Home Sweet Home

Despite technically being premature, Wesley passed all the necessary criteria to come home like a normal full-term baby with me on Saturday.  I'm very thankful that he's doing this well, but after being home for over a day, I have to admit it would have been nice to have some time to prepare for him a little bit.  While our house is clean (thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law) it's also disorganized; and anyone who knows me knows that disorganization can unravel me faster than pretty much anything else. 

It was wonderful leaving the hospital as a family of four - I cried happy tears just to be with my family out in the real world.  We get into the house, and Adalynn gave Wesley a tour of the main living areas.  She was VERY happy last night and the most hyper that Eddie has seen her in the last couple of months.  Within 15 minutes of being home, Wesley gave us a stinky diaper and started throwing a crying a fit; and while I'm in a mad scramble trying to find diapers/wipes/etc to change him, Eddie had to run out to the car to get our stuff from the hospital (like the Vaseline and gauze for his diaper changes) and in the meantime, Adalynn is going on and on about a big scary bug she just saw and is shouting about her discovery to be heard over Wesley's wails.  It then dawned on me that this is my life now!  Gotta love the chaos, and this is just the beginning!

Going Home From the Hospital

The recovery has not been very pleasant and is taking its toll on me.  Sure I had some tenderness and discomfort after Adalynn was born, but this is completely different.  I can handle the pain and swelling of the stitches and hemorrhoids more than I can handle the pain and swelling of my feet and back.  I know that sounds pathetic, but no pain medicine seems to be helping me at all.  My feet are so swollen that I cannot even put on shoes.  They feel like they're going to burst at any moment.  And with the constant back problems I have had my whole life anyway, the labor really did a number on me and I can barely walk.  I still don't have the full feeling back yet in my legs either.  The only thing I can figure is that maybe I'm having a harder time recovering due to the fact that I had no strength prior to giving birth because of the bed-rest and then to have a baby without pain relief of any kind probably didn't help matters when I was already in bad shape.  It's been really difficult dealing with this while also trying to play with Adalynn and organize my house.  I'm guessing the only thing that will help is to keep my feet up, but I've been doing that for so long already that I feel like a lazy fool doing it now.

Pucker Up!

Enough complaining.  Back to our new little boy............so far he is a really good little baby (and I do mean little - he was down to 6 pounds 8 ounces when we left the hospital).  He doesn't like to have his diaper changed or a sponge bath, but other than that he's pretty content most of the time.  I don't like to change his diaper either - I learned with the first diaper change that it's not nearly as easy to change a boy as it is to change a girl.  (He has an impressive high arch though!)  Wesley reminds me of a little gremlin with all the crazy grunting noises, growls, burps, and farts.  He's so cute when he grabs our fingers and refuses to let  go.  He and Eddie are my two couch potatoes and enjoy lounging in front of the TV all day long.  But Eddie does have Wesley spoiled so he has a hard time being put down now.  This made for an interesting night last night - as long as Eddie was with him, Wesley wanted to be held.  Once I took over, he was okay sleeping in his crib.  I am too uncomfortable to sleep in our bed downstairs so it's just easier for me to sleep upstairs on the couch and be nearby if the kids need me.  Believe it or not, Adalynn was up crying last night before Wesley.  That really surprised me; she hasn't done that for over a year (other than if she's sick, which she's not).  I'm hoping this isn't a new trend with her and was just a fluke. 

My Boys

I realize we have only known Wesley for three days so it's too soon to judge these things, but so far he and his sister are pretty much opposites in every way.  She was a crier and a high-maintenance baby.  He only fusses if we mess with him.  She only had a dirty diaper every three days or so; he poops almost more than he pees.  She couldn't keep her food down and spit up like crazy; he doesn't spit up but is a very sloppy eater.  As far as being held, she could take it or leave it; he's a snuggler.  She preferred to sleep on the wedge in her crib when she was this size; he doesn't want anything to do with that and has a fondness for Adalynn's old preemie pillow instead.  She required some white noise and music in order to get to sleep.  So far, Wesley seems to have no problems sleeping without any aids.  Of course, it's still very early and all of these things can change, but it's been interesting observing the differing trends so far.

My 2 Awesome Kids