Top Ten Things I Learned In The First Two Weeks With Baby Number Three

Two of my bloggy friends have great things going on every Tuesday. Amanda of OhAmanda.com has Top Ten Tuesday

And Jo-Lynne of Musings Of A Housewife has What I Learned This Week

I've wanted to participate for awhile, but with the overly dramatic pregnancy I just endured, I never got around to it. I'm finally jumping in this week, but with a two-week old and some serious sleep deprivation going on, I hope they'll forgive me for combining the two.

My Top-Ten Things I Learned In The First Two Weeks With Baby Number Three:

1. Just because I've done this mommy thing twice before, doesn't mean I can coast on auto-pilot. Apparently each baby is different (the nerve!), and requires me to figure out all new ways of soothing and mothering.

2. I seriously miss co-sleeping. I'm still sleeping in the recliner until my incision heals enough for me to get in and out of bed by myself. The baby sleeps better in the swing than the crib. So us girls camp out in the living room and the boys have the bed. And I really miss it in there.

3. Babies don't automatically know how to coordinate eating, breathing, and swallowing. Poor baby girl has choked at just about every meal for the last two weeks.

4. My husband can stare inside my open body while I'm on the operating table, but the sight of an umbilical stump sends him heaving into the toilet.

5. And speaking of umbilical stumps, times have changed since my last baby. Apparently there's no need to clean it with alcohol anymore. Who knew?

6. Speaking again of umbilical stumps, some people actually keep them when they fall off. Like my mother-in-law. That's all I have to say about that.

7. I can indeed get sick of turkey sandwiches. I swear off deli meat while pregnant, so the first real meal I always want is a turkey sandwich. I ate one every single day for almost two weeks after Savannah's birth. I'm over turkey sandwiches now, thank you.

8. Watching my toddler adjust to life with his new sister is heartbreaking.

9. Some people get offended when you remind them to wash their hands before holding a baby. But that's okay, because this mommy isn't above not allowing them to hold the baby when they refuse.

10. And most importantly, I learned that my husband and I can do anything. We were so worried about how we'd manage the birth and recovery period on our own. There was major drama for months about who was going to be able to stay with us and help out, and in the end...nobody was. It was just the two of us after we came home from the hospital. Somehow we managed to care for the kiddos and ourselves, prepare meals, shower, keep the house relatively clean...and we survived. We did it on our own. With not one single argument either, might I add. Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?