Kate's First Weeks

It's hard to believe, but Kate was two weeks old on Tuesday. The adjustment period has gone well so far; much better than I anticipated it would. No doubt, that is due in large part to the grandparents who helped immensely in keeping me taken care of and keeping Jack entertained. My parents left on Sunday; my mom had been with us for 2 1/2 weeks (since Jack was in the hospital, which seems like a lifetime ago!). Mick's mom left Tuesday after visiting for just over two weeks. Jack was crushed to see everyone go and I don't blame him. He had a fantastic time with them and got LOTS of attention!

Kate continues with thrill us with her (generally) easy temperament. I kind of expected to have another baby like Jack because, while I know you shouldn't compare kids, he was all I had known. But while Jack was a very lively newborn - eating every two hours like clockwork, taking forever to fall asleep after nighttime feedings, struggling out of his swaddle and thrashing all over the bassinet - Kate is extremely placid. The first few nights home, I actually set my alarm every three hours to get up to feed her. She just seemed too lazy to me! She is a dream to get back to sleep at night (I don't really have to do anything - she just nurses and then sleeps), she only wakes once to eat (around 3:30 am), and she stays completely still in her bassinet - swaddle and everything!

Kate went for her two-week visit to the doctor on Tuesday and we found she's up to 8 lbs, 14 oz. That's a massive gain (19 oz since birth)! She's gaining at the same rate Jack did - double the average. And she's a quick eater, like her brother was, which makes things quite nice for me... especially as Jack likes to climb all over me to get to Kate and give her kisses when I'm nursing. She does have a bit of a fussy time in the evening and so it's been trial and error to figure out what she likes and what calms her (loud "shushing" in her ear coupled with holding her under her armpits n a bit of a sitting/slumped over position). Last night, Mick gave her her first bottle, which she hungrily gulped down around 10:30, allowing me to sleep on the couch. Today, I was able to pump 6 oz of milk in record time (for me): 9 minutes! Everything has to happen a bit more quickly these days so I can accommodate two kids' needs.

So far, knock wood, we haven't had any major behavioral issues with Jack. He's shown nothing but love & wonder toward Kate. As soon as he wakes, he wants to see her and he's constantly rubbing her head, stroking her cheek and saying things to me like "I love my baby sister! I made her happy!"