Name them one by one

Things I am grateful for:

*That I don't have to worry about going back to work.

*That Eli is so much milder than Miriam was. With Mim, every thing (waking up, diaper changes, even eating) was extreme trauma. She was a happy happy baby, but needed a lot of maintenance to be happy. Elijah just takes things as they come. It is so much nicer to wake up to squeaking and sqwaking that escalates to crying rather than intense screaming all at once. Plus, when he is worked up it is much easier to calm him down. To give Miriam some credit, she was the first child and we did learn a lot with her.

*My Sleepy Wrap. We love it! I can put him in and go about my normal routine but have a humming and squeaking little boy right with me.

*How Miriam adores Eli. She loves talking to him, getting things out for him, helping to hold his bottle, and sharing her toys. She'll even offer her blankets to him, which is big.

*That Elijah was born healthy even with the cord wrapped around his neck three times.

*The way Eli's little head is warm and fuzzy when I kiss it.

*How my recovery from this birth is so much better than from Miriam's. I honestly feel like I'm a month after birth rather than a week and a half.

*That Elijah is man enough to use a pink blanket, a pink burp rag, or a flowered binkie. This picture is pretty mild: Miriam spread her blanket out on top of him after he was asleep. Sometimes he gets the total swath of pink. But he still looks like a boy.

*The "Ba-ba Machine," aka my breast pump. I love being able to give Eli breast milk, for health and even more so financial reasons, but I adore feeding him with a bottle because I get to see his little face and eyes so much better. With pumping I get to do both. Plus it doesn't hurt while I'm actually feeding him.

*The way Eli likes to hold one of my fingers while he eats.

*That Gripe Water, an old-fashioned remedy for upset stomachs in babies, seems to help him so much. He's a lot calmer and sleeps better after a dose of it. No gripes here!

*That my mom stayed with us two days more than she planned on. Thanks mom!

*That Brent can take care of either or both kids without flinching. Here he is rocking Elijah and donning slippers on Miriam's request.

*He also gets up during the night as often as I do without complaining.

*Indoor plumbing and electricity. I can't imaging trying to clean up a dirty diaper in the middle of the night without at least a little light. And I just shudder thinking about doing anything with this sweet little guy without indoor heating!

*That Miriam loves having Eli do ANYTHING with her. She was extatic when we put his rocker next her hers.

*Just that I have such a great life!

*That I can't figure what's up with my font or my spacing but that I'm not going to worry about it!