I took these photos of Anna on June 22nd (a month ago today) and I am just posting them of my sweet baby girl (I am going with the philosophy that being late is better than not doing it at all)! I just love Anna so much and I am loving this time with her immensely.
I would have to agree with my friend who recently told me, "By the time the third one comes around, you are a pro." Overall (I will admit it was difficult in the very beginning), it has been much easier and more enjoyable for me to take care of my newborn than it was the first two times around.
When Jillian was born I was overly concerned about doing something wrong. Its a little ironic, because I had plenty of experience taking care of other people's babies. I had changed over a thousand diapers (no exaggeration) before having my first child. But the experiences I had babysitting, being a nanny, and working in childcare were VERY different from motherhood. The major reason being that none of those children were mine. When Jillian was a baby and a toddler, I would ask "can I keep you little one?" I just couldn't believe she was mine. I just loved her so much and I couldn't believe God had given her to me.
In my overwhelming love for her, I heeded nearly every warning the doctors gave to me: don't let her sleep with you on the couch; let her cry it out to establish a sleeping pattern; don't let her associate nursing with going to sleep; make sure she sleeps in her crib for all of her naps (there were many times I was the crazy woman on the road trying to get home before my baby fell asleep in her car seat); the list could go on and on.
In time I did find a better balance and I "cheated" on some of the things they told me to do. I really could NOT help it, Jillian was just so sweet and beautiful, I wanted to hold her all the time! But in my experience, I found it extremely stressful trying to do what the well-meaning doctors recommended, instead of trusting myself and relying on the mothering instincts God gave to me.
Then when Faith came along in the UK, I was pressured to do the direct OPPOSITE of what I had been told to do by my American doctors. My midwives advised me to: feed her on demand (whenever she wants it, sometimes more than 15 times a day!!!); co-sleeping is highly recommended; respond to your babies cries immediately; and most definitely, don't use pacifiers- they are called "dummies" in England, I think in an effort to discourage moms from using them! LOL! Also, I struggled with the transition of having two children. I didn't know how to give undivided attention to both of them at the same time (probably because its IMPOSSIBLE). That was really hard for me, because I was trying to re-create what I had given to Jillian to Faith, but the reality was Faith was my second-born, I had another child who needed me too! All that to say, Jillian and Faith are the best of friends now and they do an incredible entertaining themselves a lot of the time! They play with their baby dolls, while I play with Anna! We all have a lot of fun together. :-) Anna is a sweet, content baby! I think she loves having two big sisters to entertain her.
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