Life As We Know It

Well, things have settled into some semblance of normalcy around here. After Bret's birth, we were blessed beyond measure as we were surrounded by our loving families for the first 2 1/2 weeks of his life. Jordan's mom and sister Anna arrived (by God's perfect design...at which I continue to marvel!) about 8 hours before Bret did. They were 'special delivered' by Jordan's Uncle Craig & Aunt Danielle who had 'just happened' (again, God's timing is amazing!) to plan a trip down here and offered a ride to Kari & Anna. Jordan's dad and brother Grant drove down on February 25th and then the whole family drove back to Iowa on the morning of the 2nd. That night, we picked my mom up from the airport! On Friday the 4th, my sister Julie and Jordan's brother Luke both flew (from AZ and IA, respectively) in for the weekend. They left on Sunday, and my mom stayed until Wednesday the 9th. I think that having all of these special visitors made the adjustment to Bret's arrival much easier for Serena. She had SO much fun having such enthusiastic playmates 24/7!! It was a blessing for me, too, to know that Serena was being happily entertained while I held and nursed my new baby! I also felt blessed that I had loving arms to place Bret into so that I could hold and cuddle Serena whenever she needed it during those first couple of weeks.

As quickly as I bounced back from Serena's birth, I felt like my recovery from Bret's birth was 100 times faster! It was fabulous not to be stuck in the hospital for 2 days! Even the very next morning, I remember thinking that I did NOT feel like I had just pushed out a baby the day before! I even (by my own choice, and at the protests of my very sweet mother-in-law, haha!) made supper myself 12 hours after Bret was born! I always get such a rush from giving birth, while poor Jordan tries to recover from the early morning wake-up call I gave him, haha!

The 'rush' does eventually wear off, though, and the frequent night feedings (the hours between 3am and 6am are the hardest for me!) do start to take their toll on me! :P I'm thankful for my 'smartphone' which brightens those dark feedings both literally (flashlight?) and entertainingly (yay for Angry Birds and Word Feud, haha)! Thankfully, as Bret gets older and stronger and needs less 'help' nursing, I'm getting more sleep as I can start nursing Bret while lying down.

We've been settling into a fairly predictable routine. Well, predictable at least as far as Serena is concerned. She gets up around 8, then we have breakfast, then it's playtime until lunch at noon. Naptime starts around 12:30 and lasts till 2:30/3. Then, Serena plays until Daddy gets home around 5:45. We usually have supper pretty soon after that, then we'll often take a walk down to the park with Daddy & the doggies before Serena's bedtime around 7:30. Bret, on the other hand, is not quite as predictable. I remember Serena at this age did things in sort of a 3-hr pattern...eat for about 45 minutes, being awake for about an hour, and then sleeping for about an hour. With Serena keeping things hopping around here, I find that I am toting Bret around with me for most of the day, either on my arm, in the sling, or in the Moby. If he fusses, I nurse him; if he falls asleep and he's not in the Moby, I'll usually lay him down somewhere and then rush around trying to get some things accomplished while I have both hands free, haha! I'm having a hard time keeping track of how long/how much he eats, sleeps, or is awake; but judging by his apparent growth, he must be doing fine! He seems to be thriving and enjoying being in the middle of everything that happens around here! He's getting more and more interactive, and his smiles and "goo's" are almost too much for me! They make me laugh out loud!

The dogs have accepted Bret's entrance very well. When Serena was born, Macy went through a phase of digression where she kept chewing things up. It was weird, because she'd never really been one to chew, even as a puppy. Thankfully, this time around she hasn't started any strange behaviors; and our happy-go-lucky Rocky never blinked an eye at the new family member! Although, between Rocky & Serena, I have to keep a pretty close eye on Bret if I put him down within either of their reaches. When Rocky gets playful with Macy, he runs around indiscriminately, often knocking Serena over (she's used to it!) and once running over Bret (at about 2 days old!). And Serena is very sweet to Bret, but doesn't understand that he's too big for her to pick up (but that's okay...she's content just to drag him across the floor or couch if she can't pick him up! YIKES!!!) or that sticking a finger in his eye might hurt him (she's very into pointing out everyone's anatomy right now!)!

We're enjoying our new normal and are so thankful for God's blessings!