Lately

Betty is nuzzled into my chest, Clara is napping, and I've got one hand to type with... so why not update the blog?

We are all still adjusting to life as a family of four, but I think it's going pretty well.  Betty is still a super sleepy little baby, but I've decided to stop worrying about that and just roll with it.  At her two week appointment (at 11 days old) she was back up to her birth weight, so she must be getting enough to eat. She still nurses in short spurts - usually 7-12 minutes total - but I'm pretty sure the milk is more plentiful than it was for Clara.  Betty is so sweet and we all just love her so much.

Clara is an expert at sharing.  Here she told me she was "building a fence" around Betty.

She's also a rock star.

And most recently, a toy-box diver (yes, that is a kix cereal stuck to her bum).  Lately she's into getting every single toy out every day.  I think she wants Betty to be well aware of our current toy inventory.  She probably figures that as the newest and smallest in the family, Betty's got the edge on making any special requests right now.

Last week Clara got a stomach bug.  She was happily playing, then suddenly made a gagging face and said, "I need to go take a nap, right now!" I rocked her for a few minutes before she ran back to the living room to play and a moment later I found her gripping the ottoman with both hands and throwing up everything her little tummy could hold (which is surprisingly a lot).  Five more episodes that morning (and blankets and pairs of pajamas) and I finally called the doctor.  They said not to really worry unless she became extremely lethargic and/or went eight hours without a wet diaper.

We spent the day sipping pedialyte by the teaspoonful and watching Curious George.  At about 8.5 hours without a wet diaper I started to get really worried and the nurse basically said I needed to take her to the ER to get an IV.  Thankfully, I didn't take her advice (Clara was still laughing and playing and had lots of energy) and within an hour she had a wet diaper.  All of this while tending to a one week old baby and a husband that gets home a few hours after bedtime.  I'm considering this my (first?) baptism by fire as a mother of two.

Two days later, the tummy bug struck again in the middle of the night.  Several times.  This time, Spencer was home and gave Clara a blessing and she's been all better ever since.