Today Shaw has officially hit double digits- 10 days old.
In all honesty, things have been going better than I had expected. Two myths have been busted:
Myth 1. I will never love any child as much as I love Emma. I think a lot of parents go through this/have this feeling before bringing a second child to the world. I do love Emma a ton, but this guy has a solid hold on my heart as well.
Myth 2. Managing two kids is going to be exhausting and difficult. Not so true. Now, ask me again in 3 months when Shaw is more alert and then ask me when he is mobile--I will probably have a different answer. For now, things are all right.
Shaw is a great baby. He sleeps a lot during the afternoon/early evening so we are going to work on having more 'awake' time and pushing off those extensive naps in to the overnight. He is waking up to eat every 3-4 hours, which is normal. He is eating between 2-4 ounces depending on the time of day and about 2 out of every 5 times I change his diaper...he pees. I have a barrier so it doesn't fly all over but he has definitely shot his fountain in to the air multiple times. Yesterday (August 3) his umbilical cord finally fell off. It didn't bother me as much this time around; however I couldn't wait to get him in the tub!
Yesterday was a big day for Emma too, she went poo-poo in the potty. It was more my idea than hers. She had been grunting for a couple days and so I just asked her 'Should we sit on the big girl potty' She said 'yes' so off we went. She was grunting in the bathroom before I set her down but shortly after sitting she went. Of course Corey and I were making a huge deal out of it and gave up her favorite snack when she was done- Mr. Freezee. I don't know if we will be doing it anytime soon she seemed a bit scared of it once she sat down. The chair has been out for the past 6 months. She opens and closes it and will also sit on it with her clothes on. I haven't pushed or even brought up the subject of potty training with her because I didn't want her to go backwards once Shaw joined us. Now that he is here it is something we can work on. Thursday was another first of hers--her first haircut. Marcy, Corey's aunt, cut her bangs. I loved how she looked with a clip in her hair, however it rarely stayed in and I was always snapping pictures with her hair all down in her eyes and it drove me crazy. We only cut her bangs for now, the back can happen another time...but I want to be able to put it up for the rest of the summer at least.
The first evening that Emma and Shaw were together she was a terror. I am not sure if this was because she had been spoiled for a week at Todd & Bryn's cabin and then at my moms place, if it was the lack of sleep, or if it was the baby. The next day she still wasn't good and spent some extra time in her room; but by day 3 she was asking to hold him. Now she asks to hold him and doesn't want to stop, throws his diapers away without us asking and wants to help when she can. When he cries she gets upset- I don't know if its because it makes her sad or if she is scared. At first, I thought it was because he was getting attention and she wanted it but now I think its more of a worried thing.
A final note: THANK YOU (!!!!!!!!) to all of our friends and family that came to the hospital or that have come and visited us at home. We are so lucky to have you all in our lives--we love you! If you didn't make it--don't feel bad we only welcomed visitors one day...feel free to contact us if you want to come out and meet Mr. Shaw.
