Quick look at our new life

With my Mom here to help and another pretty good night of sleep under my belt, I feel like I have the time to sit down to write a bit in regards to our new life with two little babies.

If my blogs have seemed a bit hurried over the last few weeks, there's good reason! They have been hurried. There aren't a lot of moments to sit down and write as of late. I'm often writing in my head, transposing the words I would put on my blog had I the opportunity. But by the time I sit down, I usually only have 5 or 10 minutes and a photo and overview will have to do. The plethora of words is postponed for another day.

Last night Elijah again ate at 9pm, 3:30am, and then 7:30am. This creates a much better night sleep for me, renewed focus come sun-up, and much better determination when I finally get a moment to get on my computer.

So, our new life . . .

Well, first of all, new life is going great. It really is. There have been a lot of adjustments as could be expected, but we are all getting in the groove. I am very hopeful that by the time my Mom returns to Florida on the 21st or 22nd, I will be ready to tackle this two baby + one dog thing completely solo!

Elijah is, truly, a good baby. I have realized over the last few days and weeks that while he appears to be less content then his big brother was, it actually is just that his lungs are so much powerful than big brother's that cause me to think this. When we put Elijah down for the night, he now cries for only a few minutes. But man what a powerful few minutes they are! While we need a monitor to hear big brother crying in the nursery, there is no monitor needed to hear little brother who is perched all the way in the back of the house in our bedroom. His lung power is tremendous. This makes it feel like he is less settled than I am used to. While this is probably partially true, I think it is the lung power that truly makes us feel that way.

He is sleeping very well. During the day, I feed him every three hours. I usually always have to wake him to eat. This may seem like a dumb idea, but if I don't wake him to eat during the day, we won't get enough feeds in, and then he tends to want to go on a feeding frenzy just when Mom is getting really sleep (say, 10pm!) So feeding every three hours during the day, seems to allow for a more rested night. Come evening, we do a feed around 8:30-9:30pm and then we allow him to sleep as long as he can. Right now, this tends to go into the wee hours of the morning. I get up, get him as full as possible, and return him to bed to give him another stretch where he determines the length.

In between feeds, we attempt to have "wake time" after every meal followed by a nap. Naps are usually taken in the swing or in the vibrating chair (on loan from one of the third year residents). Elijah really loves his pacifier and if it pops out before he moves into a deep sleep zone, he definitely lets the whole world know about it.

Just in the last week, Elijah has begun responding to us, looking at us, smiling a bit (albeit random). This, again, seems to be the time that I find my bonding truly kicks into full gear. Each day I fall in love with him more and more and feel like his mom more and more. I am beginning to feel like he truly is here forever. I have really struggled not to worry that somehow, I am going to wake up and find that this little miracle baby is just a dream. Each day that goes by allows me to feel that the miracle is here to stay.

JB, returned to work today after two weeks of a paternity research block. Returning was very difficult for him as he and Isaac have been glued together during the last four weeks and primarily during the last two weeks. Last night as we laid in bed, listening to the last of Elijah's cries, he commented that not being with Isaac during the day was going to be a little difficult. Because I am breastfeeding, we have naturally each been the primary in person in charge of one child. My charge has been Elijah. His, Isaac.

Our little Isaac. Other than a bit of a fever the last few days, he is as great as ever. He has started to try and say a few words. Versions of "Da da" whenever he wants JB and "Ma Ma" whenever he wants me. We are also pretty darn sure he is saying "kisses" when we say it to him. That may be, officially, his first word. I wasn't too sure until my Mom called me into the bathroom during his bath and I listened to him repeat it over and over again. He also loves to clap and wave and is standing and moving his little feet more and more unassisted. My current guess is that he will be walking by his eleventh month. Let's see if that proves true.

Scrubs is adjusting very well to the new baby. He really is not that interested in Elijah yet. He sniffs him a lot and will try to give him a good lick if he thinks he can get away with it. Scrubby and Isaac are, however, the bestest of friends. They are constantly with each other. A lot of times we have to separate them, but honestly, this is usually to give Scrubs a break from Isaac. Scrubby will curl up in a corner only to have a twenty pound pile of Chub climb on his back and begin pulling his ears and eating his neck. A little separation allows Scrubby to take a nap in peace.

Of course, Scrubs is still Scrubs, and definitely not the angel he tries to portray himself as on the blog. He still tries to lick the little Chubba Chubba whenever he can and he has a very hard time not licking stuffed animals. But for the most part, he's amazing with Isaac -- a true gentle giant. This morning they actually played with Isaac's little ball together. Isaac would put it down the chute and then Scrubs would push it over to him. Too cute.

JB is on some pretty tough rotations from now until the third week of April so after my Mom leaves, I will be going at the days completely solo. I am working on a good zone defense that I can maneuver to cover Scrubs, Isaac, and Elijah all by myself. I'm 6'3"! I can handle two little people and a gawky dog!

As for guests, my Mom is the last of the visitors. We don't have anyone slated for residence in the Kit hotel until my Brother and his wife and new baby over the Fourth of July holiday.

Also, it appears that my blog did hit 250,000 hits but no one claimed the winning click!