One week home

One week ago, we arrived home as a family of 7.  We had a tired Daddy, a tired little girl, and the rest of us were in pretty good shape.  We still have a tired Daddy, and now a tired Mommy, but the little girl is quite well rested.  You can see for yourself here in these pictures taken after her nap this morning:

 

It has been an eventful week around here.  Addie met most of her extended family and some friends this past weekend.  On Monday, she went to the pediatrician.  She is a little peanut at 29.5 inches and 21 pounds.  She did great with the exam until it was time for the shots.  And then she had a tb test.  And then bloodwork.  And then an xray.  And then she was DONE!  That is a lot for a little one to experience all in a matter of an hour or so, but she was a trooper. 

On Wednesday, we got up bright and early to drive back to Chicago - this time for an appointment with an orthopedic doctor.  We will be checking in with him again in September and, in the meantime, we have been instructed to get her down and walking as much as possible.  That in itself was a bit difficult.  Up until yesterday, our girl wanted to be held ALL THE TIME.  She did not want to be down at all.  When there are four other children to take care of, that was proving to be a challenge.  So much of a challenge, in fact, that this mama was feeling completely overwhelmed.  After a good cry (or two or five) and a decent night of sleep, I began to feel much better.  I started back to work yesterday and came home to find that John had managed the morning getting the boys to school and taking care of the girls just fine.  As an added bonus, yesterday afternoon our sweet Addie decided that walking might not be so bad after all and has been toddling around happily ever since.  Thank you, Lord!

After a week, here is what I have discovered:

*She loves her bottle.  A lot.  I love to snuggle her while she drinks her bottle. A  lot.

*She loves her siblings.  They love her (though Sena has her moments of uncertainty...)

*She loves her Daddy and, at present, he is her preferred parent.  She is gradually warming up to Mommy.

*She is friendly and a bit of a ham.  It doesn't take much to get a smile out of her.

*She really enjoys toys.

*She is fairly content - we haven't seen a whole lot of fussing out of her unless she is tired or hungry.

*She loves the Ergo. I am hoping that continues since she will begin coming to work with me next week. 

*She is amazingly flexible.  I have to really watch her in the bathtub, because she leans over, with her legs straight out in front of her, and tries to drink the bathwater.  I'm thinking gymnastics might be in her future.

*She is really smart.  At two days home, she was already saying "Dada" "Mama" "ByeBye" and "Nana" (that would be for banana - her favorite food) and she can blow kisses.

It has been so fun getting to know this little girl.  We are gradually figuring out our "new normal" and I am hoping that we can settle into some sort of a routine in the near future.  The biggest challenge so far has been with sleep.  Addie wakes in the night and needs reassurance.  Some nights that is only once, and some nights it is several times.  We are seeing that as she becomes more comfortable with us in the daytime, the night wakings are fewer. 

I still can't quite believe that Addie is HOME and that we have two little girls now...