Running from the Law: Baby Mim - 2 Weeks

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Baby Mim - 2 Weeks

Dear Mim,

How do I even begin to describe just how wonderful these last two weeks have been, since you entered our lives?  I've struggled to write this post, partly because I'm scared to jinx us with bragging about what a good baby you are and partly because I'm still trying to process the overwhelming amount of love I have for you (or perhaps it's due to sleep deprivation and exhaustion).  I just can't seem to find the right words, which is why this post is being published days later than I anticipated.  Hopefully the words pouring out of my heart onto this page make sense and someday you will read them and know just how loved, wanted and adored you are.    
When I was pregnant I heard so many people say that when you have a second child, you question whether or not you can ever love that child as much as you do your first.  For some reason, I never felt that way.  I knew immediately upon finding out that we were pregnant that I could easily love you just as fiercely as I love your brother.  However, I was not expecting that love to be so intense so early in your little life.  With Mac, it took a while for me to really wrap my head around the fact that I had a child and he was mine.  With you, that connection was instant.  From the moment that I heard your cry in that operating room, I loved you more than I ever thought possible.  It took everything I had (and all those drugs), not to jump off the table and scoop you up.  I nearly took the nurse's head off because I wanted her to be gentler with you and get you wrapped up and warm right away. Those mama bear instincts sure didn't miss a beat. All I wanted was you...in my arms and safe. From that moment on I knew I would spend the rest of my life trying to keep you safe and protected.
The adjustment to your new home seems to be going relatively well; however, we've had our issues.  Mac is still having a very difficult time adjusting to his new role as big brother and you had a difficult time settling down those first few nights.  With respect to the latter, I think that just may be the case with all newborns - adjusting to a new place, with new smells and sounds is probably a bit overwhelming for a baby.  Your dad and I took turns bouncing, holding and rocking you for hours each night.  I think we may have gotten a collective 2-3 hours of sleep each night.  But by the third night and ever since, you've been surprisingly pleasant in the evenings. You want to eat quite a bit (still every 2-3 hours), but most of the time you will go right back to sleep after a feeding. You haven't really given us any long stretches of sleep, but at least you haven't been keeping us up all night crying (knocking on wood right now).  Hiccups, gas and dirty diapers seem to be the biggest obstacles to us all sleeping well in between feedings.  Once we get past those issues, we're good to go.
As for Mac, he's just being a typical two-year old adjusting to a new situation.  We're dealing with lots of tantrums, meltdowns over ridiculous things and pushing the limits/boundaries every chance he can get. We've been giving him a lot of special attention lately, which may be part of the problem, but he's having a hard time learning how to share his parents and adjusting to our new "normal" with me being home all day.  We knew it would be a tough adjustment, but we also know that it'll get easier for all of us as time goes by.  He does seem to really like you though and is always concerned about whether you're happy or sad. It's very sweet to watch him react to you and try to interact.  One of these days he's going to be your best friend and biggest fan.  Don't worry, we'll get there.
For the most part, you are such a good baby!  Well, I'm not sure if you really are that amazing or if we are just used to having a very difficult baby with your brother, so you seem easy in comparison, but either way, we love it!  Everyone told me that you'd be very different than your brother and you have proven that to be absolutely true. You do look like him, but the comparison ends there.  He loved to be swaddled; you love your hands out. He needed the white noise to calm down; you like it quiet.  He was a horrible eater; you are a rockstar eater. He never took a pacifier; you will chomp away on one.  He loved to be naked; you hate being cold.  He never cared about getting his diaper changed; you demand a new diaper every 20 minutes. He cried for no reason; you only cry for valid reasons.  We are so grateful that you've been so good to us these last two weeks and really hope that it continues (for the rest of your life, ok?).  
Slowly but surely we are getting to know you and your personality.  You're still not awake for long periods of time, but when you are bright-eyed, you're so inquisitive and expressive.  I love the faces you make and all your sweet noises.  You love looking at me and watching the dogs and the ceiling fan.  You are such a sweetheart and so wonderfully cuddly.  I knew you were going to be snuggly while I was still pregnant with you.  When I would sleep, you'd snuggle into a little ball, all nice and tight, way down in my belly.  When I'd move, it'd take a while for you to get repositioned out of your snuggle ball, which was sometimes really uncomfortable for me.  I'd prod and poke you through my belly, trying to convince you to move, but you'd stay put, cuddled up.  Now that you're out, not much has changed.  You love to be held and cuddled.  You curl up into a tiny ball of love in our arms and snuggle right in.  You are so comfortable and snuggly that it makes it nearly impossible for us to put you down.  You get held a lot.
Everyone has commented about how much you look like your brother, which I agree with.  However, as the days go by I think you are starting to look less like him and more like your own person.  I still can't figure out just who in our family I think you look like the most - right now you're a mix of your dad, your cousin Alex and my Grandma Bert. Strange, but beautiful.  You were born with dark hair and grey/blue eyes - the same combination Mac had.  I wonder whether your hair will stay dark like your dad's, light like mine or even red like Alex's.  You have the most elegant long fingers of any baby I've ever seen. And the longest skinniest feet - they look like skis with monkey toes!  Everyone's commented on your giant feet, saying that you're destined to be an athlete (and tall)!  You're finally getting your chubby cheeks back, after losing some of your initial weight in the hospital.  I love babies with chubby cheeks, so this absolutely thrills me.  You have a tiny Angel Kiss on your left eyelid and the most beautiful little lips and button nose.  I truly think you are one of the most gorgeous babies I've ever seen.  
Speaking of gaining weight, you are a champion eater and have been packing on the ounces these days.  At your two week appointment, you more than doubled the average newborn weight gain, which put you well above your birth weight!  Go Mim!  It's so important that you gain weight right now, so we're doing all we can to make sure you eat as much as you want.  Fortunately, breastfeeding is going really well for us this time around, which is a major stress relief for me and probably deserves an entire post on its own.  I have been so worried about this aspect of having a newborn,  as it was a huge point of stress for me the first time around (which you can read about here).  But you have made it easy for me.  You latched on right away with ease, my milk came in on day 3 (lots of it!) and we've been doing great ever since.  This has truly been a blessing and (despite the pain, which I hope will fade within the next few weeks) has quickly become one of my favorite things about having a newborn.  It really is amazing how different the experience has been this time around. 
So, in a nutshell, we are madly in love with you, little one.  I love spending my days with you in my arms and your daddy just can't get enough of you in the evenings.  These last two weeks have just flown by and I'm terrified that the next 10 will go just as fast, sending me back to work before I'm ready to leave you.  Actually, I already know I won't be ready.  It's going to be so hard and I'm just trying desperately not to think about it right now.  I'm soaking up every moment I get with you and seem to spend hours just staring at you, kissing you and smelling you.  Knowing you're my last baby makes it all feel so fleeting.  As excited as I am for you to get older, I'm going to miss having a baby around.  Just promise me you won't grow up too quickly.
Thank you, Mim for being a part of our family.  We are so happy to have you in our lives. You already have us wrapped around your long beautiful fingers and we wouldn't change it for the world.  We are so incredibly blessed.

Love,
Your mama 


Baby Mac - 2 Weeks

35 comments:

  1. Sara!! She's perfect!! I love the second picture!!! You are the sweetest mommy and there is NO DOUBT that Mim knows how loved she is!

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  2. Oh I just love this and you'll have to keep us updated on how Mac is adjusting...I worry about that with Ethan!! ;)

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  3. I definitely think she looks like Mac, but she has her own femininity as well! So glad to hear that breastfeeding is going so well for you this time around! Hope you are enjoying every minute of having a new baby and that Mac adjusts quickly. They are going to be the best of friends before you know it!

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  4. She is such a beauty and I'm so happy to hear things are easier thus time around! Can't wait to be joining you in newborn bliss oh so soon!

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  5. She is so cute! These are a lot of my same thoughts about the 2nd child and I'm so glad it's going easier this time. Enjoy every minute!

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  6. She is perfect!! Having kids made me understand what it really meant to "love someone so much it hurts". Mac will adjust - the first month was the hardest. Once you reestablish routine things get much easier. It's amazing once they start interacting together. Congratulations!

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  7. She is lovely. And I just love her birth name and her blog nickname!

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  8. I just love those fat, juicy, gorgeous cheeks!! She is perfect in every way and we are so happy for you and your family. The last component of Mim's gift arrived yesterday so I'm mailing a box to you next week with clothes and some gifts. There will even be some surprises included for Mac - I know he needs some love too! Take care, and congrats again!!

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  9. This made me cry. So beautifully written and full of love. And she is seriously so beautiful!! I am so happy for you!! Also, hang in there with Mac, the same stuff happened when we brought home our second. Everyone finds their new normal and it all works out.

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  10. She is so beautiful!!! Those photos are fantastic!!!

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  11. She is simply beautiful. I loved this post...the pictures capture her innocent nature, but the words speak to me!! I know we went through the same thing with our boys as babies...constant crying for no reason and no clue how to even survive another day. Somehow, we did, and look at YOU now!!! You have TWO beautiful babies and now it seems like a piece of cake. ;) I think Mac was just preparing you for more sweet, lovable babies. :) xoxoxo

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  12. She's so beautiful and so glad things are going so well - and I agree with everyone else - I think she does look like Mac!

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  13. Love love this! She is a cutie!! :) so happy things are going well. I feel like this is a glimpse into my future since my babies will be the same ages apart and we found out it's a girl this time!!

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  14. She's precious, and while I know you might be getting annoyed with comparison, she definitely is a member of your family (meaning she looks like her brother) but I love when siblings resemble each other. Obviously they aren't the same person, but so adorable to have two cute kids! Love that things are going smoothly (mostly) I hope Mac come around. Ashlynn was pretty good (may have been a girl thing, wanting to play "mommy") but she did have have some attention probs, wanted to be carried more, etc. I really think having her be as included as we could helped, but that may just be an inherent girl vs boy thing. She'd help get diapers, wipes, throw away trash, blankets, etc. We also would have her wrap up and sing to her baby. Maybe have him play daddy to his teddy bear?

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  15. Mim is an absolute doll.... You are one lucky mama! Sound like things are going great and I'm sure it will get easier each week with Mac as he will figure out she's here for good;)

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  16. What a blessing that she is a good eater! Takes a lot of stress off! She's so beautiful!

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  17. She is so sweet! I'm glad all is going well. :-)

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  18. Awww, precious baby girl. I love the last picture of her with the puppers, very cute. :)

    Mandie ~ http://badbrewpack.blogspot.com/

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  19. omg is she just a prettier version of your hubby or what?? (sorry hubs!) and do you print your blog posts? if so, how??

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  20. Oh my gosh, she is just beautiful!

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  21. she is so perfect and so beautiful! i love this update...and I'm also terrified of it at the same time...only 17 more weeks until I have a precious baby in my arms as well! all of those differences make me excited and nervous all at the same time!

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  22. she really is an exceptionally beautiful baby! congratulations!

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  23. its a good thing i'm pregnant. because she's cute enough to give anyone a bad case of baby fever!!

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  24. I was just thinking about you and wondering how it was going -- so glad it's going well! She is just precious and I have faith that Mac will start to adjust to all of the changes really soon. Good work, mama!

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  25. Awww soo happy for you!! My daughter is a very easy going baby, so I'm scared to have a 2nd one, I know he/she can only be trouble :)

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  26. She is just gorgeous. Makes me so excited to meet my own baby girl in these next couple of weeks. :)

    The transition from one kid to two was hard for me, I just felt I was not mentally prepared for how much harder two would be! And I think the toddler who had a hard time adjusting was what made it so challenging. So I feel ya there, for sure!

    Hate that feeling of dread on maternity leave, knowing how fast it goes and that you'll soon be back to work! But just try to soak it all in and not think about it for as long as possible! Easier said than done, of course.

    Congrats again on your baby girl!

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  27. She is beautiful! She really does look exactly like Mac in some of these photos, but in others you can see differences... so cute.

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  28. She is just delicious little newborn!! She does look a lot like Mac as a baby! Sounds like you all are doing well with the transition- glad to hear she's an easy baby :)

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  29. She's GORGEOUS, Sara! So so pretty and sweet! Congratulations again!

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  30. oh man, this was so beautiful!!! Teary the whole time. So sweet. My gosh she is a dream! Fingers crossed it stays that way forever. I think I'd have to remind myself a lot that #2 isn't #1 so try not to think they'd want/need the same things - like the white noise etc. She is so so beautiful!

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  31. She's such a cutie! Love that she's being "easier" on your (you know as easy as a newborn can be)! Also happy BF is going well for you - I remember your post in the BF diaries and all you went through with mac! Glad the 2nd time around is better so far! Keep sharing those cute photos of that little girl!

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