MANY things to be thankful for

Oh my goodness. Looking back over the past few days, I have many, many people and things to be thankful for. I was so so nervous about the upcoming birth of the baby, mainly because I really like having a "schedule" and knowing when things are going to happen. Leaving it up to chance doesn't sit very well with me.

With Trevor's birth, I was completely caught off guard. He came early, and the labor was fast. However, I wasn't sure if I would be blessed a second time. I THOUGHT that it was one thing I could count on, in terms of comparisons between the two pregnancies, but that would be the ONLY thing that was similar between the two of them. So I was starting to wonder if the labors would be similar. And if it wasn't, would I still be able to go without any pain medication? The decision was taken out of my hands with Trevor, but if it was given to me, would I still say "no thanks?"

Well, anyway....no problems there. I'm very thankful, that while I did cut it WAY too close, I still did not have to decide for or against pain medication. They were even joking with me in the L&D room afterwards that they had to ask me all these questions like "do you have any allergies?" after the birth because there wasn't enough time beforehand.

Now, I need to take a few moments to be EXTRA EXTRA thankful for the wonderful husband and new daddy that accompanied me through this pregnancy and delivery. Now I don't want to make it sound like he wasn't helpful with Trevor - oh he was. But I think he did a much better job of preparing for this one than I did. That or the fact that it wasn't in the middle of a sleepless night when I delivered Gwen that he was much more well rested and on top of everything that needed to be done. He has and continues to change almost all diapers, be a "baby walker" although Gwen needs it MUCH less than Trevor did, plus taking care of household duties and just is so attentive to making sure that I can take care of Gwen like she needs to be. It makes me wonder how single moms do it. I don't even like thinking of it.

We had a home care nurse visit today, and she mentioned that I am not to do any vacuuming, laundry, or grocery shopping for 2 weeks. (Truth be told I'd already done laundry...oops...I did fess up though) Yikes! And how would I be able to accomplish this without both Russ and my family stopping by, making sure everything is going smoothly. Next on this list are all the people that have already or are planning on stopping over to help keep me sane and relaxed. I remember last time being very out-of-it. I'm sure a lot of it was because it was my first baby, not knowing what to expect and getting little-to-no sleep. But I sure missed the adult interaction. This time around, I'm getting a lot more sleep, and able to accept a lot more help from anyone that offers it. THANK YOU to all my friends and family for helping me through this transition. I am so lucky to have all of you, and so near by as well.

Russ and I were already able to have a dinner conversation after Trevor was done with his food. I never would have thought it possible within a week of the new baby, but I'll take it! Looking back over how we got to where we are today, although maybe a year ago, I was so frustrated by how things were not turning out how I thought they should, I now have the ability to look back and say that everything really has turned out how it should. We have a beautiful, healthy baby girl and an almost-4 year-old that is the perfect age to take it all in, and help us out without being a danger to his baby sister. Plus, although Gwen's pregnancy was much more worrisome for me, everything since then has made me so thankful that I had Trevor first. And funny thing was, he was a pretty easy baby. He didn't cry a lot, but he was a lot tougher to put to sleep, and he ate all the time. Even now, he is a very laid back child. As long as he is given advance warning, he adjusts well. Although compared to how Gwen is already acting, Trevor probably would be seen as a kid that doesn't adjust well. This girl is SO easy-going. I'm looking forward to seeing what she is capable of doing when she gets out of the sleeping-all-the-time phase.

Oh, and I think we saw glimmers of dimples on both cheeks today. We were wondering if we were going to have a child with dimples given that both parents have them. But when Trevor only has one, I guess anything is possible. We'll keep you updated on the "dimple" watch. In the mean time, enjoy a few more pictures we snapped the other day.