Adjusting

The first thing people are asking me these days is how is everyone/Riley adjusting? The answer is just that. We are adjusting. So far it really has been a smooth transition for the most part. Much easier than I anticipated. I thought Riley would have a much harder time getting used to having a baby around 24/7, but he LOVES her. And I mean really loves her. He seems to be so proud of her. He wants her right beside him all the time & if he can't see her, he runs around the house calling "baaaay-beee"or "Aaavaly" until I show him where she is & that she is just sleeping. He loves to hold her & rub her little head. We let him put the Boppy pillow around his waist & set her in it. We tell him to be easy with the baby & he is. He just loves on her, kissing & hugging her. Melts my heart every time. We haven't really run into many jealousy issues yet, which is what I was the most concerned about. That & me not being able to spread my attention between them evenly. Riley has only had 1 little meltdown that really wasn't all that bad. I was sitting on the couch feeding Averly & he ran up to me, looked at her, then looked at me & his bottom lip started quivering & tears filled his eyes. It was pretty pitiful & made me tear up a little too. I grabbed him to sit beside me & he hugged me as tight as he could. He was over it quickly though & has pretty much been fine ever since.

Another one of my worries was bed time. As I've mentioned before, when it's time for bed Riley will only let me put him down for the night (unless of course I'm not there & he does fine for TAG or my parents). If I'm at the house, I have to be the one to read, sing & pray before "nigh nigh". But would you know that every night since we came home from the hospital Riley has let TAG put him to bed?! He only put up a fuss one night, which was 2 nights ago & that is it! I am so proud of my big boy! I do miss it though because that was our special quiet time, but I know TAG is enjoying Riley wanting him more for those kinds of things. And I know that once we get a good routine down with Averly I will be able to lay down with him some too without messing up this new routine with him.

So overall, Riley has done very well with his new sister. I am so thankful that he is not jealous & loves to love on her. He has already tried to share some snacks with her so we have to watch that extra closely!

In her 1st week of life Averly has been a very laid back baby that only cries when she gets her diaper changed, or when we bathe her. She is a good eater & an excellent sleeper. She usually eats anywhere from every 2-3 hours (as expected) during the day & at night she goes about 4-5 hours. I wake her up to eat if she is still asleep around 5 hours. It's great that she's sleeping that long already, but I feel like she shouldn't go that long without eating just yet. Even when she wakes up to eat, she doesn't really cry, just grunts a little...unless I take too long to get her some food! I know it's early & all this good sleeping stuff may change, but I'm praying it doesn't! Hopefully she'll continue to be my laid back, mellow child since I already have a wild man! ;0)

Averly has 2 or 3 long wake periods during the day. Usually around 10 to 11 or so, then around 2 to about 3 or 3:30, then right before bed around 8:30 to 9:30 or 10. She is usually awake during Riley's afternoon nap, which is good that I get to have some one on one time with her, but bad if I want to get anything done around the house. My mom has been staying with me during the day while TAG works until I feel comfortable going a full day by myself with both kids. I am so thankful to have her to help because I could not do it without her. Although I feel like I am recovering from the section pretty well, I still can't jump to get Riley (or whatever the case may be) too quickly just yet. I have had some ups & downs with my emotions over the past week. Nothing to be concerned with by any means though. Sometimes when TAG or my mom is putting Riley down for his nap or playing with him or feeding him I get a little sad because I can't do as much for him right now as I normally do because the majority of the time I am feeding or changing Averly. I try to look past the post-pregancy hormones & be realistic, knowing that they are helping me & him, but sometimes I almost feel like I am neglecting him. Like I said, I know it's just all these extra emotions & hormones and I know I am not Super Woman & can't do it all by myself but I wish I could at times.

We go to the doctor for her 2 week check-up next Wednesday & I'm excited to see if she has gained any weight. I don't think she really lost a lot after she was born (a nurse told me at one point that she was 6 lbs, 7 oz & I don't know if she lost any more or not) so she may be past the 7 lb mark! I remember at Riley's 2 week appointment he was 6 lbs even. He got down to 5 lbs, 14 oz after he was born, but he was very healthy. We look at Averly & think how tiny she is, but Riley was even smaller! It's so hard to believe!

Right now she is wearing Preemie diapers. Newborns hang off of her & have caused several messes! All of her NB size clothes are too big as well but I have a couple of unisex onesies that Riley wore that fit her pretty good so she's been wearing those & everything else we are just wearing it big for now.

Look at all that hair!

The Pediatrician that saw her at the hospital said that he didn't even check her Jaundice levels because she looked fine, but that it would probably peak a little around a week old or so. I can look at her eyes & tell that she has a little, but nothing to call the doctor about. We are just trying to keep her in the sunlight as much as possible, but we've only had 1 pretty sunny day since we brought her home. So that's been a little hard.

I love how she is holding her little hands in this picture.

I am so blessed to have 2 beautiful, healthy babies. I could sit & look at Averly all day in amazement of how beautiful she is...and Riley too if he would sit still all day! Haha! I couldn’t ask for anything more. God is so good!