First Days at Home

We've been a family of four for 12 days now, and it's going so well! I am so in love with my little family!

We were blessed to have our families come up when Charlie was born--Ryan's parents came and stayed at our house with Abram while we were at the hospital--he loved spending time with his Nana and Papa!! I think he received very special attention, something I'm glad for since he doesn't get our sole attention any more.

Papa Funk and the boys:



On Saturday evening, my parents and sisters came up to visit. It was so good to see them too, though we would have loved their visit to have been longer! My dad and sisters headed back on Sunday afternoon, but my mom stayed with us until Thursday. We were SO grateful for her help! She took care of meals, cleaning, and loving on the boys, so I could rest and love on them too without being overwhelmed by caring for our home. She even took some night shifts holding Charlie so I would be able to get some sleep. We loved having her here!

Grandma and her grandsons:



Abe modeling some pipe cleaner glasses he and Grandma made together:



Me: I ended up getting a bladder infection post-delivery, so between that and just general discomfort, recovery was a little more difficult than it was with Abram. But, with the help of an antibiotic and with each day that passes, I feel more energized and am pretty well back to "normal" now--I'm so thankful for good health! I'm losing baby weight pretty quickly, but my tummy is still rather squishy....I suppose it will take a fair number of sit-ups to get rid of that!

Charlie: His circumcision is healed up, and he lost his umbilical cord stump yesterday. He's already growing so much--I can tell he's longer and more filled out! We're still working on the whole sleep thing though--he sleeps wonderfully by himself throughout the day, but at night, he just wants to be held! I've spent most nights in the chair in the living room holding him so we're both able to get some sleep. Last night though, I tried nestling him tightly in to his Boppy to give him the feeling of being held on all sides (thank you, Erin!!), and he slept all night in his bed (waking to eat of course)! I hope it wasn't just a fluke, but rather a solution that will last for a while! It was nice to sleep next to my hubby again :)

Abram: he has adjusted far better than I had anticipated, save a few tantrums here and there. He is a wonderful big brother, giving Charlie lots of kisses! He's very gentle for the most part, though he doesn't always recognize the potential for harm (like when I laid Charlie on the bed for a moment and Abe began to jump right next to him!). He talks to Charlie all the time and always gets excited when he is awake! My biggest fear/expectation was for him to regress with his potty training, but he's actually doing really well. It seemed to be effective to encourage him to be the big brother and set an example for Charlie, so when Charlie was ready to potty train, Abe would be able to show him how.

A common scene in our home these days:





Ryan: He can't get over the fact that he has two sons now, and having taken a human development course last semester and learning the MULTITUDE of things that could have gone wrong, he is exceedingly thankful for a healthy little boy. He is currently in the midst of his second exam block, and thankfully, the adjustment of another child hasn't negatively impacted his performance. We're looking forward to his SPRING BREAK starting on Friday! It should be a precious time of spending time together as a family.

Our home: Fairly clean, for the most part! There is perhaps a bit more clutter than usual, but I've made myself just be okay with it. The other day, Abe wet his bed, and I stripped the sheets right away, but they laid in a pile on the floor until about noon! Our bed didn't get made until then either. I've found the most chaotic time of day to be mornings, when everyone is up and needing something at the same time! We've been so blessed with meals from church friends, Ryan's classmates, and family sending things up, and this has been so helpful!

And just a few more random photos: