Hopes and Dreams: She's amazing

Things are going well. Ryleigh is an absolutely wonderful baby. She's making things pretty easy for us.

So far she is the best sleeper of the three. Yay! She's been giving me a 3 or 4 hour stretch of sleep almost every night for the past week. We tried the bassinet her first couple nights at home but she was waking up almost hourly. Not good! We tried the carseat last Friday night and she slept for four hours straight! It's been working pretty well, so we're gonna go with it. =)

She loves to eat! Nursing is going well. The first couple weeks are always interesting. Enough said. =)

She is really peaceful and content. It's so new and different for us! Lily had colic and cried A LOT. And Taylor was fine as long as he was being held. I don't get to hold Ryleigh as much as I'd like to simply because there are two other little people to be taken care of! But she does really well propped up in the boppy pillow or in her swing or bouncey seat. I am so grateful for a happy baby!!!

At her 3 day check up she was only down four ounces from her birth weight. And at her two week check up (she won't be two weeks until Tuesday) she weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces - four ounces over her birth weight! Oh, and her cord stump fell off last night.

Taylor is having a hard time. And that's hard for me. He LOVES Ryleigh, but he is letting us know that he's not getting as much attention as he's used to. He's a totally different kid right now. He melts down SO easily. He cries about the smallest things. And he's being naughty - throwing things, antagonizing Lily, etc. It's so unpleasant. Please pray for him as he makes this adjustment to being a big brother. And that we would know how to respond to him.

Lily is an absolutely wonderful big sister - again! She loves Ryleigh and gives her tons of kisses. And she says things like:
How cute is she?!?!
She's so cute!
I'm so happy we have a baby.
We waited a long time for her!
She's a little angel baby. (She gets this from my mom who calls Lily an angel baby.)
Little chubby toes. (She calls Taylor this as well. I have no idea where it came from, and Ryleigh definitely doesn't have chubby toes, but it's a term of endearment.)

She is a wonderful helper and will run and grab anything I need. She's such a trooper and I'm really proud of her.

My recovery is going well. What I say next could qualify as "too much information" so don't read any further if that bothers you!

My back is doing SO MUCH BETTER! It's amazing how much better it felt soon after she was born. My bottom feels fine. I did tear a little and I have a couple stitches, but all that seems to be doing fine. Within a couple days I was feeling really good down there. I pooped the day after she was born and almost every day since! Wah-hoo!

I went for my first post-baby walk the other night with my girls. Lily walked with me as I pushed Ryleigh in the stroller. It felt great! But my legs were a little stiff the next day! It didn't surprise me because of how badly my back hurt the last month of my pregnancy. Some days I could hardly walk.

Andy went back to work on Monday and it's pretty crazy being outnumbered three to one all day long. But I think the first week went pretty well! The days have gone pretty fast and it seems like Andy is home before I know it. I think this summer is going to fly!

So here are a few pictures from the past week or so. Enjoy!

T giving Ryleigh one of many kisses!

Sweet Ryleigh girl. I just love her little hands - they're so delicate and she has long, pretty fingers.

My awesome sister and her wonderful husband came to see us on Monday. It was an unexpected and fabulous surprise!!! They "made" me take a nap and I appreciated it SO much!

I took the kids to the park for a picnic on Tuesday. All by myself. Am I crazy?! It actually went well and they needed to get out of the house.

She has the best smile!

This little slide is perfect for him. He must have gone down the slide 20 times!

Having fun!

Ryleigh's one week birthday

Lily really wanted to make cupcakes this week. One night after T was in bed she and I made them together. The next morning we frosted them and she did the sprinkles. =)

Ta-da!

My mom was here on Wednesday and we picked up Wendy's and headed to the park for lunch. I just have to say here that I have the most amazing mom in the whole world. She is so supportive, so loving and so helpful! She's a delight to be around and I'm SO thankful for all she does. I can't imagine what I'd do without her! She is an incredible grandmother! She's a huge part of my kids' lives and they are blessed to have such an amazing grandma.