nursing a baby from the very first day, and to be able to just enjoy it. So far, Henry has been such a good newborn. He doesn't cry much and when he does, he usually just needs to burp, spit up a little, or poop. A good swaddle and a binky always help too. I was hoping our first night at home wouldn't be too bad, and it really wasn't! Henry stayed downstairs in the swing all night, and Chris and I took turns sleeping down there with him. Henry slept most of the night, except for feedings and when he needed to burp or have a diaper change. I'm tired today but it could be so much worse. We really did get some decent sleep. That could change at any time, so I will enjoy every good night we have for now!

Henry is still sleeping a lot during the day, and again we're taking advantage. He does seem to have several brief periods each day when he is awake and alert. He is already proving to be very aware of sounds around him, and looks around to localize to sounds. He also responds to my voice when he hears it, and we can tell he really likes hearing his daddy's voice talking to him. If he's nursing and hears a noise, he will stop and look around for where it came from. Although his vision wouldn't be developed enough to see very far away yet, he still likes to look around and is interested in things like looking out a window when light is coming through. When he's looking around he gets an expression of intense concentration on his face. I can already tell he's a smart little guy.

Celia
I think Celia is having a hard time right now. One minute she's very interested in Henry and wants to hold him, play with him, and show him things. She doesn't understand that he can't play or interact with her yet. The next minute, she will be throwing a fit. She gave me a hard time putting her to bed last night, and again getting ready and out the door this morning. She will refuse to cooperate with things that are normal parts of her routine, and does a lot of crying during those times. I think she's genuinely upset and can't necessarily control how she's reacting. Maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with this change. Hopefully things will be better soon. We're trying to keep her on her routine and give her individual attention, but it's actually hard to get her interested in playing with us because she's fixated on Henry.

Mommy and Daddy
I think the combination of having done this before, along with Henry being a healthy weight and a good eater, has made this experience so much easier this time around. We are so much more relaxed. I'm sure there are still sleepless nights ahead when it won't be so easy, but so far things are good and we're working as a team to take care of Henry and try to keep Celia happy. It will definitely be more challenging when Chris goes back to work.

I'm recovering really well. One benefit of having a drug-free birth is that you recover pretty easily afterward. For the first two days I had a lot of sore muscles in my back and abs, but today that's much better. I've been moving around pretty easily, although I'm a little slow. I'm bigger than I was after I had Celia and kind of anxious about how long it will take to fit into real clothes again. Mentally, I feel more present than I was when Celia was born. We were so much more stressed and sleep-deprived the first time around that I was kind of in a fog. This time things are easier and we already knew what to expect.  I find that I'm enjoying Henry more completely, and that because I knew what to expect I was able to fall in love with him right away.

That's all for now. Time to get a few things done before we pick up Celia.