And so, last week, I fell off the planet! Okay, not quite. I just birthed a baby. That's right! Parker is here! His birthday was November 24th, which was only one week (and one day) early after all of our complications. (And just one day before my prediction!) He weighed in at seven pounds, seven ounces and was twenty-and-a-half inches long. My labor was rather long for a third one but worth it in the end!

Needless to say, as we came home last Monday, blogging wasn't my top priority. We've been getting used to being a two-child home, learning about breastfeeding and being rather sleep deprived. Although, for some reason, the sleep deprivation doesn't quite compare to the newborn stage with our older son. Is it because our new boy is a better sleeper or because we've already "been here, done this"? Questions that we may never know the answer to indeed!

That said, adoption wasn't far from my mind last week. Much like after Nick was born, I told Parker about his older sister. I told him her name, where she lived and that she loved him very much. When I tell him about his family members, the Munchkin and her family are always included. While I will admit to being very focused on the new addition to our family, my heart is also filled with thoughts, memories and emotions regarding the Munchkin, her place in our family and the adoption.

And so, that's why we're going to be doing a double focus on the blog for the next few weeks. I'll be finishing up my series on Post-Adoption Contact Agreements (which would have finished last week had I not been "sidetracked!"). However, we'll also be adding in some issues that come up in the newborn phase of parenting after placement. I didn't blog with regularity right after Nicholas was born and so this will be a way for others to witness my experience as well as a documentation of one birth mother's trip through postpartum hormones and adoption issues. Sounds fun, no?

I thank my readers and fellow bloggers for the onslaught of e-mails over the past week and a half. I haven't been able to reply to each and every one (yet!) but I'm sure you all understand the adjustment period that we're going through at this time. It was very touching to hear from all of you and I hope to reply to each of them... soon!

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For more on Parenting After Placement, click here.

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Photo Credit: 2007 Jenna Hatfield.