Just slingin' around!

Today I finally got a sling! Actually, I got one a few weeks ago from my sister (thanks Kathi!) but it wasn't the right size. I ran into some difficulty with exchanging it right away because the nearest Target did not carry the same thing. So....I shopped around and talked with others about which sling style they liked the best. The response was pretty strong towards the "ring slings". It is a HUGE piece of fabric with two rings on it. There are so many ways you can carry the baby (and toddlers) in it. The football hold for newborns, an upright position for newborns, on your hip and your back, and a kangaroo pouch. It is pretty neat. There are even online videos for how to use it. Anyhow, that is what I have decided on and we tried it out a little this afternoon and Delaney seemed to like it. She slept quite well in it while I got some laundry going. Here she is for her first ride. (Frances took the picture for me, she is quite the photographer!)

Five Weeks!!! (milestone update)

It is hard to believe but it is true. She turned five weeks old yesterday! We are all adjusting just fine. Life is back to normal (keep in mind that my normal includes having a three year old who doesn't listen well, talks back, and makes messes, along with having lots of laundry backed up and dishes that are not ever done). That said, normal wasn't too hard to reach:) Other than Mitch still being on crutches, life really is going quite well. Delaney has slept in her own room in her crib the last three nights! She will be returning to our room again next week when my sister is in town but otherwise she can stay in her crib. She has done very well in there. Usually allowing me to get to sleep around 10:30 and not having to feed her again until 3:00 and then not again until somewhere between 6 and 8. That is AWESOME!!! And she is doing that all on her back. By this age we put Frances on her tummy as that was what seemed to work. Another great milestone at our house is that Frances is finally going to the bathroom 100% independently in the middle of the night! I still hear her get up but she doesn't ask for help. It is wonderful! Delaney is also starting to smile in response to my voice. She also smiles for her sister.

Updates!

Time sure does fly, whether you are having fun or not! And for the most part we are still having fun. Mitch had his stitches removed and is still recovering from his surgery. He has been on strict orders of no weight on his foot for two weeks now and has four more weeks to go. That is not fun. I know he is as bothered by it as I am. Frances is enjoying being a big sister and really is a good helper. She does some pretty funny things. For instance...when Delaney cries Frances tells me that Delaney is saying (now picture this using a fake baby voice) "I want my milk, I want my milk, I want my milk". Delaney is really growing fast! At four weeks old she weighed in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces, 20 inches. She is eating well and likes to eat every 2-3 hours during the daytime. At night she varies going anywhere from 3 hours to 5 1/2 hours in between feedings. I am just trying to figure out what I do on the days that she goes 5 1/2 so I can make it happen more often! So needless to say, I am not as tired as I could be but I am still tired. Life is not unmanagable but it is harder. It doesn't help any that it is summertime and we just want to be outside all the time. That makes it hard to get the house clean and get supper made. We are so thankful to the many friends that brought us dinners for nearly a month! Here are some pictures!

Sistery love!
Mitch and his dad cleaned the pond and it looks great! You can actually see the fish now!

Grandma and Delaney were supervising!Frances had a lot of fun helping catch and release the fish!
Delaney really enjoys her bath time! Hopefully she will be a fish like her big sister!
Frances has taken a part time job as a dog walker!
Shadow is a favorite!
She is a very proud big sister!

Mitch's foot after surgery
Frances is getting particular about her hair some days. This day she brought me a handful of pony tails and insited that I put them all in!

We finally got our bathroom 100% finished! This is the closet! Thanks to our friend Clinton (he helped tile as well), we got the closet shelves put in. On the bottom is a drawer for storing shoes in individually separated squares.

Update on Mitch

While I was in the hospital with the new baby Mitch returned from a Dr. appointment with a cast. Over the following few days he didn't feel like the cast was helping at all as his foot was still very swollen and hurt pretty badly. Our friend that is a physical therapist didn't think his treatment sounded right either so she highly recommended that he get a second opinion and gave a recommendation for who to see. Turns out Mitch not only broke his foot (two bones across the top) but he also tore up the ligament that goes between the big toe and the next one. They removed the cast that day and scheduled surgery for first thing this morning. He is now home and resting. His foot is a little heavier now as he is carrying three screws with him. He is working on dealing with/managing the pain. So far he is not very pleased with the side effects of his medications but hopefully sleep will help with that. He will be home from work the rest of the week and should be able to return Monday. He will be on crutches with no weight on that foot for 6-8 weeks.

Frances spent the night at a friends house last night since we had to be at surgery so early (twice now in two weeks)! She and her friend had a true sleep over as the two three year olds slept in the same room. They were monitored via a baby monitor and it was supposedly quite the conversation to listen to. They giggled and talked until 10:30! What fun! She really is a big girl now! I bet she will want to do that more often. Anyhow, we are so thankful to have such great friends to help out with Frances while we added a baby to the family and now Mitch's new additions:) Here is a picture of his foot.

The good life!

Well, we spent a week at home with grandma JoJo to help us out and was it good! Delaney enjoyed taking naps with grandma nearly everyday! She is a great snuggler:)We also enjoyed going to a kids carnival at the library on the Fourth of July. Frances had a ton of fun playing the differet games and winning various prizes. Then we went to the parade where Frances got lots of candy! I really enjoy that because she has forgotten about it already:) Delaney slept through it all, even the really loud sirens and horns of the fire trucks and police cars. Finally, we went out on the boat to watch the fireworks. Again, Delaney slept right through all the excitement. Frances really enjoyed watching the fireworks but it was the most fun to do sparklers afterwards while daddy put the boat away!A few other things Frances enjoyed during the week include: opening presents that came for her and Delaney (who knew that the big sister would get so spoiled too?), wearing the new clothes that came in the mail (thank you everyone), playing dress up, going to the pool, going to the "big movies", and going for rides on her tricycle. Frances has finally figured out how to pedal and steer at the same time! That means we can go on the road less traveled out back and ride in the street (since we don't have sidewalks)!

First bath

Delaney's cord fell off in the night but we still opted for the sponge bath this morning. Frances was my big helper and had a good time washing Delaney's feet. There weren't even any unhappy noises during her first "bath".

Delaney had her one week check-up yesterday and surprised all the nurses and doctors by gaining 9 oz in 4 days! Most breatfed babies don't regain their birth weight for 10-14 days! She weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz! The doctor said she looks like a very healthy beautiful baby and we will see them again when she is one month old! Hurray!

Unexpected visitor

Last night our friend Mike dropped in. He used to live in the area and now lives about 4 hours away. He was in town on business and was able to pop in to meet the new baby. His wife was hoping to get up here while I was still in the hospital but it didn't work out. Now he got to see the baby first! Here is a picture!