Thankful Thursday - 259

 This week I am thankful for...

1. I am feeling so so so much better. Physically I feel almost normal (I mean other than sleep deprivation and all the other things that go along with normal postpartum recovery). Mentally, I've been getting lots of support and am also feeling better there; I am no longer losing sleep over what happened. It has been a wild couple weeks, but I'm feeling great about where we're at now. The part that scares me is the part where I'm left alone with three kids and a dog! There have been moments of that this week and it's hard - the oldest child is having the hardest time adjusting. 

The big kids were watching (and LOVING) Toy Story, and I was folding laundry. They kept asking me to come sit with them, and I kept saying, "in a minute." Finally Dom said, "Mommy, can you finish folding laundry later and come sit with us?" Yes... yes I can.

There is literally no such thing as personal space. Every time I'm feeding I apparently turn into a magnet and look like I want a child-sized scarf around my neck or something.

Suuuuuurvival mode!

I took Eva and Sherlock for a walk one day, and after a very screamy 15 minutes she finally drifted off to sleep.

These two love their little sister so much. So far they just take out their frustrations on us which is preferred to taking it out on her anyway haha. 

Reminder to future self: If she's not going to sleep in the bassinet and you're solo-parenting, just give up and put her in the wrap MUCH sooner!

*TRIGGER WARNING* - Pregnancy and infant loss
2. Our miracle baby. Eva was born with a true knot in her umbilical cord. At the time she was born, the room got silent and the midwife and doula shared glances and told us about the true knot. Eva was already crying on my chest, so I just looked and said, "Oh, cool!" We had no appreciation for what was truly going on. True knots occur in about 1 of every 2,000 pregnancies. Of these, 11% of them result in a stillbirth. Rick Hansen's daughter shared a few years ago that she lost her baby at 39.5 weeks; this was due to a true knot exactly like Eva's in the umbilical cord. Often, during labour and delivery, as baby drops into the pelvis, the knot can tighten and baby will lose oxygen and won't make it. The fact that Eva was born with no complications is an absolute blessing. They are guessing that her being a bigger baby, and her cord being considered "long", she was somehow able to not tighten the knot any more. It was snug though. So scary. (I'll share a picture of the knot in my birth story blog)

Emilia petting her little sister

Everyone wants a piece of baby Eva

3. Our Doula, Jackie. Jackie, from Blessings & Birth Doula Care was our support person during labour. Really she was my support person leading up to labour and delivery as well, and has been there in the postpartum period too. She got to come meet baby Eva this week as a regular part of follow-up. We chatted about labour and delivery, our second trip to the hospital, and other parts of postpartum life. She was such a blessing to us! I HIGHLY recommend hiring a doula for your first delivery especially, but I'm really grateful we had her for our third as well! 

Eva looks exactly like her big brother here. There's a specific picture I'm thinking of, but I couldn't find it!

4. Our Village. Between our parents, family, friends, and church community, we are so well taken care of. We have had meals, wine, gifts, words of encouragement, etc. showing up constantly. On Monday this week, my mom came and picked up the kids and brought them home for dinner. Dave and I took Eva and Sherlock for a walk in the sun. We came home and transferred her to the bassinet, and enjoyed dinner together with a glass of wine. Eva woke up, so I fed her, and then we watched a show together before the kids got home. Talk about therapy! 

5. David's clients. One of David's clients showed up at our house with a care package the other day. Someone has nailed the "parents of a newborn and two toddlers" care package! Our realtors, Greg & Liz Holmes also send over some delicious gelato!

6. Independent Sleep. With Emilia I started healthy sleep habits right from the beginning, and started helping to facilitate independent sleep more aggressively from 5 weeks on. I've noticed that Eva has a hard time settling to sleep in our arms, won't sleep in a swing, doesn't love the car seat, etc. I decided this week to try facilitating independent sleep and putting herself to sleep. As long as we're able to follow age appropriate wake times (which in her case is no more than an hour) it seems she's pretty determined to go to sleep herself. Maybe I'm rigid, but for me sleep is a TOP priority! This is how my other two are good sleepers, so let's hope it works for Eva too!