One month already

Our darling Rosie is a month old already and we love her more and more. She's already giving us the most mischievous smiles and sideways glances that tell me she's got so much personality to share. She eats like a champ and is consequently growing like a weed (she's already up to 9 lbs!), and best of all, she sometimes sleeps! She even slept for a full 5 1/2 hour stretch last night, which Georgie didn't do until she was 3 months old. Her naps are a little sporadic but she'll generally take two or three long naps during the day. That being said, she also likes to be awake, sometimes for ridiculously long stretches. I'm talking two or occasionally even three hours at a time. She is mostly a content baby, especially if she's being held, but definitely and loudly lets us know when something is amiss - this one's already got opinions for sure.

This month has been hard, but not more than we expected and I feel like it's ending on a good note. Figuring out the emotional and physical logistics of how to feed, change, put to sleep, and positively interact with two littles and take care of myself and hopefully have something left to give Tim is the daily, and sometimes insurmountable, challenge with the second child. I've battled lots of mama guilt over losing my patience with Georgie and lots of worry that I'm not holding/cuddling/interacting with Rosie enough. Some days it's been too much, especially after particularly rough nights, and my emotions have been very raw as a consequence. But every time this month got too hard, I reminded myself that things would be different in a day, a week, two weeks. We are moving forward and all I have to do is take it one day and one night at a time. 

And here we are and now I can look back at the last four weeks and say it wasn't so bad. Overall, my recovery was easy and nursing has been pretty straightforward, plus the girls' naps generally overlap for a little while in the afternoons so I can get a little extra rest. I remember that with Georgie, that first month was a constant struggle (see my post about it here) emotionally and physically, and while I've done my fair share of crying (thank you, postpartum hormones) and feeling physically spent, at the end of month one I am feeling almost...capable. Normal. Way less anxious than last time. We still have a long way to go and things will be different in a month - not better, just different - so I am just going to enjoy this feeling while it lasts.

Methinks these two are sisters. What do you think?