Welcome Home Reid (May 2011)

It was lovely taking my baby home. Really I think having the 2nd baby was so much easier than having your first. I was so much more calm and relaxed and confident. Like I mentioned in my last post, I was in this bubble euphoria at having a baby and it never really popped. It was lovely having a newborn in the house again. 

It was exciting to have Jaren meet his baby brother -this is the same day we got home from the hospital. I love this picture of them because it looks like Reid is even smiling. :) Jaren seemed to like him, although he was unintentionally rough with him a lot. Jaren has always been a big rough and tumble kid and he was just so young when Reid came along (16 months) that it took a long time for him to grow out of that. Hmm...not that he doesn't still hurt Reid now and then, but Reid can hold his own a lot more. His favorite game is to now come and sit on Jaren or wrestle with him. It's nice now that they're both bigger, but it's a bit too adventurous for Reid who still will end up getting hurt if I don't intervene at times.

But they've have become such close buddies and it warms my heart. I think of it as having twins but a lot easier, because I still have a head start learning curve with Jaren being older, and he can help out with a lot with things.

Reid was a lovely baby. He was so great at falling asleep and very quickly settled into a routine. Even from the beginning he was just waking up around 3ish and then 7 ish am to eat. Not too shabby for a newborn. He was healthy and strong and I was recovering well. Varian had a lot of time off work, and family and friends helped us those first few weeks. Things just went smoothly.

It was a bit tricky trying to balance having two babies still, and I did find that Reid was less content not to be held, which was hard and not always possible as I still had to look after Jaren. He was such a tender, sweet and sensitive baby. He loved being snuggled and having a very active Jaren, that was nice to have a baby who would just want to cuddle all day long if I let him.

He was tender hearted. If Jaren would make too loud of a noise or if the phone would ring and I'd reach too suddenly to get it his little lip would quiver and he would burst into tears. He was very shy around strangers and strangers meaning really anyone who wasn't Varian, Jaren or I. If people wanted to hold him as he got older he would get so upset. He was definitely a little mama's boy and it was lovely, at times exhausting, but mostly just sweet.

Even when he was up and crawling he still was so clingy. If I would so much as leave the room, he would throw himself face down on the floor and just sob like the whole world had abandoned him. Varian would always say, "hey, I'm still here..." but to no avail, at least not for a few months. Even now (22 months) it's hard to leave him with a babysitter because he will scream and scream at having to say goodbye. Nursery has not been pretty as you can imagine, but little by little he's getting better at it.

It's interesting to see how babies really come with their own spirits and personalities. This shy tender side was a big contrast to Jaren who was always laughing and hugging strangers and bouncing off the walls. They both are just so delightful though.

Reid has the most darling smile and in the last 6 months or so has really come out of his shell a lot and has developed a bit of a cheeky side, but in an adorable way. He's such a smart kid is so fun to have around. I'm getting ahead of myself I know, I just wanted to give a little insight into Reid now. I should save the rest for later.