As August Turns to September...

Sibling Love

 August has flown by, in a spinning vortex of newborn days- nursing round the clock, sleeping in nap size portions, chasing and reading piles of books with my two year old, trying to get her outside while the days are still sunny despite being tired and cluster feedings and toting little man along with us.

So good, so full, so exhausting.

I love it, I really do. Though I admit I'll love it more when I can regularly get more than 2-3 hour stretches of sleep at a time :).

Still happy as a big sister :)

Meanwhile, I've missed this space, and the opportunity it affords me to be creative and connect with other kindred spirits.

I've been gearing up for September in the little snatches of time this season allows.

I've been thinking a lot about my two year old- training her, developing routines, and easing her into big-sisterhood. Be prepared for a handful of posts on toddler-hood!

I've also been contemplating babies and birth. Things I've learned this time around, things I wish I'd known before having a natural birth, a vbac, adding a second kiddo to the bunch, etc. More on that to come.

<3 Love <3 this face!

Thank you for sticking around :). Until September,

Rachel

Announcing the Arrival of "W"...

As I'm sure many of you have guessed, this place has been silent due to the arrival of our sweet little boy. "W" was born on July 30th at 6:30 in the morning after four {quick and intense} hours of labor. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. {a whopping 5 pounds heavier than big sister!}, and was 19" long.

Postpartum has been a very different experience for me this time around! S was 13 weeks early, W was 5 days early. S was delivered by emergency c-section, W was a successful vbac. S stayed in the hospital for two months, W stayed for a mere 30 hours. With S I exclusively pumped, and W has been a champion nurser.

I look forward to sharing more of the details {who doesn't love a good birth story?} sometime in the near future. Right now I'm just trying to recover, enjoy my babes, and get caught up on sleep {ha ha} and life in general.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and prayers during my pregnancy! We have been so blessed to see how the Lord has worked.

A few big answers to prayer worth noting:

*W came just in time to see my Dad and Mom before they had to head out of town
*Labor was quick, and I managed to stay drug free, even in a highly managed hospital setting
*A successful vbac!
*A healthy, happy baby who eats well and sleeps well
*S adores her baby brother... she can't stop smooching the poor guy :)

 I apologize for my tardiness in sharing our big news! Things have been a little hectic, and I'm finding that when I do have free time, I need to sleep ;). Until next time,

Rachel