Two Weeks

What have I been up to the past two and a half weeks? Thanks for asking! I started it out looking like this:

That's me at 39 weeks on the dot. It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon here in Pennsylvania, as you can see. (Our street is so pretty in the fall! I can't get over it.) Then on Tuesday evening I started having contractions and we welcomed this little guy into the world at 3:37 a.m. that night:

Oh! He's so cute. I can't get over him. He's just so tiny and perfect. So pretty much I've spent the past two weeks kissing him and telling him how cute he is. The rest of the time has been spent nursing him and putting out all the emotional fires raging over here. The girls are so completely, crazy in love with their brother, and also so emotional and temperamental from all the changes.

I just love babies. Here he is ready to come home from the hospital . . .

He has been a very alert, content baby so far. He cries to eat and fusses when he gets sleepy (legitimate reasons to cry, I would say), but other than that he's very chill and happy to hang out in my arms or on the floor or whatever. Violet was a pretty intense sleeper from the beginning---she seriously did not open her eyes for five days after that initial wakeful period---so it's been different to have a baby who has been so alert from the beginning. That's how Madeline was too, though.

Oh! I just love his fuzzy dark hair. And his round little cheeks. We were seriously shocked that he was so much bigger than the girls at birth. Madeline was 5 lbs 10 oz and Violet was 6 lbs 10 oz, so when he weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz it was just hard to believe. Especially when you consider that I was pregnant with Violet for nine days longer, and she was still a pound and a half smaller than him! But I was definitely feeling the difference in terms of my pregnancy, I will tell you that. So much more uncomfortable.

This baby has also been absolutely packing on the ounces since he was born. Tonight he weighed in at 9 lbs 8 oz. That's an insane amount of weight to put on in two weeks! But I definitely appreciate a baby being able to grow. It's such a basic function of our bodies, but such a miracle when it works properly.

And look at this! All three of these little people are mine. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

Now please excuse me while I go kiss that baby . . .