Life with 2 kids

It's been a little more than a week since Aaron was born, and it must be said that the "new baby" experience is so much different the second time around. First, at the hospital we took full advantage of the nursery at night. That's not to say we got a full night's sleep since I'm nursing, but after each feeding Aaron would peacefully go off to the nursery, and Dave and I could actually get a little sleep before we had to repeat the feeding/changing process a few hours later.

The other big difference between when Mudgie was born and when Aaron came was I no longer felt complete in the hospital. While I loved the nurses and all the help we got there (and needed, since I was sliced open from hip to hip), and I loved holding my new baby in my arms, I missed my Mudgie man. While I was supposed to stay in the hospital until Wednesday, I convinced the doctors to let us go home a day early. I just needed to be with all my boys.

Mudgie has transitioned into the roll of "Big Brother" like a champ. He is so cute with Aaron. He talks to him in a high pitch voice, and wants to tickle and hold him. He also tells us that the baby is cute. Although he wants to play with all the baby toys we took out for Aaron, he's very good about sharing them. While he is definitely a little more on edge these days, and will have a meltdown a little sooner than he normally would, he's really been such a champ this week, and any anxiety or frustration he's feeling is in no way projected towards Aaron. He's so much stronger than we had given him credit for.

Aaron is eating like a champ, and while he seems to be slightly confused about days and nights, he's a decent sleeper too! His personality is so much different than Mudgie's. At this point, Mudgie was essentially crying non-stop at his "level 5" pitch when he wasn't being fed or rocked. Aaron, on the other hand, cries only when he's hungry or when he's being changed. He'll fuss if he's too wet or dirty, and grunt/fuss when he's got some gas, but aside from that he's just content.

Dave has been on Mudgie duty almost exclusively since we've been home. I was/am still sore from surgery, and I have at least another week before I can pick up Mudgie again. This has actually been the hardest part. However, Dave has been giving him all the attention he craves, and I'm sure this is part of why things have gone so well.

Our family of 4 even went to a birthday party this weekend. Our neighbor's 2 kids have August birthdays, so they had a party for them both on Saturday. They actually rented a bouncy house for the event, and since it was delivered on Friday, Mudgie was invited over for a sneak preview. He had so much fun in that thing. Unfortunately, he didn't have quite as much on their swingset as he got stung by a bee...twice. But the good news is he doesn't appear to be allergic! He had a great time at the party, as we all know he loves "Happy Days." Aaron slept through it all until he peed all over both us. That's when we gracefully excused ourselves and went home. Mudgie and Dave spent the next couple hours there eating happy cake and helping Mudgie's friends play with their new toys!

Life with 2 kids is so much different than life with 1. It's more exhausting, more unpredictable, and more filled with love and fulfillment than I could have possibly imagined. I'm so excited to see what happens next.