October 24 - Happy Family

Greetings bean fans! Luke has been with us for just over a week and we are quickly settling into new routines. I'm happy to report that Julia loves her little brother (she loves to give him kisses and always wants to hold him) and while Amelia gave me a 'really mom? Another one?' look when we brought him home, she has given him plenty of puppy kisses. Our little man LOVES to eat and the first night we were home he ate every hour from about 10pm to 8am...no joke. He sometimes eats for 2H stretches at a time. I've worked diligently the last few days to get him on a 3H feeding schedule and we're pretty much there. Yeah! Sleeping continues to be a huge challenge though. Luke is super snugly and always wants to be held (his favorite position is to curl on up on my chest/stomach and pass out) so my main goal now is to get him to sleep on his own. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, J.D. and I went to our first parent/teacher conference at Julia's school this past week. She is doing GREAT and her teacher said she socializes well with the other kids, loves to learn and is the best listener out of the whole class. Great job Jules! She is also really into bedazzling her arms lately. It is so cute, she will stick fake gemstones all over her arms, simply adorable! (you can see a few of them on her right arm in the above photo where she is holding Luke)

Oh-many of you have asked about the labor process this time around. 100% BETTER! It was a great experience compared to last time. It was just over 12H from the first labor pain to delivery and the hospital was wonderful. We literally walked in and were immediately put in a room. The nurses were fantastic and although I had back labor again (something I don't wish on anyone), the anesthesiologist did an amazing job giving me an "epidural lite" that dulled the back pain but I could still feel the contractions, move my legs, body, etc. Of course, dilating on my own this time was a huge bonus as well! It's funny, other moms tell you "every pregnancy and labor is different" and it is hard to imagine until you go through it-but they were all so right! With Julia, the pregnancy was easy, labor was hard, this time around it was the reverse. Oh well-the most important thing is that we have 2 healthy, amazing kids so it is all worth it in the end! I also think they are the cutest ones in the world...but I'm slightly biased!

And how cute is Luke in his red and white knit hat? We joke he is the Travelocity gnome whenever he has it on!

More pics coming soon, we have a ton already!