We've been home as a family of four for almost two weeks now, and things are going pretty well. Scott was able to take a full week off, as well as two weeks of half days, which will carry us into December. Having him home has been incredibly helpful as we make the transition to a family of four. It's nice to know I only have to make it until lunch time before reinforcement arrives!
Lots of people ask how Lydia is sleeping at night. I jokingly respond, "She sleeps like a baby," which is true! She wakes up to eat constantly around the clock, which is typical of a newborn with a teeny tiny tummy. I really, really miss sleep. Some nights are harder than others. Sometimes she gives me a 3 hour stretch, and other nights I only get 30 - 45 minute snoozes throughout the night. This is really not fun, especially considering Jacob is ready to start the day around 8 am. However, having survived this phase once, I know it's just that - a phase. I keep telling myself it will eventually pass. I'll admit, though, there's nothing quite like sweet newborn snuggles!
Jacob has slowly been warming up to his little sister. Scott and I aren't surprised. That's just his way. Anytime he's put in a new situation he comes around in his own time. The more he's pushed, the more he resists, so we've just been following his lead. Sometimes he completely ignores her, and other times he can't get enough of her.
One of the sweetest times of our day is story time. We all pile on our bed to snuggle and read before bedtime. Jacob loves to pet Lydia's head, hold her hand, and poke her face. He also loves to give her a hug and kiss before he goes to sleep. The other night he was stroking her hand, and I asked him if Lydia's hand was soft. He furrowed his brow and after thinking a second said, "No. She crunchy." We couldn't contain our laughter, because he was kind of right considering her skin is still flakey and peeling from hanging out in fluid for 40+ weeks!
We celebrated my 31st birthday, which was the 13th, during our first weekend home. On Saturday, Grandaddy and Grandma came to visit and brought lunch and cupcakes. Jacob was very excited about candles and cake!
Then on Sunday evening Meme brought us dinner and her famous chocolate cake, which, again, was very well received by Jacob. My birthday celebration was pretty low-key this year, which was just right considering the excitement earlier in the week!
The following week Kelly Harmon came to our house to take Lydia's newborn pictures, as well as family pictures. Jacob ended up being less than cooperative, so I don't know if she was able to actually get a picture of the four of us. Even so, we're so excited to see them. Kelly always does beautiful work!
This weekend we attempted our first outings and both were somewhat disastrous. On Saturday we braved the mall for a few errands and lunch. Jacob was really excited about the Christmas decorations and the "goats" (reindeer) at Santa's workshop. After staring at Santa from afar, he said "I don't yike him!" Maybe he'll warm up to him in a few weeks!
He also had fun riding up and down the escalators with Daddy while I took care of the errands. The disastrous component of the outing was the excessive amount of crying involved. I'm pretty sure one of the kids was crying at all times. This continued in the (seemingly never-ending) car ride home.
Lydia hates her car seat, so she stretched out in the restaurant booth while we ate lunch!
On Sunday we met up with Karen and her boys at the Mountain Play Lodge. Things went well until Jacob fell and busted his mouth. I'm taking it as a sign that we should stay home & hibernate until spring! I'm hoping our future outings don't involve quite as much crying or bloodshed!
And here are a few other random pictures from our first weeks home. I've taken Lydia to the pediatrician a few times for weight checks, because she lost about 10% of her birth weight in her first few days. But she's eating well now and as of Wednesday was already back up to 7 lbs 5.5 ounces. I feel like she's already changing so much!
