Surviving 4

Since having 3 kids, anytime I take all 3 with me anywhere, someone always comments, "You've got your hands full." I always wish I had a smart remark. It's said so often, you'd think I could come up with something. Usually, I just smile and nod.

Last week, I took the kids to storytime, ALL 4, and someone made the same comment, "You've got your hands full." Ok, there are 4. Now, we're just stating the obvious.

Several people have asked me how I handle 4 kids. The truth is, I haven't gotten a true taste of it yet, but so far, here's how it's going.

Surviving Four 101 Must-Haves:

1) Coffee: Need I say more?

2) My niece:

My 17 yr. old niece came from across the country to help us out with baby #4. She's been here 3 weeks and mom's taking her back tomorrow. :( The irony is that when I was 17, I went with my sister who at the time, was 9 months pregnant with her 4th (my niece) to help them move and adjust to 4 kids. 17 years later, I get my payback. Nice! The boys LOVE her.

She's really helped a lot with the kids. Just keeping them entertained has been wonderful. On this day, she filled up water balloons for them. They loved that. Notice our nice green grass? Before Jack came, Chris tore up the back yard, put in a sprinkler system, and planted grass. It's very nice!!

3) Care Calendar:

My most awesome friend set up a care calendar for me. She sent out letters to all my friends and several of them signed up on an online calendar to bring me food and diapers. 4 days a week, people have brought us dinner. It's been a life-saver. I have not had to cook a single meal since Jack was born. I'm so glad she did that instead of throwing a baby shower that I was sure to receive ANOTHER blue baby boy blanket.

4) My wrap:

Jack loves this thing. I do, too. I can carry him around hands-free, and he just falls asleep. It feels very secure and the weight is evenly distributed. I've worn it to church every week and am even able to nurse hands-free. It's a long (5 yds) piece of fabric, cut in half lengthwise. There are tons of how-to videos on youtube if you're interested in learning how. Just search baby wrap.

Tomorrow Mom is leaving with my niece for 3 weeks. My care calendar is going to be tapering off/ending soon. Reality is about to hit. Surviving may have a whole new meaning.

Snapshots from the Hospital

You might be surprised to learn that Jack was not born in a West Texas field and then immediately placed in a piece of luggage for a crib. . . .

You might be surprised to learn that we actually took pictures in the hospital when he was born . . .

You might be surprised because he's 3 weeks old and I haven't put a single picture of his hospital stay on my blog.. . .

That's about the change . . .

Meeting Jack

Zane was the first to get to hold Jack. He was so excited! I think he was more excited about getting to hold him than getting to see me.

Everyone tried to get Ca to go next but he was too scared. I told him he didn't have to, so Ben was next in line.

 He smiled and stared at him the whole time he held him. He loved it. He too didn't care too much about seeing me, but was almost equally excited about my tilapia I was trying to eat. Back and forth between looking at Jack and stealing a bite of my food.

 Ca decided it wasn't so scarey after Ben had his turn.

 They all 3 still love to hold him and are turning out to be somewhat helpful. Somewhat.

Jack's Shoot II

The rest of my indoor shoot

 I {heart} baby feet. Remember Ben's webbed toes? Chris made sure Jack's were separated. He's got a little bit of a web - sorry, J, apparently it runs in the family.

Wonder what he's thinking? I'm sure it's, "I wish these people would leave me alone and let me sleep."

Jack's Shoot

As you can see by my header, I finally did an indoor newborn shoot of Jack. I set up my spot, dressed him in a white onsie, and waited until he was good asleep. I had seen this shot before and wanted to try to with Jack. Here's how it went. . .

Attempt 1:

Chris holds his head and pats him on his back

to keep him asleep

He fell over, but made for a cute pic anyway

Didn't get any out of that one.

He falls over so quickly.

Ta Da!!

All 4

I wasn't even going to try, but dishes were in the sink and I was avoiding them. Everyone had on a clean diaper. My niece was here to help. J was awake & happy. I had no more excuses. They had dirty clothes on that didn't match, so I just had them all take off their shirts. We'll ignore their shorts. I've never been able to get a good picture of my kids together, and I knew that getting 4 of them in one picture would be impossible. But decided I'd better at least try. Maybe I'll try again another day and get a better one, but here's what I got.

Jack in a Box

I used my old fashioned luggage that I have stacked into a table in our living room to take Jack's pictures. Chris went with me. His job was to keep the bugs off of Jack. Jack was crying when we got there, so we sat in the car for 1/2 hour while I nursed him. That did the trick. It was getting dark and he wasn't sleepy enough to move him around a lot, so the pictures are a little redundant. I'd like to do more inside.

  

caught a sleepy smile

 I didn't think to bring a blanket for the pictures, but I had a swaddling one with me. I bought this fabric while I was pregnant on clearance for $1/yd and mom hemmed it for me. It's thin and stretchy. LOVE IT!! He does too. The magic of swaddling.

He's Here!

I wish I had the energy to edit/post hospital pics, but sorry. This one will have to do.

Jack Abram, born May 3rd at 8:06am (c-section scheduled for 8am - they work fast),

weighed 7lbs 15oz, 18 inches long.

• Chris had been sick and I was getting scared that he wasn't going to be able to be in the OR with me. He was much better the morning of, so thankful, he was able to.
• I had an inward panic attack while they were prepping me for surgery. I think this is why God designed women to go through labor. They can't let their minds wonder. I was thinking, "I'm about to be sliced open - the next few hours are going to be so hard, I change my mind, I want to go home, I hope the baby's ok and there's no crazy deformities, I'm about to be a mother of FOUR!!" Those thoughts kept rotating in my mind. "Mrs. Lindsey, you doing ok?" "fine" But inside, "HOLY CRAP!!!"
• The next few hours were hard, but I got through them. Thank God for morphine.
• I asked all the nurses if I could get the baby in the recovery room so I could start nursing right away. I've nursed all my babies, but all have been a hard start. I thought if I got them when they were fresh out of the oven, I'd have better luck. After the surgery, I was shaking uncontrollably. They said I could get morphine, but it'd make me sleepy - would make it hard to nurse. The pediatrician came in and told me that the baby had to be on oxygen for a little while but should be fine. I realized I wasn't going to get him anytime soon, so I took the morphine. I was actually glad b/c after making such a stink, I didn't want to tell the nurses that I changed my mind about getting the baby, but I didn't think I could handle it at the moment.
• When I did get him, a little after 10am, I started the process of trying to get him to nurse. All of mine have been so hard - lots of practice necessary. Jack took to it like he had been doing it forever. Latched on within seconds. I was shocked. Didn't know babies could do that.
• Chris got sick again and this time, I got it, too. Coughing, etc. Let me tell you, coughing feels AWESOME when you're belly has been sliced open. Luckily, it didn't start until the second day, and luckily, I'm feeling much better now. Mom brought me some amazing cough drops and I've been taking my codine. Thank God for drugs.
• Boys are doing SO well with him. They all love him and ask to hold him. Ben, too! I thought for sure there'd be jealous issues, but mostly he just gets upset b/c he wants to hold him. "O, E" - translates - "hold, baby"