Well, to sum it all up, we are totally and completely in love with our new addition! Chase thinks his little sister is the best, and can't wait to play with her. Currently, he just loves to brush her hair, and will run to get me if she even starts to cry even alittle.
Both mommy and daddy are thrilled to have this little bitty one around too! We've enjoyed snoozing with her on our chests, and snuggling with her maybe alittle more than we should. They say you can't spoil a baby under 4 months, so we will trust the experts on this one! ;)
The first few weeks were both exciting and exhausting, but we came out alive. I attempted to nurse again, and I gave up...again... I will say that, even though I didn't make it to full nurse-mode, I did have some enjoyable moments with Pria. If it weren't for the engorgement, near mastitis, and complete emotional breakdown, I think I could have endured (isn't that what they all say?) This is more than I can say for my time nursing with Chase, that was a total nightmare from day 1! The kicker for Pria's exit from nursing was her loss of over 10% body weight....after hearing that, both Sean and I just couldn't see ourselves going through all we went through with Chase as a baby.
I have to say, it was the best choice for our family---it couldn't be better now, aside from getting more sleep at night! Here are some fun things we've experienced, and other accomplishments since Pria burst onto the scene early:
- I conquered taking TWO kids to drop Chase off at preschool, even though it seems that Pria loves to nap right before drop off AND pickup every single day!
- I can spend the whole day with Chase and Pria, and it's more enjoyable than I ever imagined! (I remember being so nervous and anxious for Sean to come home when Chase was a baby-silly, I know)
- I can actually do some housework, and am ok with leaving some of it for....well, later or never! I did vaccuum the house for the first time since her birth (eww-5wks!)
- We've stayed overnight at our parents' house, and it wasn't so bad! Being normal is nice.
- Dinner is cooked most nights.
- Pria's schedule is predictable, even if not ideal. I guess it's not supposed to be, is it!?
- We are relaxed, and mostly amicable to eachother during trying times.
- Chase is starting to truly understand/prepare for big school, especially with his writing skills.
- Chase is a great big brother. :)
- Pria has been gaining weight, and doing it well! I am not ashamed of my formula baby.
- Just this last week, she's started to smile and copy mommy and daddy-so fun!
- I've been able to start contributing to CV Playgroup planning again, yay.
We are not completely back where we want to be though. Here are some things we still want to work on:
- Sleeping through the night!!!!
- Getting back on the Cityview serve schedule.
- Getting back on a workout schedule for both me and Sean.
- More of a routine for Pria (which we did with Chase too)
- DATE NIGHTS
Overall though, we are super happy, beyond blessed, and completely excited to spend the holidays with our families-we have so much to be thankful for!
Lastly-PICS!
Milk coma
The "face"
Mommy and me.
Bath time!
Baby Zebra for Halloween.
