wow.....

A lot has happened the past 2 weeks; wow. The most exciting has been the addition of Alden Michael to our family. He was born on 22 May at 1100 weighing in at a mere 7lbs 6oz and 20 inches long. I don't think I'll ever stop being surprised at how small our children are at birth given the size of Mike, and me (let's face it, I'm certainly not the petite little thing I once was, in high school ten+ years ago). He is just beautiful and we love him so. I have definitely forgotten a lot about the first few weeks; baby nursing every 2 hours around the clock (translated into at most, 6 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period), the pain and helplessness associated with a c-section recovery and the return of my migraines, only this time, worse than I've ever experienced (those I have daily). But, when I'm snuggling my little man none of that stuff matters. He's just so sweet. He is definitely a snuggle bug and I have spent quite a few nights with him sleeping on my lap or chest because that's what makes him happy and gives us the most sleep. He is getting better about sleeping by himself, but if given the choice, definitely prefers sleeping on me. He's had some weight gaining issues, which reflect my lack of milk production, again, but since I began complimenting nursings with a little formula, he's gained 8 oz in nearly a week. He still isn't back to his birth weight so we'll have to return to the pediatrician in 2 weeks. Aside from that, he's a healthy little guy.
Mike returned to I a week ago. I don't feel like I've completely come to terms with that, but maybe I don't have much to process. He's gone, that's the way things are. He'll return in 9 months. That's such a long time so I am trying to deal with it on a daily basis. I know I'll be super busy during that time and it should be a seemingly quick nine months, but it's still a long time. He's already back to being as busy as can be and that's the best for him. I know he's struggling with the separation and really hope he'll be able to adjust quickly. The girls have done well with all the chaos and I am truly impressed with how they've handled things.
My in-laws arrived last Tuesday and are leaving early tomorrow morning. They had a good day and a half with Mike and spent the rest of the time here taking care of me and the girls. It was so helpful having them here and the girls connected with them as if gramma and grampa are always around. I love that the girls don't seem to have issues with getting re-acquainted with family they haven't seen in months. They all kept each other busy and were helpful in taxiing me and Alden around, housework, meals, yardwork, etc. My mother is arriving Friday for 5 days and my father will arrive on Monday for 2 weeks. That'll give me about 5 weeks of help and get me almost completely through my 6 week recovery. I am thankful for parents, all of them, being able to be such a blessing to us. Tomorrow I am on my own, and am a tad worried about how that will go, but trust things will run relatively smooth. I haven't had to be responsible for the girls since coming home from the hospital and really hope they'll be in great moods and very helpful. I have a few restrictions that could pose a major issues in caring for them, but I'm sure things will work out just fine. Luckily mom will be here around lunchtime so I won't be on my own too long.
That's about it. I have some photos on our flickr site and I will certainly try to keep both things updated, but understandably may be a bit slow in doing so for now. I appreciate all of your prayers and thoughts during the past couple of weeks and all the excitement and craziness that has come about. I look forward to being able to share our experiences as we add our little man to the mix. But for now, I need some rest. I'll be in touch.