Three weeks of awesome

My sweet baby girl is three weeks old today! These last three weeks have been an amazing time of bonding for our family of four. Here's a wrap-up of some of the challenges and successes:

Challenge #1: Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is one of the most natural things a mother can do. Our bodies were designed pretty well to sustain life, but it has NOT come naturally for me. I nursed Jack for 12 months so I thought it would be easier the second time around, but that was wishful thinking. Brooklyn has an incredibly strong suck and did quite a number on my "bottles." There are certain areas of the body that you hope you never see bleed... Not to mention that I developed a mild case of thrush, which basically felt something like this:

Success #1: Breastfeeding

After two weeks of tears, grimacing, and a bit of profanity (sorry Brooklyn!), we made it through! Brooklyn is eating and growing well, and I love knowing that she is getting the best possible nutrition at such a young age. I no longer dread feeding her and look forward to EVERY moment I get to spend with her. Breastfeeding now feels very natural...I was even able to play wii tonight while nursing her!

Challenge #2: Toddler in the house

Whew! Having a 21-month old toddler certainly livens things up a bit! Jack is an energetic boy that loves to explore and destroy. The most challenging part about having two kids is how to keep Jack occupied while trying to take care of Brooklyn. Left to his own devices for too long, he will come up with something very creative to do....which is usually dangerous or destructive. And it doesn't help that we're smack dab in the middle of winter and a wind chill of -38 is just too cold to play outside. By the way, why do we live in Iowa? My mom suggested having a toy that I only let him play with while I'm nursing, so that he has something special to do during that time. He's handled this huge adjustment like a champ, much better than I expected, but I know it's still hard for the little guy.

Success #2: Big boy bed

We moved Jack to a big boy bed last week, and he took to it really well! Some friends from church were getting rid of a twin bed, so we took them up on the offer and moved Jack sooner than we originally planned. I was worried that he would have a hard time going to sleep and then wake up throughout the night (one child getting up every few hours in the night is enough, thank you!). But it has not been a problem at all! He was really excited about the switch, and now we're starting to talk about the baby someday sleeping in his old bed.

Challenge & Success #3: Sleep

When Jack was born, I could sleep whenever he slept, day or night. So while I wasn't getting a full night's sleep, I was able to catch little naps throughout the day. That's not really a possibility this time around. For a little while, Brooklyn's nights and days were turned around, and I was catching about 3 hours of sleep each night. I'm not a very pleasant person when I'm that sleep-deprived! Thankfully, God has been very gracious and I'm able to get more and more sleep each night. And Brooklyn is usually sleeping during Jack's afternoon nap, so I'm often able to catch an hour or two then. This week, she's only been getting up once in the night (around 3 AM) and I've been able to get 6-7 cumulative hours of sleep. It's amazing how much more positive my attitude is with an increase in sleep!

Being is a parent is the hardest and most rewarding thing I've ever done. Having a second child adds new challenges (many that I have yet to discover!), but the joys have also increased exponentially. I love watching my kids grow and discover the world around them. I love seeing Jeremy interact with them....he is such a GREAT daddy! I love dreaming about their futures and ours as a family. And I love soaking in every moment that I have with them.