Two Weeks In

These two weeks of having Chris home has been wonderful.  As I've been trying to figure out how to feed this extremely large second child of ours and hold him all. the. time., Chris has been on Zoë duty mostly.  Keeping her entertained, getting her dressed, off to daycare, ready for dinner, dealing with her tantrums, her whines, her cries, her two hour bedtime marathons.  Oh, yeah, and he's done a ton around the house, too.  He got the wood flooring put into our hallway (yay, only a bit more carpet left in the house!) and worked on the yard a bunch.  We can't wait for summer BBQs!

Transplanting sunflowers with Daddy.

Zoë has been a wonderful big sister so far.  She LOVES holding, hugging, kissing, helping Oliver get his pacifier back into his mouth.  She is very concerned with "brudder" and he's been a good motivator for her: "You can hold Oliver if you get into your jammies RIGHT. NOW."

Helping feed brother. 

Loves her baby doll

She is having a hard time, as a typical two year old might, doing ANYTHING without a whine or, our personal favorite, "hode on", when she's busy with something she'd rather be doing.  She takes FOREVER to do anything.  It is like pulling teeth to get her ready for bed or out the door in a timely manner because she'll grin her big grin and then run away from us.  I told my girlfriend the other day that I have been a parent for over 2 years now and I finally feel as if we're "parenting".  The amount of planning and forethought that needs to go into staying two steps ahead of this toddler is exhausting!

She is still absolutely delightful and the cutest thing ever.  She has been going full-time to daycare throughout the month of April and then will cut back to two and a half days a week through July.  The routine is good for her and I know the attention she gets there will be helpful in abating her jealousy of her brother and bad behavior as a result of having the share her time with mom and dad.

Smiling Oliver

Oliver has proven, so far, to be the easiest newborn ever.  He eats, sleeps and poops, and that is truly it.  He rarely cries unless he's hungry or has a poopy diaper.  ***edited over the weekend to read: Just kidding.  He has a witching hour in the evening between about 6-8...fussy and hard to calm down, but once he gets there he's fine!***  He has been sleeping incredibly well at night.  I even have to wake him up every four hours to eat.  I think I will enjoy this newborn phase a little more this time around.  Maybe because I have a toddler to entertain, too.  Maybe because I know it's our last baby.  Maybe because I am not as panicked about every little thing and second guessing myself about every decision.  Either way, I've enjoyed snuggling up with him on the couch during the day when Zoë is at daycare and Chris is working on some house project.

I've healed really well from the c-section, I think even faster than last time.  All that's been plaguing me is the initial pain of breastfeeding, but I have a feeling that's even on the decline (knock on wood!).  Oliver is a healthy eater and has a great latch, so as long as this pain goes away we should be all good.  I'm dreading tomorrow as Chris is going back to work after taking two weeks off.  It has been wonderful to have him home both to spend time with him and to have him be on Zoë duty while I'm constantly feeding my huge newborn.  Luckily, this first week back is just me and Oliver since Z will be at daycare.  Whew...we'll ease into a routine, I guess.

Moby Wraps for all!