6 weeks

I’m sorry for my lack of updates lately. It seems like I never get time to sit down on the computer between the kids & house cleaning.

Miss Maddy Grace is now 6 weeks old. I can hardly believe it, it seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital with her. She’s smiling and cooing at us now(especially her mommy) and growing so much. We took her to the doctor shortly before 5 weeks for a goopy eye and she was 10lbs 12oz. The goopy eye turned out to be nothing, or so we hope. It’s a clogged tear duct that should clear up within 3-4 months, if not by a year then she’ll have to go to an eye specialist & possibly have surgery. So we hope it opens up on it’s own! She’s still nursing beautifully and starting to go longer between feedings. The past two nights have been heaven. The first night she slept a 6 ½ hour stretch, and then another 3 hours. Last night we laid down around 9:30 and she only got up at 4:00 before rising for the day at 6:30. The sleep has been beautiful, my friends. She is a total mommy’s girl, though..and loves to sleep on me during the day or be close to me. If I am out of sight, you can bet she’s fussing. She’s co-sleeping with us and I love it, but JP recently brought up this weekend that he thinks she should be weaning into her own crib, or at least bassinet. I’m not ready for it, I like having her close to me.. In the mornings sometimes, JP will take her out so I can catch an extra hour of sleep- I wake up constantly looking for her.

Our vacation was a bit stressful but we had fun. Maddy took her first dip in a pool and really seemed to enjoy herself…it was the only way to stay cool. It was definitely a hot one. Maddy doesn’t seem to travel well..she knows when she’s not at home and it makes her cranky. That coupled with being hot made for a bit of a cranky baby. Gabe absolutely loved being able to run to the park by himself and go down to the pool whenever he wanted(with us, of course).

Life here has been good. I do have to admit we did get in a bit over our heads with this one. I can’t fathom leaving Maddy with anyone else, and JP can’t fathom doing the 12 hour weekends by himself with both kids. The weekly 3-10p every other day won’t be bad, but the weekends will be absolute killer. He is trying to find a job, and we’re hoping the one will pan out. It’s a VERY good wage, enough for us to live on and stash away about $3,000/month in savings. Only downfall is in the beginning it’s about 4 hours away so he would stay out there during the week & come home on the weekends. It would cut down on the family time big time.. But we will both be getting what we want. He really wants to go back to doing what he was doing before, and I really want to stay home. I know 2 kids by myself all week won’t be easy, but I have a GIANT support system here.

Leaving Maddy is just really not an option for me. It breaks my heart. I know she will take it really hard as I’m the only person she takes to really well. And she won’t take a bottle very often, either. JP has tried feeding her a bottle and she just won’t eat. In  6 weeks of her life, I’ve only been away from her for about a total of 40 minutes. Once to run to fax some papers. And for my 6 week checkup, but she was in the waiting room with JP.

He’s a good dad, he really is..we just don’t think he’s ready for 2 kids alone. He’ll admit that he’s not ready and I admit I don’t think he is, either. He panics when Maddy cries, especially if it’s only him with the kids and I’m in the shower or something. He never has been good with babies, he didn’t really start enjoying Gabe until probably 12-18 months. He talks & plays with Maddy but her cares are beyond him, especially with her being a girl. I think he’s changed one diaper.

So that’s our plan.. Trying to find a way for me to stay at home. That or possibly taking the parttime 4-8p M-F if the girl who works it now will trade with me. I don’t know, we’ve got 6 weeks to figure it out. I can’t leave my baby girl. I’ll leave you with this..