Family of Four

We have officially been a family of 4 for 11 days now. It doesn't seem that it has been almost 2 weeks since Chloe came into our world. We have all had to make adjustments to our lives since her arrival. I've had to get used to nursing again. It seems I'm nursing around the clock. This girl is a great eater! She is an ounce away from her birth weight, which means she's gaining weight like a champ. She has slipped into somewhat of a routine, although I use that term VERY loosely. We all know that babies love to fool you into thinking they are on a 'routine' and then decide to change things up just as soon as you grow to depend on that routine.

But, for now, Chloe is eating a TON during the day, takes a 3 hour long mid day nap (that, of course, never really seems to coincide with Grace's nap) eats a TON in the evening and goes down about 8pm. The past few nights she has gone almost a 5 hour stretch and doesn't wake up till around 2am and then again around 5am for a snack and then is up for good around 8am. This is a huge difference to Grace, who seemed to eat every 2 hours around the clock for several months. I chalk it up to Chloe being so much bigger. Chloe is 60th percentile for weight and 75th for weight. Grace was 25th for both.

Grace has been adjusting as well as can be expected. She has meltdowns multiple times a day which are probably part "terrible two's" and part "Mom brought home a baby who just won't leave". Any little thing will be horribly tragic in the world of Grace. However, she hasn't really acted jealous or been directly upset with Chloe. She LOVES Chloe and loves to hold "her bebe". She has endless kisses for her baby sister, and also enjoys showing Chloe how to play with toys.

Here are a few shots of Grace in Big Sister mode.

Wow, what a difference 26 months makes! Check out that size difference.

Grace and Chloe have been enjoying bath time together the past few days. We fill the tub up for Grace and then plop the baby tub in with Chloe and add a little water. This is a great evening activity for the whole family. Grace thinks it's great to bathe with Chloe and helps wash her feet. This usually results in our newborn being totally covered in soap. Chloe loves her bath and is usually in a great mood during bath time. Afterwards, Grace can play in the baby tub. This is bathtime fun at its best!

Aaron has been home for 2 weeks and gets ready to return to work next week. Sigh. I'll miss him so much! He's been a great help and has been the 'primary parent' for Grace while I've been taking care of Chloe. Divide and conquor! Grace has loved the extra daddy time and has gotten very attached to him.

Luckily, I won't be alone next week. Grandma is coming! Yippee!

That's all from the Gore family of four!