Pictures!!

Okay, here we are! For everyone who is waiting for pictures of our Precious Pennie Jane.

These pictures are not of her when she was brand new.  I think we do have a few of those, but I'm not sure where they are, and anyway, WHO wants to see pictures of our toilet??

We've pretty much been sitting like this since Sunday, after I got into bed.  She couldn't be sweeter.  I still marvel at how small and delicate she is.  She's almost 2 lbs less than Lucie was at birth.  I sit here and marvel at the shell-like whorls of ears that are smaller than quarters, and as fine as rose petals, and I caress her tiny head and am in awe that it is no bigger than my hand.  My heart thrills at the perfect curve of every minute-sized fingernail.  I smooth my finger over the porcelain softness of her cheek and kiss her sweet nose and I am so thankful that all the waiting and wondering and worrying are over and now, this is the reward I've been chosen to nurture.  

We were so surprised at how small she is.  After all, we were assured that she'd be at least 8 lbs, according to the fact that she wasn't going to be crushed by her sister in the womb, and all of our other babies have been right around the 8 lb mark.  So, she hasn't had any clothes on yet because nothing fits! And the newborn diapers? They're huge.  Not only is she very small, but she's very delicate too, not having any fat on her at all.  The fact of the matter is, my body knew she was a twin, and Olivia probably would have been right around the same size, so she's twin sized.  I love her just the way she is. She's basically no longer than my forearm!

We're both doing well.  She is a really good nurser, although a somewhat sleepy one!! My milk is in, and I remember how I must take it easy on my diet so as to give her little tummy a chance to adjust, so it's a pretty bland diet for me for the first month or so.  She and I will be going to the chiropractor tomorrow to get adjusted and I know that will help her tummy issues clear up.  She's a bit jaundiced so I have been laying her in patches of sunlight (what little there are, as we woke up to snow this morning!) on my bed and nursing every couple of hours.  

I am slowly recovering.  Girls, let me tell you, even though my labor, when it kicked in at 7:30 Sunday morning, wasn't that long, it was INTENSE and tough and my body feels that!! My family has given me leave to lounge in bed like a pampered queen for as long as I want to.  My muscles are sore and I'm pretty tired and weak.  I've decided to live without Tylenol for the duration of the recovery period, due to Pennie's tummy issues.  My family is taking really good care of me.  Can I just say how much I love my bed? A good bed is really important! And can I just say how much my family has been a real Godsend?

So, thanks for being patient with me as I didn't get the pictures up right away.  Dave's going to be off for about 5 weeks and he's taking the opportunity to be attached to his computer, doing important Man of the Farm things.  I just shiver with delight (and I'm serious here!) as I think of having my husband here for that long! I really do look forward to it, mostly because he gets to catch up on things and he'll get some good rest and the kids love it when he's here!! 

Talk to you all soon, and in the meantime, eat some good Mexican food for me, since I won't be doing that for a while! Hasta Luego!!