Violet Marie Shannon born, 10-14-12 10:53 am 8lbs 4oz, 21".
Ethan is now officially a big brother! His sister Violet was born a few days ago, and Ethan is getting more and more used to having to share Mommy and Daddy's attention. Although the first introduction didn't go as smoothly as we thought it would, now that Violet is home, Ethan is warming up to the idea of her more and more. He is giving her kisses, and directing Mommy and Daddy to put her in her newborn swing so he can push it back and forth. The tough part is making sure that Ethan plays very gently with Violet, since she suffered a broken arm during delivery. Overall the interactions between the two have been good, and Ethan hasn't been acting out too much, as many children do when a sibling is brought home. Hopefully it will stay this way.
While Mommy and Daddy were in the hospital, Grammy Rechenberg came down to visit, and to help take care of Ethan in our absence. This was such a huge help, since we don't have any family that lives in the area, luckily we have some great friends and neighbors that helped us. The biggest help wasfrom Grammy. She spent 2 nights in a house full of cats, even though she is deathly allergic to them. She suffered through this so that Ethan could sleep in his own bed, and wasn't displaced too much during this whole ordeal. This was great, because not only did Ethan not get jostled around too much, he got to spend some quality one on one time with Grammy, and that proved great for both of them. Since they are both machines that never stop moving, it was a match made in heaven.
Violet has been sleeping a whole lot since she's been home. It seems that she only wakes up to eat, and then back to sleep again. As previously stated, Violet has a broken left arm that she suffered during the delivery, due to whats known as shoulder dystocia. Considering the possible injuries associated with a dystocia, the broken arm wasn't a terrible outcome. She should be completely healed in a few weeks, and she doesn't even need a cast. Luckily for us, we live 20 minutes from Johns Hopkins, and Dr. Tis, the pediatric orthopedist who saw Ethan for his hip dysplasia, so we know that we are in good hands.
