How we're doing...

This post is just as the title says -- an update on us!

Chris...

Is loving his new job.  EMC is a much better environment than his previous two jobs and I love that he has a job that he is happy to go to!  Of course we miss each other and he misses the kids, but having a good job makes the time apart a little more bearable :).  They have been incredibly generous with time off since we had Declan and just everything about the company so far is great.  He can really see having a long-term career with them, which he hasn't been able to say about a job in several years!

Meghan...

Waited and waited for the horrible C-section recovery I was warned about but it never came and now at more than three weeks postpartum, I think I’m in the clear.  Just two days after my discharge from the hospital, Chris, the kids and I spent an entire day out and about, running errands, visiting friends, etc.  I was walking around for a good 8 hours and I felt fantastic the entire time.  Can’t say that about my recovery with Averie!  I’m below my pre-pregnancy weight and have been back in all my regular clothes again for a couple weeks. 

Chris and I had originally planned to formula-feed Declan from the start as I will be starting my MS medication soon, but I never struggled with nursing Averie and it seemed like such a waste, so I decided to nurse him for a short time.  And I’m almost producing enough for two babies so in 3 weeks, I’ve already built up a freezer stash of over 300 ounces!  Maybe by the time I stop in a few weeks, I’ll have a whole month’s worth of feedings stored!

Averie...

She insisted on holding him all by herself, and did a great job!

Is a great big sister.  Better than I expected since she does have a speech delay and I worried she wouldn’t understand when I had to put her off to tend to Declan.  Sometimes her help is not always so helpful – like a little over-eagerness to get Declan’s bottle in his mouth, or trying to pick him up herself when he is crying (maybe once his neck is a little stronger!) – but I try to remember that she has good intentions.  Thankfully, we haven’t really had more acting out than we had to begin with, so that’s been nice. 

She has just started receiving therapy from Kids On the Move and she is already imitating sounds!  Based on her evaluation scores, her pediatrician does think speech apraxia is a distinct possibility as the cause of her delay.  If that is the case, we probably have a long road ahead of us, but seeing her already start to take off just makes my heart sing and I’m so glad we finally got everything started.

Declan...

Finally beat his nasty case of jaundice.  We didn’t have to resort to the phototherapy lights with him since leaving the hospital (which is nice because Declan sleeps in our room and those bili beds are BRIGHT!), although we did feed formula-only for a weekend on the advice of the pediatrician and that seems to have flushed out the rest of the bilirubin.  He’s already holding his head up for up to a minute at a time!

He loves to sleep which makes Chris and me happy!  One night, he slept nine hours straight!  That one was a fluke because he hasn’t done it again since, but we are regularly getting 6 to 7 hours in a single stretch now, and he’s almost always asleep for at least part of Averie’s nap so I can sleep too, or at least just rest.  

We are loving life as a family of four!