Report Card, One Week Out

I remember being amazed after Nora’s birth by just how little time it took for me to feel like she had always been there and by how quickly I forgot what life was like before Nora.  Really, what did I do with myself before I had kids?  It seems so much less than what I do now, especially because I can hardly remember whatever it was that I did.

Just as Nora’s entry into the world made us into a family, this first week with Zara has made parenting two feel so right.  Already, I can’t imagine our family without two little girls and I am so excited that Nora will be growing up with a sister.  I have fantasies of them being best friends, loving one another more than anyone else and never, ever fighting (as only a girl who grew up in a house full of brothers can imagine life with a sister to be).Of course, I know they will have their moments as do all siblings, but this week it has been easy to see the rosy side of things.  Aside from the first night when everyone was exhausted from the big day and I was feeling those super fun uterine-shrinking cramps, Nora has been the most patient and loving big sister.  She’s let us know a few times that she needs someone to play with her, but she’s been very understanding in the moments when Zara needed to be taken care of first or when the person doing the playing had to be Chris instead of me.

I’m still amazed pretty much every single moment by how great I feel in general and how much better I feel than after Nora’s birth, which by all accounts wasn’t really that bad either.  I started back to work on Wednesday doing things from home and Thursday Zara went with me to a client website training.  The upside to the change in Chris’ job situation is that we get to have him home with us for eight weeks, which means we’re all more well-fed and living in a much cleaner house than if he had to return to work quickly.

Not only does it help to have Chris around doing most of the housework and cooking while I nurse, nurse, nurse, but it also doesn’t hurt that it turns out our Peach is quite the sleeper (at least this week!).  Pretty much all she wakes up for is to complain about diaper changes and nurse like a champ.  Otherwise, she has been sleeping through visitors, family Skype calls, her first bath

(perfectly relaxed — a far cry from Nora’s first bath), and even her first birthday party

(other than her own, that is).

Zara had already started regaining her birth weight by her day five visit with our midwife (up 2oz from her day three weight), so aside from an occasional wake-up to nurse, we’ve just been letting her sleep and being thankful for it while it lasts.  I realized the other day that I don’t really have any pictures of her with her eyes open, but we’ll get some eventually and dream smiles are pretty cute too.