I know I was absolutely astounded by how fast time was flying when Zoey turned two weeks old and this time is no different, perhaps even more shocking. It feels like the days and nights are flying by at an alarming rate. Between being stuck in the house due to the crazy Blizzard we just had two days ago and learning to be parents to a 21 month old AND a newborn, the days are simply slipping between our fingers.
Zoey is doing great at adjusting to being a big sister. The first 2-3 days home were very rough. Aunt Malinda (an honorary Aunt, of course) and Grandma had basically been taking care of her for an entire week and she had only briefly seen me in the hospital one day out of that whole week. Daddy was popping in and out of the house and I think the huge disruption in her normal routine caused her attitude to get all kinds of out of control! Add in the fact that we brought home a newborn and you can imagine how much fun we had those first few days.
She hasn’t cared all too much for the baby until the last couple of days. She actually touched her hair yesterday and I was absolutely amazed because up until then, she wouldn’t get too close to her. She has also started playing with her baby dolls more, saying “baby” and feeding them bottles, wrapping blankets around them, etc. It’s really adorable! She still doesn’t pay too much attention to Kiera but she is slowly starting to get there. She had some MAJOR jeaousy issues with Gene and the baby those first few days but has since gotten over it. We’re back into our routine here and it is amazing how as soon as we got that back in place, she quickly got back to her normal self and attitude. Instead of ALL DAY tantrums, we’re back to the occasional ones throughout the day.
Kiera is doing great! It’s so crazy that she was born at 34 weeks and is so much bigger than Zoey was (born at 36 weeks). She isn’t any chubbier though, which is odd too! If anything, Kiera is actually a lot skinnier than Zoey was. She is the exact same length Zoey was (18.5 inches) and her legs, arms, hands and feet are long and skinny. I’m guessing most of her weight is in her stomach and her big head! Looking back at Zoey’s baby pictures, she had a lot more chub in her legs, feet, hands and arms than Kiera does.
Sleep schedule is going okay. We’re setting the timer, just like we did with Zoey, to wake this little girl up and feed her every 2 hours. One major difference is that when we get her up, she eats, even if she stays asleep, which makes it a LOT easier on us. We usually spend a good 45 minutes to an hour feeding and changing her and then set the timer for 2 hours and do that whole routine over again. In the last day or two, she is starting to wake up on her own a little and fuss when she is hungry, which is making it a little easier as well. She is currently eating about 2oz per feeding, sometimes a tiny bit less and sometimes a tiny bit more. She did 3oz all day yesterday but then threw up a couple of times, I think from over eating, so we took it back down to 2oz for now. Oh the guessing with a newborn. Even if you’ve already done it before!
I love smelling Kiera’s head. Holding her in my arms. Staring at her pretty face or letting her wrap her long, skinny fingers around my pinky. I love her wandering, glistening eyes. She is beautiful and amazing, the perfect addition to our family.
I’m almost done with my birth story and I’ll post that as soon as I fine tune it and feel like it’s ready. There is SO much to cover and it’s a jumbled mix of stuff. Which is pretty much how that entire week in the hospital felt, jumbled. I typed up a really good portion of it the other night and I think I only cried three separate times. Not happy tears, either. What a mess!
