Finally catching up

I think I'm finally catching up on things. But I wouldn't have been able to do the majority of what I've gotten done if I didn't have such a great extended family. Last week felt very long and like everything was crashing down around me. Then, Saturday we got some much needed help from Brady and Carrie. They were kind enough to watch Aiden for us while we went grocery shopping (we had virtually nothing in the fridge) and they even cleaned the apartment and bathed Aiden! Awesome!
Sunday ended up being an odd mix of a terrible morning (lots of fighting and crying spells) and a really fun afternoon (I finally enjoyed the outcome of the Superbowl after 4 years of disappointment). Monday morning I got my first experience of hauling the kids of bed and taking John to work so I could go to an appointment with my midwife. Luckily, I was able to get babysitting for Aiden at basically the last minute Sunday night. It was very unexpected to have John's grandparents offer to watch him, but I'm so glad they did. I had to sit in the office for nearly an hour past my appointment time. It would have been extremely difficult to keep a 2 year old occupied for that long around lunchtime. And then Tuesday I received a phone call from John's other grandmother (dad's side), asking if she could come over and help! I got so much housework done! She held the baby for a few hours (he had a great time sleeping on her) and then she played with Aiden while I nursed Nathan.
All in all, because of this much appreciated help, I finally feel like our lives are coming together again. And strangely enough, I'm beginning to not feel quite as tired now that things are getting done. It's odd how massive amounts of clutter can bring down your energy level. I'm so thankful for the help I've received. I'm so appreciative of John's family, especially since I don't have any of my family readily available in the area.

I'm glad I've finally been able to post something at least somewhat happy. I know my posts have been a little down lately. John keeps asking if I'm feeling like I'm struggling with depression after the birth. I really don't think so. I'm definitely still all over the place with my emotions sometimes, but I realize that we're still in the adjustment period of bringing another person into the family. And having a toddler makes it harder because we need to help with HIS adjustment to it as well. Recovering is taking longer this time (but in speaking with friends, I'm glad longer recovery isn't unusual for the 2nd child) and I'm very tired much of the time. Everything I've read has said that it takes a minimum of 6 weeks for a family to begin to fully adjust to a new baby (when they have children already). Anything before that is just going to feel crazy and all over the place. I think we are gradually beginning to get into some sort of groove and Aiden is slowly getting used to the idea of his brother. I know it will get there. It just may take a while yet.