Having it to do over again

Awhile back, someone commented on a blog post to ask whether we'd be doing things more or less the same way with Eve that we did with Eden. For the most part, the answer is yes.

Happy Due Date to Eve

It's crazy to think that today is Eve's due date! While I didn't necessarily think I would still be pregnant today, I didn't anticipate having a baby who was nearly 3 weeks old, either. As I mentioned earlier, I kind of got the inkling she would stay put a little longer than Eden, who was born 2 weeks early. Obviously I was wrong about that! On the other hand, when I found out I was pregnant this time around, I had a hard time getting my head around having a baby in May (much the same way I couldn't quite imagine having a baby in July--and didn't). April seemed more appropriate, somehow. And that's when Eve's birthday turned out to be.

Things are going pretty well around here.

Happy Mother's Day!

Having another child, the passage of time, and the graduation of my first baby into the toddler stage have all facilitated the fact that every day, I understand my own mother (and other mothers) a little more. On the one hand, there are little daily trials where I have to remind myself to keep the edge of cynicism out of my voice. On the other hand, as I nurse and snuggle a wonderfully sleepy Eve, or laugh and tickle a shrieking Eden, I'm reminded that the best moments of my life are with these girls. It makes me look back at my own childhood a little differently, and helps me understand why our own parents were so anxious for us to move back nearby, especially once we'd produced a grandchild or two.

What a day this has been; what a rare mood I'm in...

It's been quite a day around here. This morning, Matt and I got up early and left the girls with my mom so that we could drive about 50 minutes from here and look at a medical exam table for my gestating midwifery practice. We were trying to time it so that I could feed Eve and we would be back before she needed to nurse again (she's pretty reliable about eating every 2-1/2 to 3 hours).

Things were going great as we drove down the highway; I had just said to Matt, "This is really a lovely drive when nobody is screaming at you from the backseat." And he had said, "Oh, it is, and it's such a nice day, finally," or something like that. And then suddenly our car's engine cut out and the speedometer dropped to zero.

Settling in

Eve is 11 days old, and of course by now it feels like we've always had her. She's a very easygoing baby so far, and she's even up at night less than I had anticipated--two facts we're grateful for. I'm also incredibly thankful that Eden is turning out to be a doting and proud older sister. She's extremely sweet and loving toward Eve, constantly wanting to give her kisses, hold her, and share her things with her, and has really not acted jealous or anything like that at all. If anything, I'd have to say that Eden's behavior has gotten better since we had Eve. She's really risen to the occasion. Not to say that we don't still have our challenges, like today, when I found myself struggling to keep my patience after repeating, for the 1000th time (today) things like "Keep the sand in the sandbox," and "We only draw on paper." But I try to remind myself that these things are completely appropriate to her age and stage, and not something she's doing to personally drive me insane. I think.

She's here!

Eve Lillian Sullenbrand

7 lbs, 5 oz

Born at or around 11am on April 26, 2011
Everyone feeling well and doing great!

36 week comparison & update

It feels so good to NOT be swollen this time around! I can't speak to why that is--I'd planned to maintain a healthy, low-carb primal diet throughout my third trimester in an effort to keep it at bay, but honestly, that's fallen by the wayside and I'm eating more or less what I feel like eating, pretty much like I did with Eden. But no complaints here! There's also a bit of an angle differential between the pictures, but I think they still confirm my sense that this is a smaller baby than Eden was. Which is just fine--10 lbs, 2 oz leaves plenty of room for downsizing. If this baby follows in her footsteps as far as timing, though, it will be here in less than two weeks! I'm not holding my breath that it will be that soon, but we do have the birth room set up and ready, including inflating the tub--which Eden loves to fool around in.

It's been a challenging couple of weeks around here. Eden is in the midst of some true terrible-2 insanity. Hard-core tantrums are the norm at least several times a day--full-on kicking, screaming, red-faced, sometimes even head-banging-on-the-floor intensity. Sometimes brought on by our unreasonable requests (such as to sit in her chair during dinner or come in from outside) and other times seemingly for no reason at all--like because she woke up in the morning. She does have her pleasant moments in between, but it seems like there's always some raw nerve just waiting to be touched off. I'd like to thing she's getting it out of her system and will be sweet as pie when the baby's born, but that seems like a lot to hope for. At least we have the benefit of four adults in the household (and a few others nearby and more reachable by Skype), because it takes all of everybody's reserves to get through a period like we've had.