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Home From the Hospital

Friday, May 22, 2015

We've almost been home for one week as a family of four and my mind is a little foggy. I mentioned before that I wasn't sure how I could love a new little baby as much as I loved Parker but it really just happens. I am obsessed with all of her little coos, her head full of dark hair, her big bright eyes and the smell of her brand new baby breath! She is an amazing newborn who loves to cuddle, eat and stare at the canvas wraps above our bed in our bedroom. She can take or leave swaddling, hates her bassinet, and somehow calms right down when her big sister is holding her. With each day, I see her personality shine through between naps and I couldn't be more in love.




The same goes for Parker. As soon as we had Quinn and Parker walked into the room to meet her, Matt and I were both blown away with just how BIG she looked and acted. It's almost like she was made to be a big sister. She loves to hold Quinn for about five seconds and is getting used to her cries. The first couple of wails from her baby sister made Parker's face squinch up and you could see a little pinch of panic in her eyes. We taught her how to 'shh shh shh' the baby when she cries and since then she is so attentive and empathetic whenever Quinn has melt downs. We gave Parker a doctors kit when Quinn was born and she loves to take her temperature and listen to her 'heart beep'. We are still taking Parker to school during the days so that I can focus on resting and tend to the needs of a newborn. The best part of the day is when Parker comes home and beelines it straight to 'her' baby. She greets her with a little kiss on the head and usually some sweet whispers and then is on to play with her toys. We have noticed that she has been acting up more often and is testing our patience more regularly. We have also been extremely cautious of the amount of attention we are giving her, which is tons so we credit the tantrums to her age (2) and her interrupted sleep as of late. Overall, she is such an angel and I count my blessings each day for such an amazing little girl. 



When we were first home with Parker as a newborn, I remember having some anxiety around being a parent and the overwhelming responsibility that came so quickly. Although this time around we feel completely comfortable and confident in raising another baby, it's the attention balancing act that I really struggled with in the beginning of this week. When we were in the hospital, we had family jump in to help us with Parker and although I'm not sure what I would have done otherwise, I struggled with the fact that I was missing out on those few days with my girl. I was getting pictures of how happy she was and all the fun she was having, but my hormones got the best of me and I had some serious guilt that I couldn't be there sharing the fun with her. Our first couple days home, Matt took her on a lot of fun mini trips out to lunch, to the store, and did all the bathing, bed time stories, etc. so that I could rest with Quinn, and I'd find myself at night so upset that I hadn't seen her much during the day. Since then I went back to my normal routine of giving her her baths and hanging out with her after school talking about her day, and that seems to be the cure. 




In other news, breastfeeding has been going extremely well which is a huge relief as we had some struggles with Parker when she was a baby. Quinn eats every 1.5 - 2 hours regularly during the day and about every 4 at night. I am dealing with some overproduction which makes even putting on deodorant painful, but I am hoping it subsides in the next couple days. 


I feel like I am leaving out a thousand other amazing details from this first week, which is highly probable given my new sleeping schedule. All in all we are so happy to be home as a family of four and Quinn has been the perfect addition to our family. Thank you all for your well wishes and kind words around our little girl. We can't wait to share the fun adventures to come with all of you.

Introducing Quinn Nellie

Sunday, May 17, 2015
I wanted to thank all of you who reached out to us sending love over the birth of our baby girl! Quinn Nellie was born on May 15th at 6:16am. She weighed 8 lb. 4 oz. at birth and has brought an explosion of love to our family of four that I never thought possible. Although these past couple of days have been an adjustment and bring with it some serious sleep deprivation, watching Parker love on her little makes it all worth it. I am just so proud to be these girls' mama. Below are a few of my favorite pictures so far. I post most of my pictures on Instagram so make sure to follow along to get the latest on what our little family is up to (@kerilululouise)!








 
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