| | It has been said: A picture is worth a thousand words.
But I say unto you: A picture can mask a thousand words.
Case in point:
Adoring sibling...OR...a little boy in red who has had a very hard week. I was kind of expecting Zachary to get very clingy, but instead he kind of ignored me. Thankfully, he seemed okay with Ian for the most part even though he hardly paid him any attention. I was surprised because he adores babies. He did show up the adjustments by being very, very, very whiny and crying about every. little. thing. Things that would normally not faze him in the least brought loud, inconsolable wails.
Yesterday finally went pretty well and today was even better. The less he has been whining and crying, the more attention he's been paying to Ian. Today he's been asking more to hold him and absolutely smothering him with big, wet kisses.
  
We've been enjoying the newborn calm. At first I thought we had a very laid-back little guy and was looking forward to a calm few months. Ian is a lot more laid-back than Zachary ever was as a newborn. Even though it was Zachary who was three weeks early, it is Ian who fits the newborn eat, sleep, eat, sleep, and cry description. He does know how to make himself be heard, though, and I'm less confident all the time that he'll stay this low maintenance. Anyway, I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
He had several nights when he wouldn't settle for several hours which is why I was so terribly exhausted. He is now getting up every 2-3 hrs. to eat, but at least most of the time he'll go back to sleep right away.
Ian got to looking so tiny (like in the picture above) and was wearing preemie outfits. He's starting to get a little chubbier again. I can't believe how he props himself up on my shoulder and lifts his head up to look around. Do all newborns do that?
Zachary often says, "He's so cute!" and, "I want to see that child eating." Every time Ian starts crying, Zachary lets me know that, "I think Baby Ian wants to be fed. I want you to feed him because he's hungry."...which is pretty much true.
I have been super, superbly spoiled by having my friend Julie here this week. She had helped me both when we did foster care and after Zachary was born, and had told me she'd like to come help me again if I had another baby. I was so happy that she still was available to come...especially since my mom couldn't come right away like we had been hoping due to my grandpa having a heart attack. Julie has been such a lifesaver--she's super good with babies, so helpful with Zachary and takes care of all the house stuff that would be piling up, not to mention I get uninterrupted naps because of her. She'll be here through the next week, yet.
I am amazed at how I have been able to enjoy Ian so, so much! Zachary's newborn stage was difficult to the point that I was dreading these first few weeks. I really felt like I was missing out because I hear so many moms talk about how much they love the first newborn weeks. Now, I feel like I'm in the club--savoring every minute, holding him longer than I'd need to at night just because he's so sweet I can't lay him down, sure there are never too many kisses for those soft cheeks. Not to say I haven't cried in the middle of exhaustion, but all in all I am so in love and would never choose to trade these days.
 I already had my first taste of this mommy-adoration in the first moments after Ian's birth. I looked at him and thought--"You are worth every bit of this!" The thought really shocked me (first of all because it's so cliche). I started thinking--that long, hard pregnancy? The birth, the pain...? But my heart still said yes.
One week old--
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| | Posted 6/13/2009 10:13 PM - 162 Views - 30 eProps - 17 comments
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