One Month

This first month with Eloise in our family has been such a joy! Penny has shown nothing but love for her little sister.  She rarely passes her with out saying, "Hi baby!" and giving her a kiss or two.  She is a great little helper with diaper changes and loves to give Eloise her binky.  The first week home, Penny got really into swaddling.  Nothing in our house was safe from being wrapped up.  There was the usual, dolls and stuffed animals, but I also watched her attempt to swaddle a ball, the tv remote, and all of her bath toys.

Penny did struggle a little with the loss of some of my attention during the day.  To help, I try and spend one on one time with her in the morning before her long afternoon nap.  We like to color, read books, play with stickers, make cookies, paint our nails, and play with her toys.  It will be nice when we can get out of the house more.  

Because of my C-section, I am not supposed to lift Penny for the first six weeks.  I think that might be the hardest thing for both of us.  She has pretty much accepted that I am not going hold her and is satisfied with climbing into my lap or getting a hug from me instead. I think she waits until Andrew comes home and then lets out all of her frustration on him.  The late afternoon to evening is a rough time for Penny, and it's been worse lately.  Penny expects Andrew to pack her around all night and melts down anytime she doesn't get her way.  Obviously, she can't always have her way so we are trying to gently work on that.

I have loved having a tiny baby again! I think she is just now catching up to Penny's birth weight so in someways I feel like I am getting to draw out the newborn stage this time around! I also feel like I am experiencing more of the lack of sleep than I did the first time around.  Penny is and always has been a champion sleeper.  I think she still sleeps more hours in the day than a lot of newborns.  Right from the start, Penny would give us one very long stretch of sleep at night, usually around 6-8 hours (try not to hate me too much!) She would just about sleep through the night from day one.  I think it was a combination of being a big baby and naturally being a good sleeper.

Miss Eloise, by all normal standards, is still a good little sleeper, albeit a noisy sleeper! She is picky about her sleep and snorts and grunts all night long.  Poor Andrew is a very light sleeper and is really suffering and I am still in some pain from my surgery and struggle to get comfortable. We are both ready for Eloise to have her own room, but that's not a possibility right now and I think I should wait until Eloise is sleeping a little longer before I try and put the girls in the same room so we are stuck with her for now!

Despite my poor sleep, having Eloise in our home has brought me such an added measure of joy.  Two under two is not easy, but I don't think I have ever felt more fulfilled. Nothing compares to the newborn smell and the tiny little clothes.  I can hardly keep from kissing every inch of Eloise's little head! I just want to snuggle and breath her in every chance I get!  By far the best part has been watching Penny interact with Eloise.  I cannot get enough of my girls!