James and Megan

One of the questions I am getting a lot these days is, "How does James like his baby sister?"  My first answer is always that he loves her...usually.  When she cries really hard he gets upset and cries too.  When he would rather have the attention of someone who is holding her, whether it's me, Matt, Gigi, Heidi, or whoever else, he's not her biggest fan.  But usually, he loves her.  He asks to hold her at least once a day.  Sometimes when she starts crying he says, "that's my baby crynin again."  He alerts me every time she cries or spits up.  When she cries and I don't immediately respond he finds a pacifier and gives it to her.  One of the sweetest moments is when he is going to bed and remembers he hasn't given her a kiss goodnight.  He has to find her and kiss her before going to bed.  A few minutes ago he found a giraffe toy in her room.  He brought it into the living room holding it to his chest while rocking and shushing it.  He made sure it was secure in Megan's bouncy chair before going outside to play with daddy.  He remains the sweetest little boy on the face of the Earth.  And I see a glimmer of hope that through all the challenges we will survive this.

Weights

Just a quick update.  When we left the hospital on April 10, Megan weighed 6 lbs 7 oz.  At her appointment 2 days later she was already back to 6 lbs 14 oz.  We had her 2 week appointment yesterday and she weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz.  She's eating well, gaining weight, and overall doing very well.  Still settling into breastfeeding.  It comes with its challenges, but we're getting good advice and getting better every day.  This girl is so strong.  She started lifting her head day one.  She's already trying to roll over.  And check out her tummy time workout:

Is it any wonder her name means strength?  Yes, I'm a little biased, but who wouldn't brag on this little cutie??

My little Easter bunny

I'm sure everyone has heard by now, but here is the official post:

Megan Isabel Wall was born on Sunday, April 8 (her due date and Easter Sunday) at 9:59am.  She weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and was 19 in long.  That's almost 2 lbs less than James weighed at birth.  She is absolutely perfect.  They kept us for 48 hours after birth to watch her for any signs of Group B Strep.  She had no issues, so we came home on Tuesday.  The worst part of the experience for me was of course the needles.  It took 5 tries to get the IV in and 2 times to get the epidural right.  Once we got that done, everything else went smoothly.

Her name:  Matt picked the name Megan which means "strength".  Isabel was my Gran-Gran's (my father's grandmother) middle name.  Isabel means "God's promise".

James loves her already.  He wanted to hold her in the hospital right away and he asks to hold her several times a day.  Every time I let him hold her he tells me to take a picture.  As long as the camera stays close by, I have a feeling we'll have a lot of sibling pictures.  He was so excited when we got home and couldn't tear himself away from her side.  He seemed a little upset with me though.  He didn't want to have anything to do with me.  We're doing better now though.

We had her first appointment with her doctor yesterday.  She lost 7 oz before leaving the hospital and she has already gained it all back.  I guess I'm doing something right.  She is a very good baby.  When she's awake, she's usually content to sit and look around.  She sleeps great right now.  Most times I have to wake her up to eat.

I can't believe she's finally here.  I have to keep reminding myself I had a baby a few days ago.  Matt is staying home to take care of us this week and Gigi will be coming next week.