Baby Snuggles at Home

Nov 10, 4 days old

Our first ten days together were very cozy. Ben had saved up enough sick leave to take off the entire month of November (you can roll over a couple weeks each year). Reid (and Nell) got sick and missed three of his four school days the first full week we were all home together. So our comfy little house was full all day long, and with the new baby the pace was nice and slow. It really felt like a much needed vacation (since it all took place at home, should I call it a staycation).

Everyone always wonders how the youngest child will react when you add a new baby to the family. We quickly discovered Coraline's reaction: which was to insist on holding "bay-ee" at all times.

Nov 11, 5 days old

Her favorite was to lay down while watching TV and have Mara lay on her belly, snuggling her. Reid also made frequent requests to hold baby. Nell (who has never been much of a snuggler) mothered in her own little way by offering to help with anything Mara needed or running to her to offer comfort as soon as she started fussing.

Ben and I have a nice newborn routine. He stays up and does the night shift (from about 8pm to 2am), and I takeover in the early morning that and let him sleep in until about 9 or 10. The first weekend we had Mara, Grandma Szilagyi came and took the three big kids to Illinois. It was soooooooo nice to just snuggle Mara without any interruption for two solid mornings in a row. I also felt like we both got to catch up on some sleep, since no one was running to re-blanket Coraline after a midnight holler or soothe Nell through a nightmare or feed Reid before the sun comes up. It was just us and our sweet baby.

Nov 12, 6 days old

It was so wonderful.

Reid and Nell must have gotten food poisoning Sunday afternoon or evening because they both threw up early Monday morning. We made couch beds and took it easy, preparing for more illness to come. But they each only had two little incidents back to back, and then after a little rest they were at full energy. 

Nov 14, one week mark!

At about the one week mark Coraline did start to show a bit of jealousy. I took her to Target for some special time with Mom one day and I always made enough room for her to join me while I fed or snuggled Mara. It seemed to go away real quick and she returned to her loving (but still cranky) self quickly. 

Nov 15, 9 days old

 We sure did enjoy our first couple of quiet weeks together as a family of six!

Nov 19, 13 days old