To be stressed or not to be stressed

Being pregnant was by far one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had. Granted, I had a very easy pregnancy, one that was not over-run by the standard pregnancy woes like morning sickness. I know I was lucky, but I absolutely loved being pregnant!

Actually, I really miss it. I miss feeling my baby move inside me and I miss the sense of calmness that I always seemed to have even if things got stressful at work. I miss my fingernails. Yes, you heard me correct. I was actually able to grow my fingernails out during my pregnancy! Would you believe me if I told you that I even had to trim them a couple times!

All that is gone now. My fingernails are no more. They were chewed off within days of Ellie's birth.

That being said, I don't think I can really say I'm stressed right now either. No, I no longer have my picturesque nails, but I'm not as stressed or exhausted as I expected to be considering I have a newborn baby to take care of.

Michael and I have been sleeping relatively well. I'd be lying if I said we're not affected by the sudden change in schedule. We tend to have dreams about getting up to feed her, only to wake up and realize we haven't started yet. Those are exhausting because it feels like we have to go through the whole process twice, which means twice as much energy. Not to mention it always makes it seem like she's eating twice as much.

However, she tends to sleep in 3-4 hour spurts at night, which is significantly better than what we have heard.

We've gotten quite a few comments about how calm we seem to be considering our new situation... and I owe that two to major things:
1. Happiest Baby on the Block - the techniques to calm a baby is just gold.
2. Ellie is a patient baby - She really does well when it comes to me trying to get accustomed to things.

So, for those of you who want to know how things are going... that's about it. I am amazed and grateful at how easy-going Ellie is. We are tired, but not exhausted.

I guess the true test of time will be how I handle things once my mom leaves town... =)