Since Danny and I are so far away from family the transition into parenthood has added an extra layer of stress. Thank the Lord for wonderful friends! Throughout this pregnancy and since Everly has been born my awesome friends Lisa, Heather, Kristine, & Michelle have been lifesavers. They spoiled me throughout my pregnancy with little gifts, words of advice, weekend getaways, and shoulders to lean on when I was feeling down. And now that Everly has arrived they have continued to spoil us rotten by stocking our freezer with food after we arrived home from the hospital, visiting and making weekly phone calls/texts/emails to check in, and offering to babysit so Danny and I can find time to recharge and reconnect. I swear we were about to crack under all of the stress and pressure last week when my dear friend Lisa offered to come up and babysit so we could have a few hours out of the house together. I am 100% positive that just a few hours away added at least 5 years back to our lives. Even though we missed every second away from little Miss Everly, it was nice to feel like ourselves again for a few hours.
In addition to our wonderful friends, I honestly don't know what I would do without my amazing husband. He has always been the "dream partner" and there was never a doubt in my mind that he would also be an incredible father. He is so "present" when he is with Everly. I often catch him holding her and just staring down at her while he talks to her about her day. You can tell that she already adores him too because she lights up when he walks in the room. She turns her head when she hears his voice and he even got the first real smile out of her last week. I cannot tell you how much it makes my heart melt to see the two of them together. I firmly believe that little girls need a strong male role model in their lives and Everly definitely hit the jackpot in that department. There is no doubt that every man she meets is going to have to measure up to her Daddy's standards, which won't be easy! I can only pray that one day she will find a man as caring, loving, selfless, brilliant, and hard working as her Daddy.
He is always here to give me a break and take care of Everly whenever I need to step away too. In fact he insists that I get out of the house and take time for myself every few days. He never complains and is always willing to step in and help before I even have to ask. And even though he is working every day he helps out during the night so that I don't lose my mind. In fact we have created a little system to help make the sleepless nights more manageable. He is responsible for Everly if she wakes up before 3 a.m. and I am responsible for her after 3 a.m. Even though neither one of us is getting more than 5 or 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep during the night, it works for us right now. We are both counting down the days until she sleeps through the night though!
Even ole' Bama is taking her role as big sister seriously. She is in LOVE with Everly. It is crazy to watch how protective she is over her already. The other morning when Everly woke up I walked in her room to find Bama lying on the rug in front of her crib barking, as if to try and make more noise so that one of us would wake up. When Everly gets really upset she also barks at us like we are not doing enough to help her. Every morning when I get Everly out of her crib I have to let Bama sniff her to make sure that everything is OK. before I can change her diaper or feed her. She also has a role in the night shift job. She goes to bed with me at 10 and gets up with me after 3 a.m. when Evelry wakes up for a feeding. One night she accidentally got locked in the bedroom with Danny and he said she stood at the door and whined until he got up and let her out. He thought it was so funny that he walked in the living room and announced, "Captain Lewis reporting for duty!" as Bama came barreling through the door and jumped on the couch (*Lewis is one of Bama's many nicknames).
Like I said earlier the transition into parenthood is abrupt and hard. No one can prepare you for the journey, so it is critical to have a strong support system in place to help you as you adjust to all of the changes. Danny and I are very lucky to have each other, our amazing friends and family, and our spirited girls (Bama & Everly). Now I truly understand what is meant by the saying, "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child".
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