Family of Five (with pictures!)

So life as a family of five has been a pretty interesting transition.  Of course, the kids are doing really well.  And as I heal, things are starting to look more and more do-able.  Thankfully, despite a couple of discipline episodes, today is going pretty well.  So I thought I’d just do a quick blog about life as it has settled down a bit…

Megan

• This child gets violent hiccups.  Really…I’m pretty sure her diaphragm is trying to jump out of her throat at times.  It’s crazy!
• She is pretty laid back.  Having her siblings up in her face doesn’t bother her.  She really only fusses if she needs something.  So far…a low-key kid = one thankful momma!
• She’s sleeping and eating really well.  Nursing one is SOOO much better than two.  I’m finally starting to understand why people would like to breastfeed.  With the twins, I was glad I could do it, but it wasn’t at all, shall we say, a bonding experience.  This time, it’s much more intimate.  It’s nice.
• She absolutely loves her daddy (and the feeling is mutual).  She sits on his lap while he talks to her and just stares at his face.  It’s too cute!
• This child is a bear to burp.  She has the amount of gas that Erin manages (which is a LOT), but is hard to burp like Alex was.  We’re still figuring that part out.  But thankfully, breastmilk makes spit-up and poop that washes out easily.  So that makes life much easier on me!

Alex and Erin

• They ADORE Megan.  Really.  So far, no jealousy or frustrations with her presence.  They ask about her, look for her, want to be near her.  They think we got her just for them.  At least for now, that is a great thing.  
• Erin does like to help with Megan some.  She gets the wipes for me and makes sure I know when Megan is fussing. And she wants to “do” things for Megan, like turn on the bouncy seat’s buzzer.  If I turn the buzzer off, she comes right back and turns in on again.  And she likes to watch me feed her.  Her new favorite word is “boobies” – which I can’t wait to hear her announce in the grocery store sometime.  Or not…  
• Alex likes to give Megan “kisses” – which for Alex is a very gentle bump of foreheads.  He also likes to sit and watch her.  Sometimes, you’ll come into the living room to find him sitting at her feet in the bouncy seat just watching.  And if you interrupt him, he stops and finds something else to do.   He’s a sweet little guy.
• Erin occasionally gets into a little temper (which she inherited from me, I’ll admit freely!) and starts just knocking things over and shoving toys around.  It would be funny except for the scowl on her face.  I try to respond to those episodes with a little direct attention which has worked so far.  It’ll be interesting to see if those escalate into full-blown tantrums before too long. 
• But overall, the twins are adjusting pretty well.  The number of discipline issues has gone up (and we’re still trying to find effective responses), but as they are 22 months, that is not necessarily related to Megan’s arrival.  We are definitely developing a couple of serious cases of the ‘terrible two’s’!  Hopefully we can put off big-kid beds and potty-training for a couple more months, at least.  Maybe in January, I’ll be ready to face those transitions!

Eric

• It was really great to have him home for most of last week.  The twins, especially Alex, ate up his attention.  They went to parks and played outside while I sat on my donut.  Really, he took good care of all of us.  I’m really thankful for him.
• He’s a big fan of sitting with Megan when I need to attend to the twins.  He’s also really good at burping her.  So that comes in handy a lot, too!

And finally, Me

• I’m finally starting to make real progress with healing.  I’m still needing some ibuprofen through the day, but most of the time, I feel pretty good.
• The hardest part is not overdoing just because I feel better.  It’s hard to be okay with how bad my house looks most of the time, and how sticky my kitchen floor is, but in a week or two, I’m sure I’ll start to get ahead again.  Just need to learn to give it time.
• I am amazed at how much laundry Megan has added to our lives.  Seriously…it’s crazy!
• Finding a good balance of paying attention to the twins while still getting things done and still getting Megan attended to is a hard thing.  But sometimes just finding times to include them while I feed Megan is enough.  Or sitting down to watch TV or color with them before Megan needs something has worked, too.  It’s a learning curve, I guess.  But we’ll figure it out.  One day at a time. 
• Last night, I read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand in John, and it was like God put it in just for me.  I needed the reminder that what seems impossible (like surviving these days on my own) to me is really just an opportunity for God to do something amazing for and through me.  And the 12 baskets of leftovers was such an encouragement.  Jesus didn’t just give those people enough to eat.  He gave them more than enough.  It was a promise I took to heart and claimed again this morning.  Learning to parent from his abundance instead of out of my own (less than sufficient) strength is a daily thing, I know.  But that perspective has helped me a lot today.  I’m grateful for his influence in my life. 

And that is where we are, for now.  It’s quite an adventure, and I still feel a step behind sometimes.  But I guess that’s what builds a family…learning to do life together, one day at a time.  So…here’s to our family of five!

Happy Tuesday!

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