We are finally finding our way as a family of four. It's been pretty exhausting/busy/amazing/chaotic/wonderful....you get the point. It's both the most amazing and most difficult journey. We are so happy to have sweet Jack here. He is the best baby! He is super laid back and a great sleeper! We've had enough babies at this point to recognize what a huge blessing it is to have such a good baby. We've been really intentional with all of our babies (except Owen. He was wayyy spoiled compared to the rest) about establishing good sleep habits early on. Right around week 5 or 6 I started working with Jack to stay awake some after eating and trying to keep his wake and sleep time more consistent. He has been such a quick learner. Within that first week he started having 5-6 hour stretches at night. Now at just 9 weeks he sleeps anywhere from 7-9 hours before his first feeding and it's typically closer to the 8-9 hour mark. It's such a blessing. It's taken me quite a few weeks, but I'm finally starting to find some confidence in taking everybody out and about. Grocery shopping is still tricky since I basically have to wear Jack and use the basket in the buggy for Owen. Otherwise the carseat leaves no room for food. But it's working out okay to just wrap him up and carry him. Plus I typically save grocery shopping for times when Randy is home anyways. Wayyy easier then trying to think straight with four little ones "helping." I feel like I'm finally starting to get back into a good rhythm with school, too. After Jack was born we went full fledge into the holiday season and it's been so inconsistent. It has felt really nice these last couple of weeks to find our way back into a routine. I am still working out the kinks of getting school done with a destructive toddler and nursing baby in tow, but Ella and Noah are being so patient and helpful and I'm scared to say it out loud....but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I'm thinking that after surviving this year with a move, emergency cesarian, new baby, multiple virus', and Owen's upcoming surgery...surely next year will feel like a breeze, right?!? It's not been easy for me, but I still climb in bed every night feeling like I wouldn't change a thing. So I think that's pretty good.
As for Owen, it looks like his surgery date is set for Friday, February 6th. He should only need one overnight stay and be ready to go home the next day. If they end up removing the kidney or run into any complications, there is a chance they would keep him longer, but we wont know any more about that until his surgery. I'm a little nervous about his recovery this time since he is such a busy boy. He's so rough and clumsy, but hopefully that will just make him more resilient. Or it will be a disaster. Only time will tell. ;)
I'm ashamed to say I don't have new pictures to share with you. I know. It's really bad. I really don't enjoy taking newborn pictures because they are so hard to pose. I would much rather chase around a preschooler. So poor Jack hardly has any new pictures besides a ton on my phone and some on my camera of him hanging out in his bouncy seat and various places around the house. I haven't given him an official "newborn" shoot and now he's soooo not a newborn. Ugh! I know!! BAD MOM!! I did finally find outfits to take the kids out soon to get updated shots of the four of them so I promise I'm working on it. All of my Instagram pictures are being printed into Chatbooks so that counts for something, right?! In the meantime, I have some old pictures from our field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went to an awesome farm back in October and I never got around to posting them. It was a great day!
