A Family of Four

Our way home from the hospital and our first evening as a family of four (and dog) was a bit chaotic. We had two screaming girls in the car for a bit until we sang old Mac Donald 50 times. Anastasia was resistant to sleep. Isabel slept fine. But if Isabel woke up crying, it freaked Anastasia out so she started crying.

Since the first night, life has been very peaceful. Anastasia has been up to her normal house-destruction and Isabel has been sleeping mostly. When she wakes and eats, she often enjoys hanging out looking at me, and the light from the windows. And get this, I can actually lay her down in her basket!!! And she will sleep in it for hours!! She doesn't scream at all, just fusses a bit for food and when she needs burping. She just seems SO QUIET and calm. Which makes me seriously glad Anastasia came first... :) I love my spirited child, but she is a lot easier to attend to with a peaceful newborn.

It has been such a blessing to have frozen meals from people and I definately appreciate it more than I could have with just one child. I also am so blessed to have Nick home for a week. He has helped out when Anastasia wants to be held and snuggled while I am feeding the baby. It seems that feeding Isabel makes a great time to read to Anastasia. Hopefully this tactic will be effective for when Nick is no longer here during the day.

I am healing quite well and much faster than with baby #1 and am actually starting to feel a little bored. Anastasia kept me busy for the first ten months of her life (when she started walking) so I am not used to having a baby that can be "put down". So now I am thinking crafting may be in my nearer future than I thought! Another cool thing about Isabel, is she wears her hats! I love baby hats! I guess she needs them more than A. did since Anastasia had a HUGE mop of hair.

Anastasia seems to like her little sister. When I put the basket on her bed, Anastasia likes to put blankets and toys and clothes in there for her. I know she means well, but I had to stop her when she picked up a book. She seems very fascinated by the whole nursing thing. So it has been pretty awesome watching Anastasia with her new little partner-in-crime.

I had a mostly smooth 8 hour labor and delivery (thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts). Fair Oaks Hospital was WAY better than Holy Cross amazingly. The nurses were incredibly nice overall and Dr. Anderson was great too. We were able to leave after 24hours thanks to our (Nick's) persistence. We also enjoyed our stay better since the nurses LEFT US ALONE. What good nurses. And our room actually had a decent flat screen TV with a selection of movies to watch and internet access that was not the best. We enjoyed National Treasure 2 and the Bourne Ultimatum. We also enjoyed visits from my aunts, uncle, cousin, parents and Tara. I wasn't nearly as bored this time. :) I, of course didn't get much sleep because I can't sleep in hospitals but the adrenaline kept me going.

I also have now decided that since men's clothes have a Tall size, women's clothes need a Busty size. Thanks to this round of nursing, all my shirts that fit last winter (even when I was nursing A) are now tube tops. So I guess I have an excuse to do a little shopping. ;) The awesome thing about the first several days post-partum is waking up each morning to a smaller tummy. I have a feeling I don't have too much more of this luxury so I might actually have to work out this time.

Well thats a quick update. Two kids are actually better than one. I now see why people have so many. :)

PS-See our house showcased at our friend Regina's blog: House Art Journal.