Well let's see how is life as a Party of 5? Pretty great actually! My recovery from birth has been amazingly swift and easy and Andrew is seriously a dream baby. He is the most laid back, chill guy on the planet...well except for his dad. :) He eats like a champ (and A LOT) he only cries if he has a dirty diaper or is hungry and the occasional gas pain, but they are infrequent. He sleeps in three to four hour stretches at night and when he's awake he's completely content to just watch everything going on around him quietly. Granted, there is A LOT going on around him at all times since he has two crazy sisters! So I'm sure that helps him to sit quietly...he's got to combat the noise and chaos that are his sisters! Katherine and Caroline ADORE their little brother. Katherine is constantly asking to hold him...which at times can get trying since she can't always hold him, but is mostly very sweet. Caroline is constantly running up to me "Mommy can I give baby brother a kiss?" So sweet. They are both super quick to help when I need an extra hand or if I left something in another room. It is really sweet and a huge help to Mom!
So what are the not so great parts? Well, not much really. I am pretty darn tired, but that is to be expected only one week postpartum and I'm still up two to three times a night for at least 40 minutes to an hour each time (did I mention that little man eats for at least 20 minutes each feeding?! He likes to eat!) and then the girls are typically awake between 6am and 730am depending on the day. That makes for some pretty short nights, but we are managing. :) Caroline has been acting out a little lately, which is totally unlike her sweet and usually cooperative behaviour. I have a feeling it's due to the fact that she's no longer the baby, but we are working on that. :) I think it will help alot when we can get outside and run around some more! She has so much energy, she just runs in circles around the house like a crazy lady. There are very few moments of just quiet for Mom. Between homeschool, trying to keep the house in some sort of order, feeding and changing Andrew (typically every hour during the day) and then doing normal daily stuff like bathing, fixing meals, prepping for lessons the next day, etc there are very few minutes of "down time." This will get better as Andrew's feedings space out a little, but for now I am definitely enjoying the cuddle time with my little guy. I know all too soon he will want very little to do with old Mom! :)
How's Andrew doing? Fabulous! We went back to the doctor today for a weight check to make sure that he's getting enough to eat since I'm nursing and that he wasn't jaundice. Luckily he was perfect on all fronts this morning! He's actually quite the overachiever. Babies are typically supposed to be back to their birth weight by 2 weeks old, well he has surpassed his birth weight and gained over 8 oz since Monday. The average is about 1/2 oz per day for the first few weeks and then tapering off a little as they get older. His average was gaining 2oz per day in the past 4 days! Craziness! The doctor was quite please with his color and his weight and said that he's doing much better than most newborns, so he's one healthy little guy! We haven't had any issues with reflux or jaundice or any of the other very typical newborn problems. We are so blessed!
It's hard to believe that one week and one day ago I was just starting to get closer contractions that would eventually lead to one super fast labor and delivery. I am back into my regular clothes, although I'm still a little "squishy" from just having carried a baby for 9 months. ;) It feels SOOOO good to have on normal pants with a real waistband! The elastic pants were starting to drive me crazy! Now 5 more weeks and I'm allowed to start working out again...I may weep with joy! :)
So that's us as of now! We are one big happy family, even if a little tired and cranky here and there. ;)
Pictures coming soon...I'm promise! :)
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