Baby Sarah Turns 1 month......

Many of you have been asking for more details, so here they are:

Christmas morning we took a break from opening presents with Grandma and Grandpa L for breakfast. Ellie was getting hungry (as were the rest of us) and she was tiring of opening all the presents from so many generous people. Maybe Kristin ate too much puff pastry because as she got up to clear her dish, her water broke!

It was a very snowy and cold Christmas morning as you can see from one of the previous posts. Nevertheless, Kristin wasn't contracting much so she hopped in the shower and then we headed to the hospital. Along the way we were stopped for a short time by a freight train, although to Andy, it probably seemed longer. He was a bit nervous that we would be having a baby on the road. Kristin was 4 cm dilated then, but still not having any strong contractions, so no worries.

The delivery went well. We have no complaints and we're sure you would not appreciate any of the gory details anyway!

Sarah has been a great baby as we have already mentioned. She has been sleeping 3.5-4 hrs at night and seems to have nights and days figured out much better than Ellie did at this time. She has reddish/brown or strawberry blonde hair (depending on the light) and her eyes have more blue in them every day. When she was first born, we thought she looked exactly like Ellie, but there is more of a distinction between them with each passing day. She is less "cheeky" than Ellie, and has two of the cutest dimples! As mentioned before, her hair is darker and so is her skin. She has very long fingers and toes. Sarah does not quite have the head control that we remember Ellie having at this time, but that is because she actually has a neck! Sarah continues to eat well and appears to be getting bigger each week. We can't measure her length because of the harness, but it has had to be adjusted weekly, so that says something! She seems to be doing well in the harness, with the only exceptions being her inability to rid herself of gas efficiently and her boredom with wearing sleep sacks day and night (or maybe it's our boredom, not hers)! As of her last appointment, her R hip is stable and the L was no longer dislocated but was slightly lax. We have an ultrasound this week to asses both hip joints and recheck the L for stability- we'll keep you posted.

Ellie continues to be a wonderful big sister. She is generally very gentle and loving with Sarah. When we pick her up from daycare, she runs right over to see "Baby Sarah," as she affectionately calls her. She likes to try holding her and strokes her face saying "OK, OK" when Sarah is crying. There are also many times that she does not pay attention to Sarah at all, which is fine. She needs her own time, too. Despite her good behavior with Sarah, Ellie has acted out a few times toward Mommy and Daddy. It actually started a little while before Sarah was born. Surely, part of it is the beginning of the dreaded "terrible twos," but it can't be easy to suddenly have to share attention with someone else- even this is improving with each passing day.

Kristin had both girls alone twice this week for the first time. Admittedly, she was terrified and was pretty sure Ellie would hate her by the end of the week. Luckily, both days went very well and it seems they still had fun, even if Kristin couldn't devote all her attention to Ellie right when she needed it. Ellie is still going to daycare at least 3 days/wk which has been good for her. She loves playing with the kids and it keeps her active. It's been too cold to go to the park lately, but once the weather gets warmer, that will change. She was invited to her first birthday party recently and had a blast. Check out the pics of her on the slide. She surprised us and even went down face first!


As far as mommy and daddy time, well, there isn't much of it, but we're doing well. Sure, there have been moments of crankiness, extreme fatigue, and dismay at what we have done to ourselves, but overall, we wouldn't change a thing. We have been blessed with two beautiful daughters and very loving family and friends. Who could ask for more?

And lastly... a big CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to Amy and Giju on the birth of their baby boy Trey. We are so happy for you. And Happy Birthday, Andy!


Slideshow (Click Here)