It's been almost a week since we've made a big change in Mia and Ava's world. If I had to best describe their reaction to their new sister, I'd say they are indifferent. They came to the hospital hours after her birth and could have cared less. I wasn't too surprised that they were uninterested in the baby, but I wasn't expecting them to be indifferent to me, too. Usually, I can't keep those two away from me and now they were more than happy to stay away. I've been told this is normal, so I didn't let it worry me too much. Before they left us for the night, a nurse asked Mia if she thought the baby was cute. She responded by saying, "nope, uh-uh, try again." We're pretty sure she didn't understand the question, but loved her candid response. I got the feeling bringing a new baby home wasn't going to be their idea of a good time. I was right, at least temporarily.
On Monday, we were told to plan on a late morning/early afternoon discharge. Mate picked up the girls from his parents around 9:30 and took them to the Children's Museum while Eliana and I began the discharge process. After a couple of hours, Mate returned with the girls so we could get them some lunch before leaving. Unfortunately, we had no idea we'd spend the next 5 hours trying to keep them entertained. Perhaps that would have all been manageable had we not gotten the unexpected news about Eliana's heart at the same time that our girls decided to meltdown. I just wanted to get my family of five home and back into some sort of a routine. I do really well in controlled situations. All this waiting and worrying was too much for me.
Finally, a nurse came in to discharge us. Mate loaded Mia and Ava into the stroller, gave them a small snack and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the nurse was paged and walked out of the room without explanation. We waited, and waited, and waited. The girls became restless and morphed into these creatures we're not used to having around. They were completely inconsolable. When the nurse returned, Mate had to leave the room with them because I couldn't even hear what she was saying. As we wrapped things up, the nurse looked at me and asked if we had anything we could give the girls to calm them down. It took my very last ounce of patience, but I did my best to politely respond that we had already tried everything. It's not like I had planned on being stuck in a hospital room with two 2-year-olds for 5 hours.
So, there we were: a newborn, two exhausted toddlers, and overwhelmed parents. Not exactly the picture-perfect moment I was hoping for, but at least we were leaving. What should have been a 40 minute drive home, turned into an hour and half thanks to rush-hour traffic and an accident. That would have been bearable, had we not been in the presence of screaming toddlers for more than half of that drive. I couldn't wait to walk into our house. Unfortunately, Mia and Ava freaked out the minute we got them in the door. Clearly, exhausted toddlers and all this change are a bad combination. It's safe to say, we'll be just fine if we never have another Monday like that again.
Luckily, a full night of sleep in their own beds returned our lovely ladies to us. The rest of this week has gone relatively well. They are still uninterested in their sister, although Mia has kissed her once. I'm doing my best to give them individual attention and stick to their normal routine. I'm so thankful they have each other through this transition. They've exchanged lots of hugs and kisses the last few days and walk around the house holding hands.
Mate had to go to work two days this week to conduct residency interviews and I'm happy to report the girls and I did just fine on our own. It may be awhile before I can get much accomplished beyond child-care and meal preparation, but I'm okay with that.
Two year difference in age seems like a good idea when considering the prospect of adding to your family. However, it only becomes a good idea a little later in their lives, say like 3 and 5. You are definitely in a challenging change, however, your observation that Mia and Ava have each other, is probably for the best. Our sons are 2 and a half years apart and the oldest had much the same reaction as your girls did. Later, we were looking at the baby at home and I said,"he's a darling baby" and the response came in 2 year old speak, "he's a darn baby". That was probably pretty close to how he felt. I have to say I've been the nurse at discharge in those kinds of situations. Sometimes the nurse can do something to change it and sometimes, not. However, an explanation of what is going on and why it is taking the time that it is, is always in order. I am sorry that you had to endure that.
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