Finding Peace

To our sweet Layla Journey, you are three days old and you are already an adventure like we've never known. Darling girl, I know this has been said by every parent ever made, but I just can't wait to see who you will be. You gave me a pregnancy like I had never had before, with aches and pains, nausea and heartburn, and weeks when my body hurt so bad I couldn't even move. Sweet Layla, your sister arrived a week early after a mostly easy pregnancy, and your brother was so excited to meet our crazy crew that he came out TWO weeks early! So, dear girl, we expected to meet you early as well, when expectations were things we knew we shouldn't have this time around! Sweet darling, my water broke 4 days late, the same way that it did with your brother, so I was induced, again, and ready to meet your sweet face, the same way we had with your brother and your sister.  Wrong! Darling girl, all your dancing, kicking and rolling around in there over the last few weeks had you ...

Sweet boy, I wish you knew how much I loved you, and I think that mostly you do. We have gone and added a sweet little baby, Layla, to your life, and now that she is one month old, the novelty has worn off and you, our middle child, are feeling a little bit lost. And it breaks me. When our sweet Layla was still on the inside, your Daddy and I worried a little about how you would react to her, and we figured that Ava had done it before, and she is a little bit older, and that she would manage ok. Darling boy, you LOVE your little sister. You LOVE her. You want to kiss her, you make sure that everyone says hi to her when she comes into the room, you want to hold her (even though you complain that she's too heavy), and you are the best big brother to her. Honestly. But this week, in our fourth/fifth weeks with her, we have seen a shift. You are aimless. When Mommy has to feed her, or change her diaper, you are not interested in snuggling with a book to pass the time, and you sta...