Our first week as a family of 4

All day Monday I kept saying, "I can't believe it's been a week since we had her!". It's been such a whirlwind and I have loved almost every moment. Bringing home baby #1 I think the first few weeks are such a hazy blur but this time has been so much different. Lucy is proving to be an easier baby than her brother (Ford was far from difficult but he was a little a lot stubborn) and really a dreamy baby. Funny how it takes having a second baby to make you realize how EASY newborns are compared to toddlers! We have been abundantly/overly blessed with help and that is making the transition a lot easier than I expected. I don't think I could survive without my mom! Talk to me in a few weeks when I am on my own and I could be eating these words. The biggest difference this time around is my confidence. I went into 2nd time motherhood feeling so much more relaxed and confident in my abilities. Sure things are still hard and challenging but I know those things are temporary. I will sleep again, I won't always feel the pain of a C section, my boobs won't always look giant and fake. I tend to fall victim of believing whatever hard season I am in is my forever but not this time. I find myself wishing Lucy would stay this little forever, rather than wishing she'd get older so she'd sleep, be on a schedule, etc. Watching my two babies together, the feelings cannot be described. Ford is showing a lot more interest in his baby sister now that we are home and it is the most precious thing ever! He loves her toes and kisses them any chance he gets and is quick to bring her a bow, diaper, or nose bulb. It never gets old hearing his high pitched voice, "Hi baby!". I wanted to document and remember a few things about the past 9 days because I know I'll blink and Lucy will be crawling around the house, gulp. So far 2nd time parenthood has been such a a blessing and better than I could have ever imagined!

• I am 9 days post C section and every single day brings so much healing! I am up and walking and working on maintaining good posture. I've cut my Norco pain meds in half but staying on top of my doses every 4 hours. Right now I feel more pain in my hernia repair than my C section incision. I am also feeling a lot of intense gas pain in my ribs which is normal post surgery. It was really bad last week in the hospital on my right side and now it's moved to the left. I've been using Young Living Deep Relief and that's helping.
• TMI but I am kind of shocked by how little I am bleeding, it's basically been non existent since this past weekend. With Ford I bled about 8 weeks post partum and that sucked. Shows how vastly different each child can be.
• I am using Young Living Progressence Plus to balance my postpartum hormones and that seems to be helping! I've only had one crying for no reason session and I think it was because I was tired from our newborn pictures and behind on my meds.
• Ford really doesn't care that I am holding Lucy a lot but he is very attached to his Mimi right now and cries when she holds Lucy. I honestly don't get my feelings hurt that he is preferring my mom over me because I know this is a huge change for him too and he finds comfort in being with her. She sure is a fun Mimi and has been taking him out and about and even a few sleepovers at her house! I wonder how it will be when I am with both babies on my own.
• Ford has been super sweet with her the past 2 days and VERY helpful getting diapers, wipes, etc. I think he loves his new role as big brother. 
• Ford doesn't seem to interested in me nursing Lucy but on Monday he came up to me and said "Mama nips!" and pointed to my boobs and I reminded him that Lucy is eating mama's milk just like Ford drinks out of his sippy cup. That kept his attention for about .05 seconds and he was on to the next thing. 
• Nights are going really well for Lucy! She has a good awake time around 9-10pm, nurses, then goes right to sleep. She wakes up twice to eat (3-4 hour stretches) and finishes in 15 minutes tops and is right back to sleep. She us up around 8:30-9am, eats again, has a short awake time, and back to bed. Newborn life! Jon sleeps right through it all (no reason for him to be up since I nurse her at night) and I feel really rested. It is fun because I can catch up with my sister in Melbourne in the middle of the night!
• Lucy got her first bottle last Saturday when she was 5 days old. I pumped 4 oz that morning (thank you new Medela pump!) and we fed her 2 oz which she finished like a champ. She gets 1 bottle a day and has been taking around 3.5 oz per bottle. Oink oink. I am so glad we started a bottle this early and will be sticking to it no matter what! We are using the Joovy Boob bottle and haven't had any issues. Daddy loves being able to have that time with her and I sure do love a break. 
• Nursing has been going really great! Lucy is such a fast eater and often times just wants to eat on one side. I only had slight nipple pain for a few days when my milk came in. Man that latch kills you when you are SO full but the pain is completely gone and we have a great routine down.
• We had Lucy's first pedi appointment on Monday and she did great. Unfortunately she has a little cold (thanks to big brother Ford, mama also got it) but the doctor wasn't worried. We are using the nose bulb and saline and elevated her bassinet while she sleeps. She projectile pooped on the nurse while she took her temperature rectally, hilarious! She is 7lb 7.8oz which is past her birth weight! That measures in the 46th percentile, our growing girl. She looked a little yellow to us over the weekend but her jaundice levels came back normal. 
• We took our newborn/family photos on Sunday with Mallorie Owens Photography and I cannot wait to see them! Ford was kind of cranky but I think we got some good ones of them together and Lucy was a champ.
• Last night Jon and I took big brother out on a little date while Lucy stayed home with my mom. It was basically flooding so that put a damper on our plans to be outside but we went to get froyo then to a fish store that Ford (and Jon!) love. I loved spending quality time with Ford and plan on doing that more often now that Lucy is in the mix. 
• Jon is back at work this week, luckily he works from home so he gets to take breaks to see me and the babies. He has a few meetings in town next week and doesn't have to go back out on the road for a few more weeks. Today is my first day solo with both of them!
• I have loved having visitors come and meet our sweet girl! We've been blessed with so many meals, it is such a treat to eat yummy homemade meals that I didn't have to prepare!

Now some pictures and videos to make you smile...