Jane, Jane, and more Jane

It's been a little over a week now, and I don't want to jinx anything, but so far Jane is a jewel. She's already a much better sleeper and eater than Sophie EVER was, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will not make a change for the worse!

To finish off the birth story, I ended up staying in the hospital for a mere 24 hours, and to be honest I've never felt more rushed out of a place than I did there. When the doctor asked if I wanted to check out the next morning, it took only about a minute for me to decide that going home would be a much better option than having to thrust our 3 children on someone else for another night, or the alternative of spending another night at the hospital by myself without Scott there to help me.

Since we've been home, the kids have been adjusting fairly well to the new baby. I should clarify here that while they are all fine with the baby, they are not exactly fine with each other. The fighting and fussing between them has escalated quite a bit over the course of this week, but hopefully things will smooth out here in a bit. Thankfully none of them have exhibited any jealousy or sibling rivalry with our new addition, so I should definitely just count my blessings!

Here's how things have played out with Jane: Ethan loves the baby, but is a bit too rough with her -- not to mention that he doesn't quite get the concept that he shouldn't try to talk to and play with Jane when she is SLEEPING. Grace has actually been the most consistently interested in helping me take care of her, and lets me know on an almost hourly basis that she has washed her hands with soap and water and used the hand sanitizer so can she please touch the baby now? She actually has quite the magic touch with Jane, and we've taken to calling her the Baby Whisperer because almost every time she holds the baby, Jane quiets right down and becomes very "calm" (Grace's word, not mine). As for Sophie, she really adores Jane but her form of adoration comes in the form of mostly ignoring her and doing her own thing -- which to be honest is probably more helpful to me than if she were constantly hovering over her.

The Baby Whisperer

Unfortunately the honeymoon phase is coming to an end. Scott was lucky enough to be able to take off all of last week from work and all I have to say is that it's too bad he's nowhere near retirement age, because I could definitely get used to having him home every day. However, tomorrow is back to reality -- although, it's not quite the REAL reality just yet. Thankfully, my sister has so graciously taken the girlie bugs off my hands for the week thus easing my transition into the world of caring for all my children on my own during the day. The girls were ecstatic to go, but I'm curious to see if they last a whole week. Especially since Ethan was already missing them by bedtime on the first night they were gone. He was literally crying and saying he wanted Sophie to come home the next day and although he didn't mention wanting Grace to come home, too, I'm pretty sure the sentiment was implied. He seemed a little better after calling the girls to say goodnight, so hopefully we'll all survive the week!

Ready for an adventure.

And now to end this epistle, here are some more pictures of Jane from her first week of life. I have to say it is so nice to be able to ENJOY the newborn phase this time around! Sophie's newborn phase was merely ENDURED, so this has been a nice change of pace...

This is Jane's sleeping pose -- she does not like having her arms swaddled down -- that one little fist always makes its way under her chin in a "Thinker" pose.

She really seems to like the swing, and here's a picture on the second day home where Sophie and Grace gave her some "comfort" items which hold special places in their little hearts. Sophie gave her a pacifier -- which she WON'T take at all, and Grace gave her a junk -- which of course she's too little to play with. But it's the thought that counts, right?

One of my favorite pictures of her -- she just looks so peaceful.



Her first official photo shoot for mom...






Cute little monkey face.

And here's the most recent picture of Jane awake. Consequently, are blocked tear ducts common with ALL babies? Or just MY babies. Ethan, Grace, and Sophie each had the same goopy-eyed problem that Jane is now sporting.

Well, that's all folks. Hope the pictures satisfy my family members. Jane is waking up now, so I guess it's time for her to eat! Until next time...