One Month

I can't believe Rachel is one month old today. I blinked and the time flew by. And what an exhausting but wonderful month it has been. Rachel is doing great. She sleeps a lot and she is pretty easy going. She is good at holding her head up and just today she really started "cooing" and making lots of cute little sounds. I wanted to run downstairs to get the video camera but I didn't want to miss anything that she had to say. It was so sweet especially since she had a look of surprise in her eyes at the sounds she was making. I decided to just stay with her and soak up all the wonderful joy of one of many of her "firsts". Hopefully I'll get to catch it on video soon and of course I'll share it with you here.



Rachel is such a blessing in our lives and Nicholas is so excited to be a big brother. He is all about Rachel. He talks about her to everyone and he wants to be involved in everything we do with her. Just yesterday he was concerned because she was getting a little fussy so he sang a song to her. He was so proud when she calmed down and quit crying. But it has been hard month on Stuart and I as we adjust to the big changes in our house....getting used to the middle of the night feedings, constant diaper changes, and juggling our time between both children so no one is short changed.

Our health insurance offers a maternity program in which a nurse called me once a month during the pregnancy to check on me, offer suggestions to help me through challenges, and answer any questions I had. She called me about 2 weeks ago to see how Rachel and I were doing. I hardly had time to take her call. I was in the middle of fixing a snack for Nicholas but Rachel was crying and needed a diaper change. The nurse asked about my nutrition to make sure I was eating healthy. I told her that I had missed breakfast that day but had some of Nicholas' leftover food for lunch because I hadn't found time to fix something for myself. She encouraged me to try to find time to make healthy, well balanced meals for myself. Yup, sounds good. Then she asked about exercise. Oh please! I told her that I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight but that was probably just from not eating because it certainly wasn't due to any formal exercise program. I hardly have time to go to the bathroom in peace! When am I suppose to exercise?! Finally, she asked about my GOALS for the next few weeks. What?! Goals? What goals? I seriously laughed out loud. I have a newborn and a four year old. I'm the household maid, grocery shopper, meal planner and chef, entertainer of a four year old, chauffeur, diaper changer, breastmilk feeder, bill payer, family fun planner, runny nose wiper, and kisser of all boo boos....and now I'm doing it all on little sleep - not to mention dealing with my own medical issues of a c-section wound infection and some weird post partum high blood pressure. My goal for the next few weeks is to just keep everyone fed and keep the house from totally falling into shambles.

Stuart has been so great and supportive. He comes home from his hard day at work and takes care of whatever needs to be done whether its changing diapers or getting dinner ready or just spending some time with the children to give me a break. He knows how hard my day is. I told him that I was glad that he is so understanding when the house isn't all nice and clean each day when he gets home. He chuckled and said something to the extent that he's impressed that it just looks about the same as when he left in the morning and not totally fallen apart.

For all of the challenges that this month has brought, I wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything. It has been filled with such joy and thankfulness for the love, friends, and blessings that God showers in our lives.