Life with 2

Yesterday we made it to the one month mark!  I'm happy to report that not only are we alive, but we are all happy and fairly well rested, considering the circumstances...and all the fears I had were basically over-exaggerated ones.  The house is clean and Mirabel still feels loved, thankfully.  But we do wear a lot of wrinkled clothing, and sometimes dinner is a little boring or burned ;).  Honestly, it's easier now than when I was pregnant.  It was just a really rough and painful pregnancy.  The delivery, however, was pretty easy, and the recovery even better.  I'm not going to lie, I was sore for a few days (and the cramps are much worse the second time around) but I don't even feel like I've had a baby...other than the fact that I don't fit into most of my pre-pregnancy pants and my stomach looks like a deflated balloon with a few stretch marks (couldn't avoid those this time) haha :D. Juliette adds balance to our family.  Her personality is so unique; she is so sweet and cuddly.  She loves to be held, so usually I'm wearing her in some way.  Like her big sister, she isn't a fan of the car seat.  But she is much quieter about expressing dissatisfaction than her much more vocal older sibling ;).  She has her good days and bad days in the car seat, but outside of the car seat she is pretty easy most days (unless I drink milk or eat ice cream--avoiding those).  She doesn't cry when I change her diaper, clothes, or even when I give her a bath--which still takes us all by surprise.  She is quiet at night too, sleeping a nice, solid five hours the first stretch.  Some nights she is more vocal and makes grunting noises; she sounds kinda like a baby goat/lamb/dinosaur when she's half awake/half asleep.  Speaking of sleep, I'm still forcing myself to take daily naps.  I never did that after Mirabel was born, which is partly why the adjustment period was harder the first time around. All in all, I feel more complete.  Juliette adds to this feeling, but it also has to do with feeling more connected.  When Mirabel was born, we'd just moved (temporarily, for the summer) to Houston from Boston and we didn't have any friends or a church in the area.  I feel like I was thrown into a pool without knowing how to swim.  This time, we had family going in and out, and friends from church and my mom's group preparing meals for us and dropping by to visit.  I was concerned that I wouldn't feel like socializing much after the baby was born (before she was born), but quite the opposite was true.  I actually felt better after visiting with people and looked forward to having friends over.  We went back to church a week after Juliette was born and we were greeted with open arms (open arms ready to hold a newborn :).  All four of us are a family, but we also have extended family among our friends.  That's what's adding to this solid feeling we're enjoying, and what's made the transition easier. . ..And here are some photos taken from two different photo sessions, by two different friends.  Both equally talented and generous :).  I didn't even expect to have newborn photos done, but with two offers, I couldn't resist :D.  So happy I had them done :).