Our 1st Week With Isabella

After a week's hiatus from the blogging world, I'm back. I am happy to annouce that, so far, being a mom of three little ones is not nearly as daunting a task as I anticipated that it would be. Of course, I should have prefaced that by mentioning that my saint of a mother-in-law, Twyla, has been here since Isabella was born, and it is only our first week, afterall. Nevertheless, I am pretty relieved that the positive emotions have been far outweighing the stresses.

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, I arrived at the hospital at 7:30 AM. I had already been having labor contractions (spaced 5 min. apart) for over an hour at that point, so I was more than ready to get started. By the time they were able to get me into a room and start me on the Pitocin, it was 11:30 AM. Both Jake and my sister, Marci, were in the room with me and entertained me and snuck me food (gelato) throughout the process. Initially, I cringed at the idea of having Marci in the room (because I don't like an audience), but she was really supportive and helped pass the time with her conversation and encouragement. Everything seemed to go by pretty fast. I was given my epidural at 2:30 PM (just as things were starting to get a little hairy), and at 6:03 PM, Isabella came into the world with only a push and a half. Towards the end of my labor, the epidural was starting to wear off, so I got to have a taste of what transition might feel like without all the medication. I have to say that my labor was seamless and, really, a great experience. When Isabella was born, she was immediately placed in my arms. I was overjoyed that they did this. When my twins were born, they were so medically fragile that I hardly got a glimpse of them before they were whisked away for hours. Instantly, upon cradling Isabella, I felt a surge of pure love for her. I saw her little arm and thought that it was the most beautiful little arm that I could ever even imagine. I remember saying that I think it was more beautiful and adorable than if it had been whole. As Jake mentioned in his post, Isabella weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 20 in. (which turns out to have been a generous measurement). She is very fair; with a peachy complexion, light brown hair (blonder in front and darker in back), and dark blue eyes. On Monday, Isabella and I were discharged from the hospital, healthy and happy. I was so excited to see Gabe & Ari -- I had really been missing them a lot. When Gabe and Ari saw us, however, their reactions were both pretty surprising. Ariana was elated to meet Isabella. I have never, in my life, seen Ariana so happy for so long as she was right then. She was babbling and squealing and waving the entire time -- never once losing that priceless grin on her face. It was as if Ariana was had long anticipated Isabella's arrival -- as though they were long lost friends reunited. Gabe's reaction was somewhat different. For the first minute or two, Gabriel was very curious about the "baby". After a few moments passed, he had a change of heart. He suddenly burst into an all-out tantrum and decided that he couldn't stand the sight of me or the baby. It just broke my heart. I feared all throughout my pregnancy that he would have difficulty adjusting to a new family member, but I had no idea that it would be this soon. For the next two days, Gabriel had difficulty with eating and going to bed. He was especially clingy with Jake and very distant with me. He made several thwarted attempts at clobbering the baby (or stepping on her while she was getting a diaper change), and he could often be found crying on the floor in a room by himself -- I was tortured. But by today, Gabriel is back to his happy self. He no longer seems to feel as threatened by Isabella's presence and is much more tolerant of her and of me. He only occasionally tries to scare her by screaming (this is how he bullies Ariana, who is afraid of his shrieks), which is a vast improvement from how he was behaving just a few days ago. It certainly doesn't hurt that Grammy (Twyla), Marci, and I have basically doubled his toy arsenal over the last week.

Isabella has made this transitional process as smooth as it can be. She is such a delightful baby (if you know me, you'll know how anxious I am to be typing this because I am supersticious that my luck with turn). Isabella only cries when she is hungry, and it is a rare occurrence even then. She eats and sleeps wonderfully and has been waking every 3 1/2 to 4 hours to eat during the night (about every 3 during the day). It has been so much easier to have this healthy, nursing singleton compared to my previous experience with medically fragile, preemie twins -- seriously, a difference of night and day!

Isabella makes Ari and Gabe look like grown people in comparison to her. Suddenly, my twins have gone from being babies one day to these mature, communicating beings. It makes me realize how quickly time flies and how these precious moments with Isabella will also be so fleeting.

At Isabella's one week appointment last Friday, she weighed 6 lbs. 1 oz. (already just 1 oz. shy of returning to her birthweight). Since then, I have weighed her, and her most recent weight on our home baby scale is 6 lbs. 7 oz. I honestly don't know how I would have ever gotten through this week without the amazing help of my mother-in-law, Twyla. Just like when my twins were born, she has just filled a huge need in our family during these adjustment periods. She does what I call "see a need, fill a need" -- always looking to help with feeding, dressing, and playing with the kids. She is constantly keeping everyone's spirits up with her little songs, her inspirational stories, and her encouraging words. She has a way of bringing uniting the whole family while still validating and supporting each of us as individuals. Jake and I are so grateful to have her in our lives.

Jacob has also been a wonderful help to me. Although some days it comes more easily than others, he picks up all of my slack and helps me without a word of complaint. I was so worried that adding a third baby to our mix would stress him out completely, as he has so much on his plate already, but he has stayed as calm and collected as ever. Jacob has been feeding the kids breakfast and helping with dinners, cleaning up our messes as we make them, and doing baths and bedtime, often singlehandedly. My kids are so lucky to have him for their dad, and I am even luckier to have him for my husband.

Our new nanny, Brooke, has also been a supergirl in our house. Her sweet personality and always eager-to-help attitude have been such a relief for us. She really gives new meaning to the word "respite". My kids love her, and I love how she is so in-touch with their needs. She is always looking for new ways to entertain, educate, and enrich their afternoons.

Honestly, there are not too too many times in my life where I can say that I feel completely at ease. This is why I'm even more pleased to say that now is one of those magical times. I have fallen in love with my baby Isabella, and all is well. Like so many mothers, I am so pleasantly surprised by how much love and room in my heart I have for her, despite the fact that she has to share my love with her two siblings. I am looking foward to the wonderful times there are to come. She is our little Sweetaleet.