Snips and Snails and Pink Pigtails: Life with two is.........

Let's be honest. Life with two is HARD. And so very sweet at the same time. It is the biggest blessing but it is also challenging. I knew it would not be easy but I guess I was not prepared for the ways in which it would challenge me.

Rory is a wonderful baby. She eats well, sleeps well and only truly gets fussy when she has gas. But, what baby doesn't? And Van is the best big brother. He loves to help Rory with her bottle, give her her paci, hang out with her when she is doing her tummy time, kiss her, hold her, and love on her. He wants her around all the time, even while he is playing with all his toys in his room.

So, I can't complain that my two minis are difficult. On the contrary, they are both so laid-back and easy going that besides life's necessities, they are a cake walk.

It's my body and my emotions that are being difficult and making life with two so challenging! We're almost to three weeks here and I've been to the doctor (for myself) three times already!!! Besides the normal and lovely post-partum stuff my body is going through, I woke up over the weekend with a UTI (probably TMI for some of you) and I found out yesterday that what the doctor thought was "allergies" on Sunday turned out to be Bronchitis on Tuesday! So, now I am on two different kinds of antibiotics (taking 4 pills a day), and a cough syrup with hydrocodone!

I have to pump and dump while I am on all these meds so what used to be a 30 minute process at most, has turned into an hour or more event. So instead of getting two hour increments of sleep at night, I am lucky to get one hour of rest! Just one more thing to challenge me. My mantra has become, "I can do this. I can do this." I can do this until Tuesday, I can do this until Tuesday (when I am done with all these drugs!) I really hate pumping........

And my emotions are running all over the place. Hormones are all out of whack and there are moments when I feel like I am about to burst into tears. Tears of love, tears of joy, tears of guilt (more on that later) and tears from feeling overwhelmed.

I was worried before Rory arrived about how I would share my love with her. I worried for not. Because I don't share love with her. My heart doubled in size to include room to love just her. Our house is literally bursting with love. I don't know what we ever did without her.

But I feel guilty for no longer being able to give Van my undivided attention. I am constantly holding Rory, feeding and changing Rory, burping Rory or just rocking her. And he is SO good. He doesn't get jealous or lash out at his baby sister. He does the opposite and tries to take care of her too. Sometimes I feel like I am being pulled into two different directions because a lot of my time is dedicated to taking care of Rory's immediate needs but I want to just sit and play with my little man too.

I am trying my best to do both at the same time. But it's kind of like cooking a big dinner for me. The kind of dinner where you have two to three pots going at the same time and every pot needs to be tended to at different times so they are finished altogether. I am terrible at doing this, I get so overwhelmed and Derek usually has to take over. I hope I am much better at being a mom to my minis than I am at cooking!

But enough about me and my issues.

These past three weeks have gone by in a blur. Thank you to all our family and friends who have brought us dinner or just come for a visit. We are so blessed that Rory is loved by all of you. Here are a few pictures to remember all the sweet moments. Get ready - there are A LOT!