Life with Lydia: Lydia Meets Daddy's Kin

My father, mother, and two of my sisters travelled 13 hours across country to meet Lydia today. It was really nice to get to introduce my little sweetheart to her grandma and grandpa and aunts for the first time. This is my parent's first grand baby, and boy did they seem happy to meet her and welcome her into the family. They brought us gifts of many clothes and the book Mother Goose Tales, and a nice wall hanging with Joy in big letters on it. It was nice to see everyone light up as they met my little bundle of joy. There is something special about my baby Lydia. I feel like her arrival in our family is going to generate a lot of love and closeness for us all, and that makes me really happy. God really knew what He was doing when He sent us Lydia.

I think Lydia's auntie Alicia was excited to meet her.

Thank you to all of you who responded with help and advice for Katie and breastfeeding. We broke out the breast pump tonight and it barely hurt Katie at all. We're planning on pumping for the next few days to give her some time to heal and get back to ground zero. We've discovered that our baby won't explode if fed breast milk from a bottle. Go figure. Now that the pressure for perfection is gone Katie's spirits have risen a great deal. It is a massive relief to us both for that stress to be lifted from her. It's amazing what the right tools and a change of perspective can accomplish. I can't thank y'all enough for your help.

I feel a little selfish / self focused admitting this, but it's been very difficult for me these past few days attempting to support Katie through her pain and fears while also trying to care for Lydia so that mom can focus her attention on what counts. I haven't made time for my usual decompressing activities, and my battery has been running down pretty quickly. I'm really grateful that my family is here for a few days to help share this load with me, and I'm so glad that things are looking up for Katie. I feel weird admitting how hard it has been because when I reflect on the individual tasks I've had to do, it hasn't been that hard. Physically, all I've had to do is change diapers, bounce the baby, swaddle her, and run errands for Katie like prepping simple food and keeping her supplied with water. And while that does wear down the energy stores a little, the hardest things have been emotional. Maintaining a positive and encouraging attitude while my wife was sobbing in pain was difficult! At least it seems like the worst of this particular trial is over.

Those of you with children, what was the hardest part of the first week with your newborn for you?