Hair today, gone tomorrow

Evie, 5 days old

Cora, 1 day old

It's official!  Evie is a big sister.  Caroline Rose Daly (Cora, for short) was born on 10/5/14 at 2:32pm.  Just when Evie finally got some hair, we gave birth to another baldy.  But, we still think she's pretty cute.




Cora's birth felt like it took forever to get here.  4 weeks before she was born, I had a doctor tell me it would be "any day now".  We called Will's parents and had them pack their bags.  We gave my aunts and uncles the heads up, since they were our planned caretakers for Evie during the hospital stay.  And then we waited.  It felt like forever. 
Every night I'd go to bed thinking "okay. This is IT! She's on her way. I just know it!"  I'd toss and turn and think every little ache or pain was a possible contraction.  I texted Aunt Debbie at least 5 different days to say "keeping you posted. Just had a contraction!" And then nothing.  I felt trapped in my own body.  Near the end it felt like I was stir crazy and couldn't do anything to solve it.

Finally, on Oct 4th things felt a little different.  The on-call duty of aunts and uncles had switched back to Chuck and Mary Beth, with Chuck having returned from China only a few days earlier.  I let them know it seemed she might be on the way, but that I'd keep them posted.  We all went to bed that night not sure what might happen.  4am on Oct 5th, I had my first real signs of labor.  We waited until 5am to start letting people know, and then the day got on its way.  Chuck and Mary Beth arrived, expecting we'd be on our way to the hospital shortly. But, we planned to labor at home as long as possible. So they got a bit of a show with me having fairly intense

contractions on the floor of the kitchen or out front of our house when I mistakenly got into the car, thinking I'd be taking Evie to her friends

Photo from the party we missed

2nd birthday party.  When our doula arrived, Will and I thought we were steps from leaving for the hospital.  She let us know that sadly I was only 3 centimeters, and so she could either come back in an hour or help us speed things along.  We chose the ladder.  And boy did things speed up.  After only an hour of her being there guiding Will to lift and gently push my belly through each contraction, it became apparent we needed to get in the car immediately.  Thankfully the hospital was only 5 minutes away.  Driving there during the day was such an interesting experience.  Seeing traffic and sunlight and trees and people gave me perspective that this was just like any other day, and that I could get through the contractions.  When we drove to the hospital with Evie, it was 2am and pitch black, no signs of life, and 20 minutes of potholes.  What a world of difference this was.

We arrived and found I was between 7-8 centimeters!  Cause for celebration.  Cora would be here shortly.  I used my hypnobirthing techniques for about 40 minutes to keep calm and then said I was ready to push.  Turns out I was right.  Cora was born 5 minutes later.  6 lbs 15 oz.  She was a little bruised from the speedy delivery, but otherwise perfectly healthy.  Nursing came more easily the second time around, and best of all I had no complications!  As eager as we had been to get to the hospital for the last 4 weeks, we were ready to go home only a few hours after Cora's birth.  They made us stay 24 hours, but we were out the door pretty soon thereafter.

Since coming home, we've all been adjusting.  I didn't sleep much the last two months of pregnancy, so the late night nursing sessions aren't bothering me that much.  It feels nice to have my lovely snuggly little girl to cozy up to while I'm awake.  Much better than some over stuffed pregnancy pillow... That said, I'm still exhausted and so completely grateful to have Bill and Kathy here helping out.  I have no idea how I'll be able to fit in cooking and cleaning along with constant nursing, spending quality time with Evie, errands, trying to get some sleep, and maybe even a shower.  But, I'm not the first person in the world to have more than one child, so I know it'll work itself out somehow.

Evie seems mostly happy to be a big sister, though she's struggling with sharing the attention of Will and me.  Cora is of course held a lot, so Evie is constantly asking to be picked up.  She knows not eating her meals gets attention, so she seems to be on a hunger strike.  She's throwing quite a few more tantrums than we're used to.  And she is really pretty mean to Will, Bill, and Kathy when it seems mom is the only person that'll do for whatever the situation is.  All that said, she is incredibly sweet to Cora.  She loves to hold her, and gently pat her back, to help change her diaper and kiss her cheeks and forehead.  When Cora cries, Evie usually says "shhh.  It's okay baby sister!" (though sometimes she says "No! No crying!").  She offers to share toys with her, but is not so keen on sharing her former baby blankets.  But as much as she's having to adjust, she is still often her sweet funny self.  She still gives us huge hugs and likes to help around the house.  She continues to do well in school and to be excited to go.  She's getting a bit spoiled with the influx of gifts to the house (and isn't she lucky so many people have thought of her along with Cora?), but that will die down soon enough.  And, I think the packages are a nice distraction from the reality of how much time is spent on Cora that used to be exclusively hers.

Being a mom of two girls makes me miss my own parents all the more.  I wish they could be here to see us grow as a family.  I have so much to say to them and would be so grateful to also hear their words of wisdom or stories of raising Becca and me.  So, often I find myself talking to them when I'm up late with Cora.  I hope wherever they are, they're looking down and proud of the parents Will and I have become, and of the little family we're building.