7 Quick Takes, Vol. 62

Linking up with Jen, Friday-style. We'll see if this actually gets finished on Friday. :)

1. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Somehow, this (our awkward/embarasing/totally wish we could forget it slow dancing to Matthew West's "When I Say I Do." We ended the night with an even worse rendition of Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road."):

HA! I don't even have any (terrible, terrible) dancing pictures on my computer, so you get this one instead!

turned into this:

Monkey Face

and this:

Baby Selfie

See how I did that? Linking up with Grace.

2. Overall, things on the baby front are going well. Even though it is hard to judge in the very early sleepy newborn phase, Peter seems like he's going to be a "good" baby. He sleeps well. He eats like a champ. Best of all, he can be soothed pretty easily -- unlike his never not temperamental sister. He's a snuggle bug, so I think that once he wakes up a bit more, he's going to love the ol' Moby while I'm busy chasing Clare. His first go 'round in it yesterday was a big success, so that's hopeful.

Sleepy Newborn

3. Last night, though, was . . . rough . . . to put it mildly. Let's just say that the toddler was up as many times (or more?) than the infant. And that, as a result, Mama didn't exactly get a restful nights' sleep. Yes, I'm going on caffeine today. Why do you ask? (And yes, I should be taking a nap, but I'm dealing with that exhausted but not sleepy feeling.)

Did you know this thing has buttons? (From Monday)

4. Today, meanwhile, has been Charles' first day back at the hospital (and so, the kids' and my first day alone). So far, so good. We're all dressed, fed, and the house hasn't fallen too deeply into disaster. As scary as the first day alone with the kiddos is, I'm actually glad that it has come early both times we've done the new baby gig. Getting through it in the early days gives me a lot of confidence that I can get through it on any day. We can and will find a new normal and settle into a new routine. I just have to be patient. (There's that stinkin' word again.) [Grrr...as soon as I typed that, of course, I got the "my preceptor is keeping me for awhile" phone call. Blah! Still got it . . . just for longer than I'd like!]

Post nap bedhead selfie.

5. And Clare, oh Clare! She's already a great big sister. She's really into showing us Baby Peedow's eyes and socks and mouth, telling us that he's very soft (so true!), and trying to make sure that his paci (that he rarely gets/takes) is readily available. But she's still getting used to our divided attention, which is a challenge. We'll get through it, but it has definitely been the roughest part of the transition.

Paci Patrol

6. I think there is a lot of value in encouraging women to be easy on themselves and their postpartum bodies. God did a great thing with them, and it takes time for the ol' bod to recover and return to its new normal, whatever that might be. Add in sleepless nights, breastfeeding, etc., and well . . . we (not so) shockingly don't exactly bounce back in 2.3 seconds flat. All of which is a preface to my story from our first family trip to Target. In typical second child fashion, we loaded the kids into the minivan and headed out on some errands Wednesday afternoon. We had Clare in the front of the Target cart and the infant seat in the basket. As we were considering our options for wares, a fellow Target patron comes over and comments on how I've "pouched out" and turns to ask Clare if she's going to be a big sister soon, clearly without seeing/processing the infant seat right behind her. So, there you have it. I am miraculously 4-5 months pregnant days after childbirth. I'd also qualify the story as an example of why you should be cautious about assuming women are pregnant. But I digress . . .

7. On that note, I just wanted to echo a hearty "Amen" to almost everything Colleen said in her post this morning. So, basically, this take is a long way of saying, "what she said."

Have a lovely weekend.