2 Weeks Old

It is really hard to remember what life was like without Matthew. I remember thinking my life was so complete with Michael and Claire. I was so blessed to have a boy and a girl . . . "the perfect little family" people would tell me. What was I thinking? How did I not know how what a blessing another child would be? This little guy has made our lives so much more colorful, more meaningful, more wonderful.

It has been amazing to see Claire as a big sister. The maternal instincts that come out of this little girl continue to amaze me. She holds him so well, knows what he needs, and isn't scared when he cries. The other night, I told Claire I was going to go upstairs to take a shower and that I was taking Matthew with me. I put Matthew in his seat and got half way through my shower before he started fussing. I thought, great- now I have to rush my shower and get out. But little did I know, Claire heard him fussing from downstairs and came upstairs and put his pacifier in his mouth. She stayed with him for the remainder of my shower and I was so relieved that she was so in tune with what he needed. She made my night as I was able to take a long hot shower instead of cutting it short.

Michael loves Matthew so much. He is very gentle and sensitive to what Matthew needs. Michael loves when I lay Matthew in bed with him in the morning before school. Normally, Michael is my 'non-morning' child. He hates waking up and as I walk in the door to greet him tells me, "Do not say Good Morning". But now that Matthew is here, Michael is Mr. Sunshine in the morning and wakes up without a problem- that is if I bring Matthew in there with me. He is really proud of his little brother and keeps telling me, "Mom- this is good" (in reference to having a new brother). I sense no jealousy from the kids- instead; they are overflowing with love and excitement for our new little baby.

At 2 weeks old, Matthew is still as sweet as can be. He is starting to eat more often and have some more awake time. We all love when he is awake because he has such big pretty eyes. It is still hard to tell what color his hair is, and his eyes are still that 'baby blue' so we don't know about eye color, either. Damien (who is a lefty) has been noticing that Matthew has been using his left a lot and is secretly pining for him to be a lefty like he is. This is far fetched as I am sure babies don't have a hand preference at this point, but you can't tell a guy not to dream. Matthew has also found his hands and when he gets fussy, is able to calm himself a little, or maybe just hold off on screaming for a second while I try and get to him. He is tracking movements and I love when we have a few minutes to just stare at each other.

I am sure that life will become a little more complicated as the days go on, but for the time being- life with three is nothing short of amazing. When we sit down for dinner, when the kids hold the baby, when Damien and I have time with Matthew after the kids are down for bed- life as I know it is perfect. To think that Matthew is already 2 weeks old- is odd. I have to make sure that I enjoy every minute with him because before I know it, he will be out of the newborn stage. So, excuse me if you will. I'm going to go hold and stare at my son.