She's Heeeere...

Well, there's nothing quite like a newborn in the house to keep a girl from blogging...

On Friday, July 15th, our daughter E made her appearance. She arrived a couple of weeks early, and in a big hurry, at just 5 lbs 6 oz. My labor was only about three and a half hours long. I was one of those women who have natural childbirth because there is no time for anything else (luckily, I had been considering going epidural free anyway, because if that turn of events had taken me any MORE by surprise than it did...wow.). I'm glad I did it. It was great to prove to myself that I could do it, but WOW, was it a miserable and painful experience. I am not one of those women who finds beauty in it. Nosiree. Not enjoyable. But. SO WORTH IT, for my beautiful girl.

The past four weeks have been, as expected, a bit of a rollercoaster. On the upside, I have felt really good physically, aside from some difficulty adjusting my sleep schedule. On the downside, B is NOT happy with me AT ALL. On the upside, I've had a lot of help and support from my mother, my sister and my mother in law. On the downside, it's a new adjustment for B every time someone arrives or leaves. On the upside, B DOES adore his little sister. On the downside, he's had some instances of potty training regression.

But with four weeks under our belts, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I remember when B was born, that the first six weeks were pretty brutal, and then we found our groove.

But even with the brutality, the joy so far outweighs anything else. We are so blessed.