June: A Family of 4

Once we brought our little girl home, life drastically changed. We are so in love with Hadley. She is absolutely precious. From day one Parker has been very aware of his little sister. He will run to her and give her a kiss, a pat and a snuggle. He says "pet baby" and pats her on the leg or tummy. He also says, "Hold you baby!" and wants us to help him hold her. While is loves Hadley, he has not been enjoying sharing his Mommy. As soon as I sit to feed the baby, Parker wants to sit in my lap or he needs help with a toy. When Parker first arrived, I could sit and stare at him for hours. All my attention was on him. Now I find myself nursing Hadley while on the floor playing blocks with a toddler in my lap. It's hard! I'm tired and sore but I'm quickly learning that a parent of two gets little rest. Granted, we don't yet have a schedule and we are not sleeping much at night. Parker's world has been rocked. He's acting out by throwing some fits and being more difficult in general. He normally is such a sweet, easy-going child. I hope this is just a short phase while he gets used to the transition.
Right now Hadley is feeding really well. After a week she had already gotten back to her birth weight. She loves to be held. In fact, she only likes be held. This makes sleeping pretty challenging. Justin and I need to rock her to sleep then try to set her in the bassinet without waking her. She loves being swaddled. Hadley does not like to be naked or changed. Justin says it's because she's a lady!
Justin and I have tried hard to keep life as normal as possible. We try to get the kids out of the house. We go to church, Parker's swim lessons and the park. We even made it out to dinner one night. It takes us much longer to get out of the house, but it is worth it for our sanity. Especially since the weather is so nice, it's hard to stay inside.
We've been very lucky to have so many friends and family members to help us with the transition. Our parents offered to watch Parker so we could have some alone time with Hadley. Friends came over to visit and play with Parker. Neighbors and friends brought us meals. This was really helpful since Justin and I had our hands full.