November 27, 2011
Dear Kate,
You’ve arrived! And we’re so happy to finally meet you and have you in our lives! You came into this world crying and beautiful right on time on your original due date of October 27th. Your birth was almost a carbon copy of your brother’s, but much faster and MUCH easier. I never imagined the second time could be just as magical as the first, but it was!
You have been such a little trooper putting up with having a big brother. You adore him and reserved your first official smile just for him. I could swear you started smiling at two weeks, but the other day Nicky laid down beside you on your blanket and you gave him an undeniable gummy, beaming smile. I’m not sure why. This is the same creature that loves to tickle your face with his sharp fingernails and kisses you on the lips with his slobbery boogers and does his most ferocious dinosaur roars right in your face and even occasionally his you to get attention. You would think that you might have saved your first smile for the one who has been changing all your poopy diapers and carrying you around non-stop and staying up all night to feed you. I think I can see how this is going to be.
By the end of this month you had gotten yourself on a very good schedule. You go to sleep for the night at 7 pm and usually wake up at 12 and 3 to feed. You are a very dainty thing though and after eating a little bit you fall asleep and nothing can wake you up to eat more. That is, until I put you down. Then you rest for 10-20 minutes – just long enough for me to get back into bed and start to drift off – then you wake up and demand the rest of your meal. The most consistent part of your schedule is that no matter what time your last feeding was, you wake up at 5:30am. Just like your brother. There must be something in your blood, but it’s kind of nice having you both on the same schedule even though I wish that schedule involved sleeping in just a bit longer.
You are turning into as much of a noisy sleeper as you brother was. We had to move you into your own room before you were even two weeks old so that we could all sleep a little better. As soon as you’re stretched out on your back your gas pains really start to kick in and you start grunting, often enough to wake yourself up. Some nights we can’t even put you down at all because you’re so uncomfortable so we end up dozing while we hold you on our chest. I tell you, it does not look easy being a baby with all the turmoil that goes along with learning to deal with gas. Poor thing!
We’re so happy that you are finally here! Our little family feels complete now that you’ve arrived. We love you so much!
Mommy