Week 1: fresh fresh baby
The first week consisted of her birth which you can read about here. We were released from the hospital the next day and life began. It was a smooth transition home. The kids accepted Annie so wonderfully and Emily had the best reaction. She was instantly sweet and nurturing and engaged and interested. Annie was a source of happiness for Emily and Emily was so so good to her from the first meeting.
This week we had a blood draw for jaundice: she was a-ok. We also had 2 pediatrician appointments. One was just to check her since we left the hospital after 24 hours. The other was to check her weight since she had lost 9% of her body weight. Her weight came back up easily and all was well. We started with a new pediatrician with Annie and I have been very happy from the beginning. I am glad I switched! Jim was home until she was 6 days old which was nice... shorter than usual, but still nice during the time we had.
Week 2: 1 week old Annie
The day she turned a mere week old, I packed up and headed to the Jersey Shore with all 5 kids. I'm still wondering if I was absolutely nuts. Packing up and driving down was not bad at all. The hard part was that this was my first day as solo parent to the kids, which I wasn't used to, in the least. Even the extra walking (to the beach, around the beach house, etc) and carrying Emily, bags, etc was taxing physically. I could feel my body protesting by the evening of our first day there. It was emotionally hard because of the hormones and being in a new place, with all the kids, and trying to keep them all in line, etc. That said, it wasn't a bad trip and my parents were such gracious hosts. The kids really really treasure that beach week and I am glad we could make it... 7 day old baby and all. The beach house was amazing and easily accommodated our family size and my postpartum needs (we had our own bathroom! sweet!!). Jim was there from Saturday through Monday morning and I went home Monday evening. My parents awesomely kept the big three until Wednesday.
That was probably the best thing that could have happened to me as far as recovery and transition back into life was coming home with only the small two. I was able to get the house cleaned and back in working order and myself balanced and ready for all five again. It was great.
Week 3: 2 weeks old
Week three was spent transitioning back into NORMAL life. Working back into the school schedules was the biggest thing... I really enjoy schedules so I enjoy the structure that comes back. Her baptism was that Sunday when she was 2 weeks and 2 days old. I absolutely love the sacrament of baptism and am glad we were able to get it in early again. We also had a two week check up this week and she passed her exam with flying colors. :)
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| Aunt Laura and Uncle Kyle, Annie's Godparents |
Josh also started soccer this week and is loving it. He begged to play soccer all Summer.
Week 4-7: 3-6 weeks old
This was basically where "normal" life kicked off, but what is normal anyway? In the fourth week, Jim traveled to Virginia for 2 days. We all survived and it actually went quite well.
It is so so busy with five very small people. Each week we have the school schedule daily and then there is dance Mondays, PREP Wednesdays, and soccer Saturdays. The weekends have been BOOKED lately and life just won't seem to slow down. Jim has really kicked it in and is helping around the house and with the kids, which really makes a tremendous difference. I have been able to keep treading water, keeping my head above. There are certainly times when chaos reigns and all five need something simultaneously. I continue to expand my multitasking abilities. It's not a choice! You would end up eaten alive if you didn't move quickly from thing to thing! It's survival really.
Annie has proven to be a continually mellow peanut. She doesn't do horribly at night and she's slowly napping more and more through the day (minimal cat naps YAY).
Since Elizabeth started dance during this time, here is a shot of my prima ballarina:
Smiles are slowly coming, but I think Annie is a more serious baby like Josh was. Emily was effervescent in her happy smiles and chortles. Annie is a happy girl, but seems like an observer and a thinker more than an extrovert. Below is her rendition of a smile:
Speaking of Emily, she's still doing well with Annie's presence. She is less gentle and less interested since Annie's newness is wearing off, but she's still a pretty darn good big sister and still LOVES her own babies. These are her triplets who she sleeps with nightly. :)
Here is a snapshot of daily life... naptime over, mid-laundry folding, and we have a duel diaper change going on.
See? My little thinker...
Another "go" at a smile... bigger this time...
And life goes on. The transition to five has been good, and I am really enjoying the dynamic of 5 kids. Of course, there are times when it's insane and times where I feel overwhelmed, but that's natural. I'm so glad Annie is here. I don't wish I was still pregnant or that life could be how it was before. It's worth the extra sacrifice and boy are there times I can tangibly feel the sacrifice!!! You know how anything worth doing doesn't necessarily come easily and usually those things require WORK? Well, that's the same as having small children. No it's not easy. Yes, it's stressful. Yes, there is tremendous sacrifice. The payoff is so worth it though.
Funny little analogy that I was telling Jim about: In college I would have anywhere from 12-18 credits. 12 credit semesters were hard, lots of work, but manageable. It still took up the majority of your time, but it was what you were there for. I was able to polish my projects and have ample time to study to get good grades. Those semesters were pretty easily 4.0 ones. 15 credit semseters felt pretty maxed out. My time was all devoted to my classes and my schedule was packed, but I still was able to do things to my satisfaction and earn good grades. I took 18 credits once. 18 credits felt like a lot (for me). I had to just keep moving and often my projects or tests didn't get all the preparation or attention as they needed because there were other deadlines to move onto. I did it, but it felt completely consuming.
Adjusting to 3 kids is like 12 credits.
Adjusting to 4 is like 15.
Adjusting to 5 feels like 18. It's not "whoa is me" hard, but it's constant. There are so MANY of them that I just have to keep moving. Not everything gets completed to my perfectionist satisfaction and I hope one day to be able to shower, AND do my hair AND do my make-up all in one swoop again, but five is that 18 credit semseter. I still did well the semester that I had 18 credits, but it was exhausting and I may have earned a B or 2 because of the amount of things that needed to be accomplished. So this is my 18. It won't always feel like this, but it's busy. If I don't actively focus on what is getting done, what needs to be done, where we need to go, and what needs to happen to prep for the going, then I forget everything and life kinda starts to crumble. It's not bad as long as I'm purposeful in how life operates. It's busy. It's 18 credits worth of busy.
(and don't tell me you have done 21 credits easily... I might punch you...) ;)
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