Nine Days Old

A little over a week in, I'm thrilled to report that we are all happy and healthy. Claire, especially, is doing incredibly well. So far, she seems to be a very easy baby. In many ways, she looks and acts like a baby who's several weeks older than she actually is. So much so that I've wondered if maybe they were wrong about my due date (although I don't think they could possibly have been that wrong).

For one thing, this little girl is already regularly sleeping 4 to 5 hours at a time—sometimes even longer. Especially at night. We love it! She usually eats at about 11, 3, and 7ish, and sleeps like a little log in between. Certainly can't complain about that with a one-week-old.

We have had some fussy periods, but those have been confined to daytime only (knock on wood). She did recently develop a raging diaper rash, so that could be contributing. And so far, any fussiness is easily remedied by just picking her up—as long as Claire's being held, she is one happy, content little girl. Obviously the constant holding/carrying will get harder to manage when Bob goes back to work, but for now, it's an easy fix. And who knows, maybe by then she'll be on to some other phase.

Elsa's reaction to Claire being home has been about as good as can be expected. She's very interested in Claire and wants to help out by giving toys to Claire, putting her blanket on her, or giving her the pacifier. Elsa hilariously copies whatever Bob and I say to Claire, so lately, every time she walks up to the baby, she says, "Oh, sweet pea," in the cutest little cooing voice. Elsa also frequently asks to hold Claire and gives her lots of kisses. It's adorable.

So for the most part, jealousy has not reared its ugly head. Elsa has been acting out a little more than we were used to—but then again, we were used to her being incredibly well-behaved, so I suppose she was bound to start testing us at some point, whether Claire came along or not. The threat of a time-out is still usually sufficient to reign her in.

As for me, I'm doing fantastic. I actually feel like a million bucks, probably just because I'm no longer pregnant with a nine-and-a-half-pound baby. : ) Also, now that the c-section is over with and I'm recovering, I'm realizing just how much anxiety I had going into it. Elsa's delivery was just so rough in so many ways, so as Claire's loomed, I think I freaked out more and more. I mean, why would I voluntarily choose to put myself through all of that again? Well, now that it's over with, I look at Claire and know exactly why. And since it went so smoothly in comparison, I think I'm also experiencing some sort of weird post-partum elation. With every recovery milestone I reach, I think to myself, "Wow, I have two beautiful daughters—and I never have to do any of this again." That's a pretty darn good feeling.