5 Days Later

I still can't believe sometimes that Jaina is finally here. I felt like my pregnancy lasted forever! Having Mom here this week has been such a blessing. She has been spoiling me to no end. She does the laundry, the dishes, sweeps, vacuums, clean, helps with dinner (when she's not doing it all on her own), holds Jaina, and probably most helpful - wrangles Libby. She does all she can to make sure I get the sleep and rest I need. She and John also gang up on me and force me to drink all day. Good thing someone is keeping an eye on my fluid intake, because I sure don't!

Libby is in hog heaven having her Nana here. She has discovered a new "game" - Mom sits in the glider and Libby stands on her lap while holding Mom's hands and Mom rocks back and forth real fast while Libby yells "Whee! Whee!" Today when John and Libby got home from the store, Libby ran straight to Mom (who was sitting on the couch) yelled "whee, whee!" and pulled on Mom until she got up and sat in the rocker. When Libby gets up from her nap she goes into Mom's room instead of mine. Libby hardly even looks at me now :)

Besides the great fun she is having with Mom, Libby has been having a difficult week. It started with a sleepless night when Jaina was born, paired with the disruption (more like excitement!) of having her Nana here, paired with the totally whacked-out atmosphere resulting from a new baby, and, needless to say, Libby has been having trouble adjusting. Her attitude has improved as she has caught up on her sleep, but she has a new habit of coming out of her room multiple times a night. We gave up rocking her before bed months ago bacause she would just climb straight into her bed. John is going to try rocking again to see if that will help her to stay in bed. As far as the middle-of-the-night wakings, we are taking Super Nanny's approach of plopping her back in bed without saying anything to her. Over time she'll get the hint. Our other option would be to put a guard on her doorknob so she can't open it, but I want her to keep her independance. I don't like the idea of locking her in her room. Mom said that she put a gate in the doorway with one of my sisters so she could open the door and see out at night, but couldn't leave her room. That is something we may try if she doesn't even out in the next month or so.

Today Mom and Jaina and I went to the outlet mall. It was a lot of walking for me, but it was a good thing, I think. Mom bought me a pair of lavender Mary-Jane Crocs (only $19.99 at the outlet!). I have wanted a pair of those for ages! Mom got a few good buys for herself as well. Seeing as to how half her suitcase was loaded with clothes for the girls (I have girls now - plural!), we didn't spend much time in the children's stores. But, now I know where to go for kid's clothes! There is a Carter's, Gymboree, OshKosh, Children's Place, and a Gap Kids at the outlet mall. Super!

Monday we are heading to the Aquarium. John has the day off (Memorial Day) and we are all going to squish our hides into the car and have a great day. Mom is hoping they will have clown fish there for Libby to see. I think she'd get all sorts of excited to see Nemo!

Jaina is doing just great. Tuesday her cord clamp got caught in her gown and ripped her cord off most of the way. The next few days it oozed and stank but never got infected and yesterday is came off the rest of the way. It's still oozing a bit, but doesn't smell. I think the smell was coming from the actual cord, not her belly button. Her button looks good, and I've been keeping it clean and putting Goldenseal powder on it to help it clot and also to protect against infection (Goldenseal is naturally anti-microbial).

Nursing is going well once I get past the initial toe-curling stage of latching-on. I know all the literature says if you're doing it right it won't hurt. That's a bunch of bunk! I had the same issue with Libby, and it got better within two weeks. Lanolin makes Jaina sick, so I've been using Vitamin E oil per Mom's suggestion. Things are looking (and feeling) a little bit better each day.

At our home visit Thursday the nurse weighed Jaina and she clocked in at 9 lbs, 5 ozs. We took an once off for the diaper, so that puts her right at her birth weight. I'd say she's getting enough to eat, wouldn't you?

She sleeps great and is just as sweet as can be. I love it when Libby gives her kisses. Libby seems to really like "baby", and only gets jealous when John is holding her. I've been taking pictures with Mom's digital camera and will get them loaded soon.