Our newest is definitely a sweet baby (aren't they all?). She just wants to SLEEP, EAT, and be HELD - preferably all at the same time, and preferably with mama!
Translation - I'm not getting a whole bunch done around here, but that's just the nature of the postpartum period.
Co-sleeping, as always, is a life-saver and sanity-saver. I couldn't manage without that! Thankfully the little one does also deign to take an occasional nap in her swing, so I do get to (sometimes) make dinner and do dishes.
The older children are passionately fond of their newest sibling. The 8yo is beginning to be old enough to be helpful with her - he is learning how to pick her up safely, how to hold her, etc. The 3yo, however, is a constant menace! He adores "bay-bate," but his idea of being affectionate (namely, squeezing her and covering her with kisses) is usually a bit on the rough side. We are spending a lot of time coaching him on the fine art of being gentle with babies!
My husband refers to baby as "our little princess," to which I always reply, "No! We are NOT having a "princess" in this house!" ("Princess" as in "spoiled"!)
He gets his revenge by addressing baby as, "Your Majesty." This inevitably leads me to counter-quote from our favorite movie ("Court Jester") -
The older children are passionately fond of their newest sibling. The 8yo is beginning to be old enough to be helpful with her - he is learning how to pick her up safely, how to hold her, etc. The 3yo, however, is a constant menace! He adores "bay-bate," but his idea of being affectionate (namely, squeezing her and covering her with kisses) is usually a bit on the rough side. We are spending a lot of time coaching him on the fine art of being gentle with babies!
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| First bath! |
My husband refers to baby as "our little princess," to which I always reply, "No! We are NOT having a "princess" in this house!" ("Princess" as in "spoiled"!)
He gets his revenge by addressing baby as, "Your Majesty." This inevitably leads me to counter-quote from our favorite movie ("Court Jester") -
"If your majesty doth ask it, I will tell about the basket
With a willo willo wailey and a nonny nonny..." (see entire script)
(Specific quote is at 2:20)
Needless to say, we've had a lot of Danny Kaye going on around here, as we inevitably move to the Vessel with the Pestle and the Chalice from the Palace.
Life is never boring around here.
I'm gradually making the mental transition from three to four children. So far it's been fairly smooth. For me, the big, life-shattering transition was 0 to 1. None of the others has been hard at all in comparison. In fact, I think each transition has gotten slightly easier.
Which family-size transition was the hardest for you?
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| Sorry for the dorky grin. Focus on the baby! |
Oddly enough, I find that I am holding this baby more, perhaps, than any of the others was held. Each successive baby has been held more than the last - as I slowly, slowly, slowly learn to savor my babies rather than rushing off to catch up on housework. This is a hard lesson! But it's so lovely to sit outside on an afternoon and hold the baby for an hour or so, just enjoying her. (This, of course, is assuming that the other children are outside with their energy rather than inside creating unspeakable messes for me to clean up!) Babies are, indeed, lovely things.
I find that I have also made the adjustment more easily than I expected to having a GIRL in the house. It's been a bit of a shock, but I think I'm getting over it. I figure that I have quite a lot of learning to do in the next
And most of the time, I even remember that she is a girl - always good!
Yesterday:
Me, to baby: Ah, is the wee itty bitty such a big boy?
The 8yo: Uh, Mommy, she's a GIRL.
Me: Oh, yes. Ahem.
I'll get it eventually.
Our final postpartum visit with our sweet midwife was this week, when we bade farewell until... who knows? It is always a mystery. Will the Lord bless us with another baby? It could be in a few years... or a few months... or not at all. Any way the story runs, it will be a whole new adventure for our family - and only the Lord knows the next chapter.
As for me... I'm pretty much ready for another. They're just too cute.
With our beloved midwife:
Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends! Enjoy the Christmas season!
:) My youngest is my first boy, and even though he's 3 years old now I slip and refer to "the girls" when talking about all of the children. Just Saturday night I told one of my older ones to gather up her sisters so we could go home. She goggled her eyes at me and asked, "Should I leave the little brother here?"
ReplyDelete(It was a good-natured tease--not as snotty as it sounds)
And my hardest transition was from 2 to 3--my second and third are only 5 months apart (#s 1 and 3 are adopted), so we suddenly had 3 kids 2 and under. It was incredibly joyful, but equally incredibly hard.
Wishing you lots and lots of continued joy with your sweet girl!
For some reason, I had no idea that you guys had already adopted! Very cool! :)
DeleteYes, I still refer to the children as "the boys" - and this afternoon I caught myself calling baby "little man." It's going to take a while to adjust!!
Have an awesome Christmas!!
Funny how much we have in common. I too say that it was the hardest with one child than 4. With the one, I had a lot to learn and I carried guilt. "am I reading enough to him, am I playing enough to him, am I smiling enough to him, am I feeding him enough, can I shower?? ??" bla bla bla ;) chuckle!
ReplyDeleteOh, goodness - YES. So much guilt with #1. And also, I had absolutely NO experience with babies before my own arrived. None. We had to ask our midwife to show us how to change a diaper before she left our house!! And I was just so determined to do things the "right" way that I worked myself into an exhausted mess those first couple of months. It was rather nightmarish. I'm thankful that's over - and it's nice to have a bit of experience now! I can enjoy my babies much more now that I've tossed a lot of bad ideas out the window. :)
DeleteYep same with us, no experience what so ever. We were both the youngest in our families and never were around babies. Ha ha too funny!
DeleteDitto! I'm an only child, and my husband has only one sibling (his twin), and neither of us had ever had anything to do with babies. I was, indeed, the only child in my entire extended family! It's definitely not an asset when one becomes a parent!!
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