Here are some of the pictures from our photo shoot yesterday.  More to come…  

Molly is officially 2 weeks old! And as of last night, she has a belly button! Right on time, her umbilical cord stump fell off. Now she can have real baths instead of sponge baths. Speaking of baths, here she is after a little sponge bath the other day. So far she doesn't like her baths and cries the whole time. Thankfully, they're quick. Of course the water is nice and warm, and I do it in front of the fireplace so she won't get cold, but something about the water on her body surprises her and she gets upset! I'm sure she'll get used to it... There's so much to get used to for a little newborn! So many sights and sounds and experiences... No wonder they sleep so much!


Today my friend Shannon came over and took 2 week old pictures of Molly. She sent me a preview of the pictures, and they're great! I can't wait to share them with you. Shannon is a great photographer if you're ever looking for someone to come to your home (which is much easier than going to a studio when you have small kids). She's very patient, and very creative as well.
Lydia is doing great and has been sweet to her little sister. There was one incident last week when she swatted Molly in the face. Lydia has never been a hitter before. Maybe she learned it from someone at school or at church...or maybe it's something they all just figure out on their own. I was sitting down holding Molly and Lydia tugged on my hand, indicating that she wanted me to get up and play with her. I gently said that I couldn't right then because I was holding her baby sister. Lydia got a pouty look on her face and took both hands and swatted Molly's face. Then, she swatted mine! Molly cried out for a second, but then she went right back to sleep. She was okay. Since she wasn't hurt, I actually felt more sorry for Lydia in that moment. She was obviously struggling with emotion about the new baby and in that particular moment, she resented her. That's so sad, isn't it?? I had to firmly get after her, told her "No" and instructed her to never, ever do that again. I told her how much I love her and suggested she go get a book and Mommy would read it to her. She did, and was fine after that. Other than this one incident, I haven't seen her really act out about the baby. There may be some subtle ways in which she has expressed stress or resentment, but for the most part we've loved on her a ton and she usually responds to Molly sweetly and with a smile. Or, she ignores her. Depends on her mood! She does like to see the ways in which she and Molly are alike. We count Molly's fingers together, and Lydia watches me change Molly's diaper, and today when they were both naked except for their diapers, she thought that was pretty great! And now, Molly has a belly button like Lydia's as well!
I have to say, I think for me the hardest part about bringing baby #2 home has been trying to love and care for both children equally. Not easy, and not possible right now when Molly needs me 24 hours a day. Thankfully Oliver and I are a great team, but I miss not spending the time with Lydia that I'm accustomed to. I miss her, even though I see her every day.

Molly is 9 days old now and SO PRECIOUS! I've gotten an average of about 4 hours of sleep a night since she was born, but most of the time I feel okay. When you're nursing around the clock, trying to also love and care for your toddler where you can, washing clothes and blankets with spit up on them, trying to shower daily, dealing with physical discomfort, etc. there's no time to feel tired. (Yes, I know it sounds like I'm whining, but I think postpartum Mommies are entitled. It's not an easy time, but of course it's a precious time falling in love with your new baby!) Oliver has been wonderful caring for Lydia and our regular chores and loving on Molly, and his Pneumonia is getting better we think. He still sounds awful, but he finished his antibiotics and should be improving.

Lydia appears to be adjusting well to having a new baby in the family. It doesn't bother her to see me hold Molly, and so far there haven't been any conflicts with Lydia wanting my attention while I'm nursing Molly. However...Oliver has been home to distract her and play with when I'm caring for Molly, so we haven't had a true test, yet. I'm obviously still very sleep deprived and I'm supposed to take it easy physically and not lift Lydia or go up and down the stairs too much. So, while I know that soon it will be just me and the girls at home together, I'm not feeling quite ready for that yet! I just know that Molly will need to eat right when Lydia wants me to read her a book, for example, or Molly will need to eat right when I need to take Lydia to school... I guess other Mothers have figured it out before me, and I will too. Grammy and Omi have offered to help a bit with Lydia this week, and then I'll probably be on my own.

As I said, Lydia has been a great big sister so far. The last few weeks though, starting before Molly's arrival, she has been more clingy and wants to be held and carried EVERYwhere. She won't come up the stairs by herself, and won't walk independently to the car, etc. She goes balistic when we challenge her and tell her she has to walk by herself. She used to be so independent, and we're not sure what happened. One theory is that all of our talk about her not being a baby anymore - and being a "big girl" now - has got her regressing a bit. Or, it's just a phase. Not sure.

Lydia likes to reach inside Molly's bed to stroke her head. Very sweet.

After about 60 seconds of enjoying her baby sister this morning, Lydia lost interest. Her flashlight was far more exciting!

Grammy came over to visit Molly this week and I got a couple of great pictures of them together.

Daddy took Lydia outside to play in the snow a little bit yesterday. She liked it for a few minutes, but then realized how cold it was and cried for Oliver to rescue her from it.

That's all for now!

Well, we've been home for 4 days now, and all's well! Molly is a sweet, sweet baby... Absolutely perfect. She had a follow-up visit with her Pediatrician yesterday, and got straight A's across the board. She's eating well (my milk has come in) and she has gained 5 ounces since we left the hospital. (She was born 7 lb 12 oz, and was 7 lb 3 oz when we left the hospital. As of yesterday she was 7 lb 8 oz.) We're totally and completely in love with her. Lydia is doing great, and doesn't seem bothered in any way by our new addition. She likes to watch her move, and shows an interest in her when we invite her to come and look or to gently stroke her head. But if we don't coach her to interact with Molly, she just goes about her business and isn't very interested. I look forward to inviting Lydia to "help" me bathe Molly and change her diapers, or hold her while sitting on the couch, etc...but honestly this week has just been about adjusting in a million ways so we haven't done a lot of that cute stuff yet. All in good time.

Here's Molly today after a little bath. Very alert!




At birth the nurses said her hair was strawberry blond, but I'm not so sure... To me it is definitely light brown. She just has a little on the top, and then it's a bit thicker in the back. Very straight. I look forward to seeing how it continues to grow in. It would be fun for me if she had brown hair, since that's what I had as a little girl (and my older sister had blond hair like Lydia's). She has blue eyes right now, as most babies do... Sometimes I think she looks a little like Lydia, but for the most part I think she has her own look about her. She is definitely bringing back so many memories of when Lydia was a newborn. Sweet, wonderful memories. In fact, I've caught myself calling Molly "Lydia" a few times, because I'm so used to her being my baby.

Overall I'd say we're having a good first week at home. Of course I've hardly had any sleep and I'm dealing with postpartum physical pain and issues that are no fun... and poor Oliver went to the Doctor today and learned that he has Pneumonia! He started antibiotics today and should be much better by Monday. He's been home this week with us (thank goodness), and it would have been impossible without his help. Too bad he can't rest more, being sick, but extra rest just isn't in the cards this week. He's been a trooper, and very supportive.

Welcome Molly Joy Barron!

Born at 1:05 pm on 1-1-2011

Happy New Year to us!!

More details of her birth and Lydia’s introduction as a big sister to come soon (after a few naps, perhaps…).  For now, we couldn’t wait to share some pictures with you. 

Before… 

After…

               

Fast asleep…