Day six of life as the Faulk Four… and we’re all doing well! My parents have been a huge help during this transition, and knowing that they, along with Wes’ mother who will arrive in August, are available to help with either girl has been a real blessing. I’ve been able to feed Emma while one feeds Ana, pass Emma off to one to go and play with Ana, all while another is doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc, etc. If I always had two other adults at home with me during the day, this parenting thing would be a breeze!

My heroic and brave natural delivery story is neither heroic nor brave. I actually had the long-coveted epidural in my back at 1:30pm, but the doctor was going to wait to put the juice in it until closer to delivery, which we thought was hours away since I was only up to a four. He broke my water at 1:40, and by 1:55, I was telling anyone who would listen that something was HORRIBLY wrong. The doctor checked my progress again, said that I had progressed from a four to a ten in fifteen minutes, and that the only thing horribly wrong with me was that I was having a baby. I was rushed to the delivery room, where there was no time to do anything but push. My brave reaction to this all? To continue moaning about the epidural that I was missing out on. Priorities, you know. (Even with the pain, every minute was worth seeing that beautiful little “old man-like” face scowling up at me after it was done. As the nurses and midwives exclaimed on sight of my gooey little sweetie bear, “Ka-why-ee!” Pretty. I agree! )

Emma is doing very well. She’s really laidback, easily soothed, and has had no trouble nursing. She’s got her days and nights mixed up, but even so, I’m still able to get a few hours of sleep in the early, early mornings. I had forgotten how horrid the diapers are (whew!), but cleaning up someone so little is easy when compared to cleaning up a squirmy, crawling one year old.

Speaking of one year olds, Ana is adjusting well. She’s not too interested in Emma yet, so when someone else shows too much of an interest, she tries her best to direct the attention back to herself. Clapping her hands, squealing gibberish, and starting to walk on her own have proven effective means of making her presence known. Very normal behavior, I’m sure. I fed Emma and handed her off to my mother yesterday morning and spent a couple of hours playing in the floor with Ana, who seemed quite tickled that life was back to normal. (And that Mommy could crawl around on the floor again!) She won’t ever remember life without Emma, but I know it’s important right now to slowly transition her into life with Emma. You other moms will have to give me pointers!

Well, Emma is finally waking up, so I need to go and get her fed. And… whoa. She just totally FILLED a diaper. How can they do that when all they drink is milk!?!