Baby x 2 is Pretty Freakin' Hard, But....

So, Flora has been with us for 11 glorious days and the adjustment has gone as smoothly as we could have hoped. Adela has embraced her sister (I mean this quite literally) and she has taken to smacking her lips in a faux kissing action every time she catches a glimpse of her. Jealousy seems to be on the back-burner for the time being, because I don't think she fully grasps that this is a child and not just an incredibly demanding toy that her father and I brought home for the three of us to play with.

Flora sleeps a lot. I am trying hard to take advantage of it, but of course, I don't want to sleep when I could be playing with or caring for Adela and this is the fundamental difference between bringing Adela home and bringing Flora home. We were able to lay around and stare blissfully at newborn Addy for hours on end, whereas now, each minute not spent nursing, changing or otherwise trying to comfort Flora, we have to chase, feed, change and entertain the toddling monster. It's hard. Thank god Stefan was able to take off a big chunk of time so that I could heal and recover in the midst of all the seemingly endless childcare.

I had hoped that the migraines that plagued me during pregnancy would have subsided by now, but sadly, they still linger here and wake me from the occasional sleep I do get. I suppose, in light of all our many, many blessings, I should just learn to suck it up. But, alas, it's hard to ignore a pain in one's head that is sometimes so fierce it makes one's toes curl! I have resigned to live with the pain for a while longer so that I can continue to breastfeed Flora and give her the same advantages that Adela had. Unfortunately, they have yet to develop an adequate migraine medication that is safe for breastfeeding and pregnant women.

With that one exception, our life is such an incredibly good one. When I watch Stefan and Adela walk down the street as they head to one of her many scheduled activities, I am moved to tears (thanks, in part, to whopping hormone fluctuations). Then as I think life couldn't be any more wonderful, there is little Flora sleeping peacefully (or looking around bewildered... or screaming her little lungs out), and I know the possibilities for joy are endless. It's such a profoundly beautiful thing to have this time together- the six of us- to savor our good fortune and to imagine all the adventures that lay ahead.