Diapers, bottles, and growth spurts…oh my! It’s been a busy month in our house. This blog has been a bit quiet lately, and that’s simply because there are days where I don’t get much done. Laundry, dishes, errands, blogging, and everything else are all put aside to feed and snuggle my adorable little boy. Despite how difficult the newborn weeks and months can be, I feel an intense desire to try and enjoy every moment of this time with him. Having watched my girls grow, I know that tomorrow he’s going to be a little bigger than he is today. The day after that he’ll be even bigger. Before I know it, we’ll be moving towards the “firsts” – smiles, laughs, words, steps, and so much more. I know it’s all around the corner and I’m not ready for it yet. I want to keep him this small a while longer.
Of course, that’s going to be tough considering at his one month appointment he weighed in at 2 pounds over his birth weight. That newborn insert in his car seat? Yeah, that’s starting to look a little snug. While I’d like to keep him small, he apparently wants to grow. A lot. Perhaps he’s be pumping iron in his rainforest gym when I’m not paying attention?
This past month has reminded me of all the things that you forget when mom-nesia kicks in after your kids hit the 1 or 2 year mark and you dare think of doing it all over again – living your life in 3 hour feeding increments, noisy newborn sleeping, and the insane amount of diapers and bottles you can go through in a 24 hour period. And growth spurts? Thankfully, mom-nesia erased those from my memory as well…this child had a mean growth spurt at around 3 weeks, which probably accounts for much of that 2 pound gain. As much as I want to enjoy this time, I’ll be happy to erase those days from my memory.
The only first that I’m ready for at this point would be the first time he sleeps through the night. Wow, am I ready for that day. We’ve had a few good stretches (up to 6 or 6 ½ hours!), but they tend to start so early in the evening that by the time I actually get to sleep myself, I only get a 3-4 hour stretch. Sleep, if you’re out there, I miss you.
Not surprisingly, the question that everyone’s been asking me over the past month is whether having 3 kids is harder than 2. The answer? Of course! It’s adding another human being to the mix. Trying to find a way to get him to fit into our already existing routine, but give him the attention that he needs can be difficult. We’re still learning to be a family of 5. It’s a process and it’s going to take a while (maybe a lifetime?) to figure out. But is it so much harder? No, not really. At least right now it isn’t. Most of that is his personality. I’ve been blessed in that Everett is such a go with the flow baby. So much so, that I almost don’t want to say it “out loud” for fear that it will change. He tags along to his sisters’ dance classes, birthday parties, and virtually everything else without so much as a peep. And if he does get upset, his favorite things in the world right now are being held, movement, and his pacifier, which make him pretty easy to calm down if we’re out.
Don’t get me wrong, there are hard days. Days where I question why we decided to do this all over again. Days where I question why 3 was “our number”. And then there are days where I walk across my house in the morning and hear the happy sounds of my family getting ready for the day, each one reassuring me that this is exactly what I wanted and what we were supposed to do. Or the nights like tonight where I sit in my house, listening to my family sleep, knowing that I’ll regret not being asleep myself when morning comes all too quickly, and yet wanting to stay awake a little longer to soak it all in – Happy & Complete.
He’s beautiful! Good job mama!