The First Few as a Family of Four

She's here and she is perfect!

Kensington Kay Moses
January 19, 2011
6 lbs 8 oz
19.5 inches

*disclaimer* all I have right now as far as pictures go are the ones I snapped with my iphone. Of course there will be more/better pictures to come later.



Last Wednesday I dropped off Anslee at school and headed to my last prenatal check up. I weighed in, sighed at the fact that I had a 20 lbs minimum to lose after this baby was born. The Doctor came in and I told him how I had been seeing stars randomly. He then noticed my blood pressure was higher than usual (but nothing to worry about). Then the nurse let him know they found a small amount of protein in my urine. This prompted him to do a quick sonogram to check on baby. What would you know, low fluid levels. The doctor noted how he thought she would be not much more than 5 lbs. This was the same issue I had with Anslee, but this time I was able to carry for 2 weeks longer. We then decided that later that evening we would have a baby.

A repeat C-section later, we had a sweet girl that surprised us by being a little bigger than we expected!

Life is so sweet. What did I have to be nervous about? Our family could not be happier. Now, of course, I can't imagine life without our little Kens!

Here is a summary of our first week:

We left the hospital on Friday mid-afternoon. I was so glad because I wanted to wake up at home with Anslee the next day for her 2nd birthday.

Recovery:
My recovery from surgery has been so great. Yes, of course, I feel some pain and discomfort from time to time. I never felt like I needed to throw up, and I was up and walking 6 hours after surgery.
When I had Anslee, the spinal did not take and I had to be put under general anesthesia. Luckily, the spinal worked like a charm this time and Tyler was able to stay with me during surgery. I had no idea how what type of anesthesia you were given would effect your recovery. When you are put completely under, you have a lot more to recover from. I remember I did not walk for at least 24 hours and I was sick to my stomach and in so much more horrific pain post surgery with Anslee. This time around, it has been smooth sailing. I have needed a lot less pain medication and feel more able and energetic. Thank goodness.

Anslee's adjustment: Child spacing



Anslee seemingly loves her sister! I will say that the adjustment has been smooth, but I think that has mostly to do with Anslee's age. She is 2. I mean, just turned 2. At 2 years, children are so still so egocentric (clearly, nothing in the world takes precedence over HER world and what is going on there). To me, its a great time to bring another one into the home. Anslee recognizes there is a new baby, looks for her, talks to her, tries to interact with her, but has no problem with her taking some of our attention. Kensington will distract Anslee for just a few moments from what she is doing, but then Anslee gets right back to being focused on her own activities. There is no capacity there for jealousy, as moral reasoning is not on Anslee's radar yet...at all. Anslee is very big into being a helper at this age. She thinks its fun to help clean and to help get ready to go places. Its all a game to her, and so we make her being a helper a big deal and its a lot of fun for her.

Routine:

If any of you know my parenting style, you know I am fan of routine. I am certain that any child, with any disposition can succeed when put on a predictable routine. Children take comfort in knowing what happens next. They thrive on a routine. I have watched this happen in my own home, but in many of the homes of my friends as well. I believe that it helps with behavior, sleep, and eating. So, of course, routine is the name of my game with Kensington, starting at 6 days old. We have her eating, staying awake for anywhere from 10-25 minutes (which will increase of course as she gets older) and then napping. That is what we do all day long. In the two days we have done this, we have gotten 5 straight hours of sleep at night and we are all feeling very rested, and baby always has a full tummy.

Nursing:

Praise the Lord! I prayed for about 9 straight months of pregnancy that nursing would work for us this time around. It could not be going any better! Sweet Kensington loves to eat, and she is so good at it! It has really been effortless for me, as she has taken to it so well. I knew breastfeeding would be a challenge, but the Lord has beyond answered my prayers in that it does not seem like a challenge at all. I am enjoying every second of it. I have not pumped yet, and will probably wait as long as possible before doing so. We are feeding every 3 hours during the day, and then at night, when she naturally wakes, we immediately feed.


Tyler:

Oh my word. Can I praise my husband enough? No, I can not! He is a floor mopping, laundry doing, meal preparing, diaper changing, toddler bathing, very busy man. He has been taking care of me in my recovery, feeding Anslee every meal, getting her up and dressed and fed, and taking her to school every Monday and Wednesday. He has kept this house pretty much spotless. He is a better stay at home mom than me. I love him, and truly don't deserve a man like him. I can't believe he has 3 weeks off work to be with us!

I almost titled this post "Life so Sweet" because really, it is. A Family of 4 feels so normal already to us, and we just love our girls. It feels strange to say that I literally feel like I have everything I ever wanted out of life at 27 years old, but today, I do. I feel like the blessing I have in my family is the best gift that God could have ever granted me on this earth.

Life so sweet!