The second child

I was the first child for my mom. There are lots of pictures of me as a baby doing everything from sitting up to laying down. There are pictures of me with my eyes closed and open. There are pictures of me that seem to have been taken because there was simply nothing better to do. And then there is my sister - there are fewer pictures of her, much fewer. But she's the second child.

So I told myself, I would take as many pictures of Abby as I did of Nicholas. Nope. Not even close. I didn't even have the camera around today when Nicholas did the cutest thing - gave Abby a series of kisses on her head. Now I am going to have to account for the lack of pictures of Abby to her when she is an adult. And here I was going to be so much better at this than my mom.

Speaking of Nicholas - he's doing great. After a few days of being a total pain in the butt he seems to have adjusted. It helps that we have adjusted too. We have been making him a bigger priority when Abby is sleeping and dividing the Abby duties when she is awake so Nicholas gets a lot of attention. And we will read to Abby, but let Nicholas sit on the rocker too and pick the book. We also have Abby cheer on Nicholas while he is playing golf outside, riding his bike, or simply being "Super Nicholas!" This has helped Nicholas feel much better about his little sister. He even said "I love Abby" today. It was very cute.

I am recovering well. Not fabulously, but well. The thing about the second c-section is that it is much easier. You already know what to expect and you don't have to recover from 28 hours of labor plus the c-section. I have also avoided a serious staph infection this time, which helps recovery. I feel better because we caught the allergic reaction early so it wasn't as strong and I don't have a multitude of infections at the same time as I am trying to recover from major abdominal surgery. Amazing what a difference that makes.

The stairs in our house are the big problem; along with picking things up. You never realize how much you have to bend over to pick up until you cannot do it any longer. I can finally see the bones in my feet again (the swelling is down) and I cannot bend over to get socks on. I finally could get down on the floor to play with Nicholas, except not really. This is the problem with a c-section. For 6 weeks you don't get to bend down and pick things up. Things like your other child. But we find ways around it. We cuddle, we hug, he sits next to me on the sofa........

All in all the Wunderlich household is adjusting nicely. Now, if only they would synchronize nap schedules. Then we would be great.