We are Family

Well, we have been a busy little family these days!  Oh my goodness, the past 7 weeks have FLOWN BY!  I'm not sure if it's the lack of sleep, the crazy busy schedule we have, or something else, but I blinked and my baby boy was almost 2 months old!  And I go back to work next Friday, on his 2 month birthday!  It is bittersweet to return to work...I LOVE my babies SO much that I love spending every minute with them, but I also truly love working...the challenge of work and my beloved coworkers and patients fuel this love, so I am actually excited about it.  Hope that doesn't make me a bad mom.  Actually, I think it makes me a better mom.  Chad is pretty anxious about taking care of both kids while I'm working, so say a prayer for him for energy, strength, and confidence to be able to do it!  He will have a lot of help, I'm sure!  The hardest days for him will be the Fridays that I work, which happens every four weeks.  That's the day that Grace has therapy, and he'll be juggling her and Micah Friday mornings.  Other than that, we have such amazing help in our babysitters and families that he will be just fine I'm sure.

Our life is looking maybe slightly more sane at the moment.  I am FINALLY able to pick up my big girl again after SIX MONTHS of being on lifting restrictions due to my placenta previa and then post op from my C section.  So I can FINALLY take care of both kids on my own without relying on any extra help!  This makes me SO happy.  And slightly tired and overwhelmed.  But in a good way.  :)

Micah is getting a little easier and less demanding.  I am breastfeeding him, which has been a whole new world!  I wasn't really able to breastfeed Grace due to her medical situation, so like I said, whole.new.world.  I am almost like a first time mom!  I've never had a healthy baby before.  It has brought with it learning to trust myself and trust God that I have the ability to do this.  Breastfeeding has been one of the most challenging and interesting things I've ever done.  But we are 7 weeks in, and I'm feeling accomplished!

Micah has not been the easiest baby, but we are still learning each other.  He fusses/cries/screams A LOT, but it seems to be getting better!  After about 4-5 weeks, we finally were able to put him down to sleep (before that, we took turns holding him at night because the boy would not sleep!).  He also has reflux, and Zantac has helped him a lot.  I'm so thankful for medicine!  He now sleeps in his rock and play thing swaddled all night long.  He has gone a six hour stretch of sleep once, but other than that, he sleeps pretty much for 3-5 hours at a time.  He actually has been a good sleeper in my opinion at night.  During the day, he eats about every 2-3 hours.  He sleeps here and there on his tummy in the pack and play.  I haven't found anything that he likes to hang out in for more than 10 minutes when he's awake, but I'm hoping he will tolerate that better and better during the day.  He is pretty indifferent about baths.  He doesn't love a paci, but I'm trying to teach him that a paci is his friend.  :)  He is a very noisy/grunty baby, and he has found his smile!  And I've never seen a baby fight their sleep before like him!  He also isn't a big fan of diaper changes or clothing changes.  Y'all, he has some of his big sister's feistiness!  At his check up, he weighed 9 lb 12 oz, was 21.5 in long, and his head circumference was 38.5 cm.  He did so good with his shots, too.

Big sister Grace is just trucking along these days!  She is doing great in school.  She still isn't walking with her cane very well.  Please pray with us about her walking!  It makes things so much harder with your 3 year old isn't walking and you have a newborn.  She is beginning to talk more, and she sings ALL the time!  She is generally such a happy girl and I am so thankful.  She has started working on using a different straw, which will help her oral motor skills.  Also, at school she is using a communication board very well!  Her communication board allows her to "say" eat, drink, more, and go.  :)  She continues to love Veggie Tales, Dora, the Sprout channel, her new couch, baths, her blankets, books, and Violet.  We are also enjoying getting to spend more time outside since the weather is so good right now.  She likes sliding, swinging, and riding in her cozy coupe.

I think that's about it!  Here are some a lot of recent pictures :)