Updates Galore

Wow what a crazy week!

Ashley is already a week old today! I can't believe how great of a baby she is. She never cries, sleeps all day and even better sleeps during the night! The past 3 nights she has had great hours at night - last night was 1:00-8:00 this morning. Not bad huh. The only issue I have had is that by the time I get all of my stuff wrapped up for the night and nurse her and then pump for the night and then get her to bed, it's 1:00. So somehow I need to figure out a different schedule for myself to get myself in bed sooner. Also, breastfeeding seems to be going well. I wasn't able to get Bennett to try this at all but she has picked it up pretty well. It took a few days and a few days of some bottles but I haven't had to give her one for two days now so I am hoping she is getting enough from me. We had her one week checkup yesterday and her weight was 7 lb. 10 oz. - her birth weight was 7 lb. 12 oz. So we will go back in two weeks for a weight check just to make sure she's gaining from the breastfeeding. So hopefully this keeps going well.

Bennett has been doing really well with Ashley. He likes to throw her diapers away for me and likes to look at her hands and make her hold his fingers. The first days home though were alittle challenging because he wanted me and he also wanted to always be by Ashley and watch everything she was doing. He didn't understand that when I was trying to feed her he couldn't be climbing up on my lap. Being in the hospital those two days was also hard on him and me. I missed him so much and felt kinda bad for what Mike and I had just done to him - he wasn't our baby anymore. And he had a bad night one night and Mike said he had a sad cry for quite awhile and was very clingy to Mike hugging him and stuff. He has really grown up this week and I think he is going to be just fine with Ashley here. Unfortunately though these past two days Bennett has been sick. He's had a fever around 100 and also threw up twice last night. It's been hard to try to keep them separated when he is cuddly and needs help and so does she. Hopefully he is almost over whatever it is he picked up.

My recovery from the delivery has gone amazingly well. I was up and at it right away which is good because of Bennett's needs. I feel like I am not having a problem taking care of two kids - it's just getting stuff done around the house which is suffering alittle bit. Plus I keep looking at the Christmas tree thinking that needs to come down but I just don't know when or how to do that during the day.

Mike has been off of work since last Wednesday but went back to work today. It was great having him home which gave me help if I needed it but it also gave him some time to get things finished up in the basement. He has been great with both of the kids too and was excited to get his "Daddy's Little Girl".

Other than the transition of our new family going on this week, we have also been busy getting the basement remodel wrapped up. David has been a rockstar and has been here every day this week trying to help finish the painting and trim. Then last night since Laura & David were over, Mike and I ran to Menards to pick up the carpeting which will be installed tomorrow. So we are hoping that by early next week it will be ready for us to live in! The only things to do then will be to get new furniture for the family room and move a whole bunch of toys down there. We will be waiting for a few months before we move Bennett down to his new bedroom unless in the next weeks we find that him and Ashley sharing a room doesn't work out. Also the bathroom/laundry room area is going to get tiled floor by Mike but we will probably be waiting a few months for this to get done when things settle down alittle bit. I'll try to post pictures sometime next week to show you the finished product.