Coming Home

Last night could not have gone better. I am realistic and I know that there will be many, many hard times to come. However, I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. We had an amazing first night with Emma at home and I am so thankful for it. When I say amazing, it wasn't perfect. There were a couple of moments when I got a bit nervous and one where I wanted to cry, but it was overall very peaceful and the very fact that we were bringing our children home together was surreal and incredible. And other than that, it all went surprisingly smoothly.

M's mom had Will while we were in the hospital and brought him down to us right before discharge for the big introduction. We had gone together with Will to buy Emma a present before she was born and then we had Gramma wrap it with him before they came.

The meeting itself was pretty precious. He was uncertain but sweet and very glad to get hugs from me and Daddy, then both of us again. He gave Emma a kiss, told her he loved her, and then wanted to play with the remote for the hospital bed - LOL! It went pretty much as I expected. For the most part, he ignores her and continues on as he did before. But when she cries, he will bring her a little toy is he is playing with or a binky all on his own, no urging from us.

Things got a bit hectic with discharge but we were on our way home soon. We had Will show Emma all around the house, including her room, his room, and their bathroom as tour highlights. Then M took Will to the park and to pick up my prescriptions while I fed Emma and took a nap. M's mom got here a bit later after a stop at the store (and to give us a bit of family time alone). She settled in, making dinner and putting some things away while I rested.

Will has definitely been more defiant and disagreeable at moments, but I expected that. Right now, we are just trying to be as patient and consistent as possible. Of course, this is a bit easier said than done at times, and I know it's only going to get more challenging, especially if we let things slide right now. We are trying to still be firm with him, but also compassionate, knowing that he's had a lot of changes and things to adjust to. Overall, I'd say he is adjusting exactly as one would expect an almost-two-year-old to.

We got him in bed, rotated holding the baby as we ate a later dinner, then got "stocked" up for the night ahead. I figured we were in for a doozy as Will went down a bit rough for bedtime and then woke up about an hour later, absolutely distraught and wanting Mommy to "rock rock" him. Of course, I can't lift him, so M had to help. It was kind of heartbreaking to not be able to do exactly what he needed at the the moment he needed it, but we got it figured out.

However, once we were all tucked in for the night, things went. . . amazingly. I have really been relaxing a lot more about everything with her, most especially sleeping. Rather than "fight" having her sleep on her own, as I did with Will from minute one, I am just going with the flow. She slept the first half of the night in our co-sleeper and then in my arms for the rest of the night. I will worry about sleep training and all of that when she is older. For now, everyone getting rest is the priority, so where and how that happens isn't the issue. With her in her co-sleeper, I can just roll over and get her when she whimpers, nurse her, and roll her right back. I was up to feed her several times, but it felt so natural and cuddly. I don't really think I am waking up 100% and still felt rested when I woke up this morning.

Today, we all slept in until around 9. I nursed Emma right ater she nursed and when Will woke up, M went and got him and we spent some time in bed as a family. We unswaddled Emma and let Will touch her tiny fingers and toes. The word that keeps coming to mind is peaceful. It was just exactly as I would have planned it if you could plan a night like this. I plan to tuck this memory away for the nights ahead that don't go quite as smoothly.

M's mom is still here through the evening and made us a nice breakfast. One of my girlfriends stopped by with her little boy and brought some treats for us. We have other friends stopping by this afternoon. It is so lovely to have all of this love and support around us.

Of course, I have more pictures (but the camera is downstairs and I am not) as well as the complete birth story and some other random thoughts to post soon. Thank you for all of the loving comments and well-wishes. They mean so much to our family.