The view from here

The view from here is very good.
Life in general is very very good.
It's Josh's last day of paternity leave today and while I will miss having him home. The family naps with all 4 of us snuggled into our bed, the quiet time playing domino's in the middle of the afternoon, the ability to pass the babies back and forth... Still I feel confident that I can handle it alone, which I wasnt sure I would. Plus my mother in law arrives tonight to help out for the next week, so its not like I will be really alone after all.

This week has been bliss, however. Zeke has exceeded all our expectations and so far loves his baby brother to death. Mal has proven to be an extremely happy baby and in 6 days has only had 1 crying fit (due to gas while passing the last of his meconium). I'm trying not to hedge my bets on either of these facts lasting, it has only been a week after all. Ezekiel can grow bored of the big brother role, Malachi can still develop colic.

But still. I will be happy. By day 6 of Zeke's life we had already dealt with IV antibiotics for an infection, a bad latch (that resulted in sometimes an hour of trying before a successful feed and both of us in tears long before that), engorgement and oversupply, nightly gas cramps, and the first signs of his protein allergy (hello projectile vomit). I love Ezekiel. I love him 100 times more now that Mal is born if that's possible and I honestly worry that I will have the connection with my second born that I have developed with my first. But Zeke was a horrible horrible baby. Everything was hard.

With Mal everything has been so soo easy. Which isnt really saying that much, honestly. It's not hard to be a happy baby in this household. I can count on one hand the number of times he has been put down. I am bad about holding babies all day. Josh is even worse. I think Zeke was held for his first 3 months and Mal is looking like he will get the same. We haven't even attempted the bedside bassinet yet and I'm not sure when we will. The sleeping situations around here have always been fluid. The number of people in our bed ranging from 1 to 4 weekly, nightly, and even hourly. Im not even sure when Zeke joined us last night. After Mal's 5 am feeding and before his 7. I just woke up to find him curled next to me.

The view certainly is good.