2 Weeks

Here we are. We've now made it 2 weeks with 2 kids & our heads have not exploded, there have been minimal tears all around & I think we can call ourselves a happy family! Huzzah!

Keeping with our weekly photo, here is #2:

I need to do some planning ahead with these photos so he's dressed better & not clashing so much with the background. This is pretty jarring but they'll get better. Well, I will try to make them better but I really can't make any promises.

Things really are going well around here, I hate to say. I hate to say it because whenever I make a sweeping "things are good" statement, you can guarantee that we'll have some sort of meltdown, fight, or tragedy pounce on us unexpectedly. So I'm not actually a negative person but I do temper my positivity so I don't jinx myself. That's healthy, right?

Evan is adorable. Not too much to report on yet since he's still just in the early days, meaning he only really eats, sleeps & fills his diapers with delightful deposits. He has also started spitting up a bit this week - nothing major, just enough to make me curse myself every time I forget a little burp cloth thingy because it always ends up on me. He has similar tummy issues to Benny in that he spends a lot of time & effort trying to get his gas out - I've used a few of the old tricks of bicycling his feet or lifting his rump in the air to help the poots escape & it works sometimes but we're hoping he gets his digestive act together on his own one of these days.

The biggest complaint we have about our darling boy are his sleeping noises. Heavens to Betsy, we can't sleep through his grunting, snorting, rumbling, grumbling & squawking. These are all normal noises as he gets used to how things work & how they feel but he is hilariously loud. Seriously. We had two pugs (that we dumped on my parents when we moved here) & they were loud sleepers but Evan could put them to shame. He is sleeping in his little bassinet next to our bed - except for when I fall asleep while feeding him (not dangerous because I have the bed set up for this inevitability after co-sleeping with Ben) - & he is really challenging us with his noises. I realize this is why people move their babies into their own rooms sooner than planned sometimes but we really don't have anywhere to move him at the moment because we have made no plans past our little baby corner! 

I can't move him out anyway until my pain goes away more so that I can get up & around without so much discomfort. I don't know if I just have a crappy memory but I don't remember having this much pain last time - Marcel thinks I may have stayed in bed for the first week or two after coming home & he's probably right but I have distinct memories of thinking how great I felt & being shocked that I felt so good so quickly. Maybe that will kick in soon because these days I am hobbling like I'm about 150 years old & my c-section zone keeps sending me lovely shooting/stabbing/electrifying rounds of pain. I can't do a damn thing around here either & it's driving me insane. You know I have a laundry addiction & I'm incredibly picky with how things are done but I've finally given up even doing that because it was causing me more pain & Marcel put his foot down. No more cleaning, scrubbing, dusting either. This should be good news because I hate doing those things but now I just sit here & stare at all the things I'd love to clean but I know I just can't do it if I want to feel good. And poor Marcel is already on full-time Ben duty plus making our meals & housework so I'm not about to start making requests or listing the things that could use a little light dusting or something. I will just be a big girl & deal with it.

As I'm typing all of this, I'm watching Evan who is lying on a big couch pillow next to me. He has discovered the bright green rocket ship-covered water bottle that I left next to him & he keeps reaching over & touching it, which is new. Sorry but every little tiny achievement is very exciting to me! He is such a lovely little thing - so placid most of the time & his blue eyes get nice & sparkly to let you know when he's happy. I can't wait until he can smile - I remember waiting for that day with Ben & just melting when it finally happened. Evan smiles in his sleep & has even busted out laughing once so he must have some awesome dreams but I'm waiting for the real ones. He still looks like an alien or a little old man - he looked a lot like Eisenhower yesterday when he made a particularly sour face - but he's filling out. He only lost 60 grams when he left the hospital (they expect & are fine with anywhere up to 300 grams) & was well & truly over his birth weight when they visited him earlier this week. I think he was just over 3.5 kg (7.7lb & his birth weight was just over 7.2lb) so he's putting the weight on like a champion. I do believe there is something very magical & fattening in my breast milk so there's a good chance we'll have a second Mr. Buttersticks on our hands very soon!

Ben is at daycare today & I miss him desperately. He is settling down a bit & is not so desperate to smother Evan with kisses. Well, he'd still like to but he respects our authority when we tell him to back off a bit. That is one gorgeous little boy & I can't wait until Evan is old enough to play with him! Ben is incredibly attached to his father at the moment, which is understandable since I can't pick him up or get down & play with him or anything. I knew this part of the recovery would be rough but it's a lot more heartbreaking than I expected. I take advantage of any time we have together with reading books, watching movies, whatever & am making sure to stay 100% positive with him so he doesn't think I'm an absentee shrew of a mother. I can't wait until I'm back to my not-sore, healthy self so I can play with him again.

Anyway, I need to run feed the bottomless pit so I'll leave you with a handful of pictures, some of which may be on facebook as well - sorry I'm not organized yet & they're all out of order.

That's Evan's hand, not a nipple!