Big Sister Vera

While we were at the hospital, Vera stayed with my parents.  Karen happened to be home for the weekend too.  Vera Lou stayed plenty busy playing, going to the farm and especially going to Country Fest.  Karen took her on lots of rides, and they also enjoyed playing games and winning prizes.  The picture below Karen sent as they were leaving Country Fest.  Vera was asleep before they drove out of the parking area.  Below that are all of the prizes she won by playing games.  The magnifying glasses were probably the best prizes of all.  We missed Vera a lot while we were in the hospital, and I think she missed us too.  We FaceTimed with her several times.  My mom said it was good for Vera to stay busy so she didn't miss us too much.  On the day of our discharge, Vera went to Mike & Rosie's and spent the day at the pool with Mindy, Bailey and Grammy. She had a blast with them!

Vera filled nearly every page of the notebook with "dragon" stamps.  Later in the day, we caught Vera showing Vin her stamps and notebook.  So cute!  "Vin yook at my dragons.  Do you yike them?"

Vera's face...lol !!

Having a baby around home has been a huge adjustment for everyone.  Vera has done so well!  Here are a few things I don't want to forget about this time in our lives...

Vera always refers to Vin as "the baby."  The first thing she asks when coming home or waking up is, "Where's the baby?"  She'll ask if certain things are "for the baby."  We've had to tell her that it's ok to call him by his name or to refer to him as her brother.  My parents said said that for the first day, she had trouble remembering his name.  By the time we came home from the hospital, she had it down.

Vera received a few nice gifts from visitors and family too.  Aunt Mandy brought Vera this Doc McStuffins book that has a CD to read the story to her.  It's been a great gift--definitely something Vera can do all by herself.  The first day, she read it 3 times in a row.

Vince has done a lot of crying since we've been home.  Sometimes we tell Vera to sing him a song to calm him.  At first she sang the Baby Bumblebee song.  But one day I heard her singing this:
"What's going on?
Tell me what's wrong.
I know there's something we can do.
It might not be clear,
but that's why I'm here.
Tell me what's bothering you.
Got somethin on your mind?
Don't you keep it inside.
You're gonna be fine..."
It is just the sweetest little song, but I had no idea where she'd heard it.  Later, when I asked her, she said that Doc McStuffins sings the song to her patients.  Aww!  I guess all of Vera's TV-watching has come in handy here.

Vera is rocking her brother's car seat.  She'd been home with him for only a few short minutes in this picture.

Her shirt says "Best Sis Ever" even though it's hard to see.  She's been a super big help and loves him lots.

I've had to answer a lot of questions within the last few weeks.  Vera is going through the "Why?" stage right now.  She asks "why?" to nearly everything we do and say.  It's been even more escalated because there's a new baby around.  I've had to explain nursing and pumping.  I decided I wasn't going to lie to her about it.  She was pretty content with my explanation, but she always double checks to make sure it doesn't hurt me.  We've also had to explain umbilical cords, bathing a newborn, and why they sleep and cry so much.

She's given lots of hugs and kisses and even shared her Mickey couch!

One of our first days at home Vin was crying hard.  She went up to him and said, "Vin Vin Vin!"  That eventually evolved to "Vinny Vin Vin," which is what she calls him a lot.  Could be the start to a nickname for him?

 One of our first days home, I was sleeping on the couch through the night, Vin was in his swing, and Vera got up around 7:30 that morning.  I was still super tired, and had her lie down on the couch with me.  I turned on cartoons and we snuggled together for an hour or so.  It was nice to give her that one-on-one attention, even if I did doze off a few times.  I think Vera really appreciated the time too.

 In our first week at home, Vera also read a few books to Vin.  "The Going to Bed Book" has been her go-to book, mostly because she has it memorized.

Vera really is a big help.  She's so good about getting things for us when we're stuck in the chair.  She tries hard to wait her turn, though I can only expect that to go so far.  In the first days at home, as I tucked her in for bed, I asked her what she thought of Vin.  She told me one day that she thinks he's beautiful.  I asked her one day if it was ok that we keep him, and she said yes.  But, she's given me a few heartbreaking comments too.  Last week as I was feeding Vince, she was trying so hard to get in the chair with me.  I told her she couldn't right then, and she stood with tears running down her cheek and said she just wanted to sit with me too.  Tears ran down my cheeks too.  Such a hard thing for a mom.  Yesterday Vin was especially fussy and she said, "Mom, I've had enough of Vin!"  When I asked her why, she responded, "Because all he does is cry."  :(

After a long 4th of July weekend, Vera fell asleep on my shoulder while watching TV.

Overall, things are going quite well.  We have easy days and hard days.  The mornings are the hardest part of the day because everyone needs something.  But we're working through it.  I'm so thankful for all of the help we've had, especially with Vera.  One of the greatest blessings, besides our sweet children, is that I feel really great.  I can move around easily, have no pain, and feel capable of caring for my kids.  It makes it so much easier to be a mom to two special children!