Jen's Journal: The First Two Weeks

It is hard to believe that two weeks ago we were anticipating going into the hospital for our induction and wondering what life was going to be like as a family of four. As I think back over the last two weeks I am slammed with a roller-coaster of emotions. Overall, the transition from one kiddo to two has been pretty easy and smooth. This is greatly due to Lucas being a calm and pretty easy baby. He is the complete opposite of what Nolan was as a baby. He only cries when he is hungry and occasionally when being changed. He has good amounts of awake/alert time where he is perfectly content sitting in his bouncy seat or swing and watching his crazy, high energy brother run around the room. And he sleeps for periods of 2 1/2 to 4 hours at a time...without having to be held. We are definitely getting more sleep in these early days than we did with Nolan, which is good because we have more energy to try and keep up with Nolan.

Nolan has also been doing really well with the transition. He can be quite protective of his little brother and becomes concerned whenever he hears Lucas cry. If Nolan hears Lucas crying he stops what he is doing to run over to Lucas to say "Wucas it's ok...it's ok Wucas." Nolan often asks to hold Lucas and loves helping with diaper changes. It is so sweet to watch Nolan interact with Lucas and I look forward to watching the boys grow-up together.

Probably the hardest part for me has been not being able to spend as much time with Nolan. Kevin has taken on primary responsibility for Nolan since I spend a lot of time feeding Lucas (Lucas is also a BIG eater and gained almost 1 pound in our first week home from the hospital!!), which has definitely been a big help and I think has helped Nolan with the transition because he has continued to get plenty of attention and has been able to have some special trips with daddy and last week with Grandma Sue. Like I said this has enabled me to meet Lucas's needs, however I have also missed being part of the trips to the zoo, children's museum, and today the air show. I know Lucas and I will soon be able to participate in these trips as well but it definitely has been hard not participating in these activities. I have cherished the moments that Nolan and I have shared, including making cookies and cupcakes, and the nights that I have put Nolan to bed have also been very special.